A Change of Gravity: Library Edition

by George V. Higgins

A New York Times Notable Book

Genres: Fiction

Audio Cassette

First published October 15, 1997

About the author

George Vincent Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels.

Reviews

[Tom Calvard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a typical Higgins novel as it is more about politics and public corruption than it is about crime and criminals exactly. As other reviews have noted, it takes a while to get into, but is quite rewarding once you get further in. Lots of interesting conversations and characters and overlapping stories are skilfully woven together. The message is more important than the plot - the idea that the political game and values that go with it change every few decades. The attention to detail into the lives and contexts of different layers of American society I found very absorbing. From wealthy golf club members to lifelong criminals out on parole, there's an incredible range of lives and systems to reflect on.

[Lyndi McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Canadian it took awhile to become familiar with the US judicial system terms and roles but I was fascinated with the "exposure" of the under the table deals in hiring and advancing friends and relatives that took place in the 60's and onwards. The system changed to prosecute those who benefited from the deals yet behind closed door arrangements were still going on.

The book is very wordy so the reader can become bogged down in the details otherwise it is a good read.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

[library audiobook]

5 stars because I really liked the monologues, strung together. Lots of inside baseball about the courts and Massachusetts politics. I concede there's not much plot movement, and the narrative jumps around.

Whenever Higgins comes up on the library website, I will download.

[Philip Girvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Higgins does a masterful job of spinning a story that ends almost exactly where it began. The richness of the characters, and the breadth of the storytelling make the book an incredible read.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audio I just do not have patience for this form of story telling

[Schuyler Krizay · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow. absolute travesty that there are only 29 ratings of this novel and EIGHT reviews... one of the great noir novelists

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book, only that it suffered from some of the problems others Higgins work does: too many characters, too poorly defined by appearance (at times,) and you've got a full stage. He is still a master about pulling human behavior up for examination, and in this book it would also be nepotism, the nature of politics (and it's changes), friendship, relationships, drug behaviors and addictions, the behavior in small towns, ambition--in other words, the human drama. I'm not saying it's a bad book, it just took me a bit longer to read to keep everyone straight in the cast of characters. It's points about us as humans was on target and still relevant today.

[Michael P.]

I read about one-sixth of this book and wondered why. Higgins has a good reputation, but the portion I read had no dialogue to speak of, no story, not even a clear direction for the plot. It was just a series of monologues, monologues that seemed to lack direction. The speakers were unpleasant and the verbal styles were hard to differentiate from each other. I don’t doubt that some direction would eventually emerge and, looking back, it would be seen to have been there all the time, but this is a long book and the portion I read was not fun for me. Bye, bye.

[Madhatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of his best, but slowly pulls you in.