What do you think?
Rate this book
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
'The best crime novel ever written' - Elmore Leonard'If you haven't read George V. Higgins you can't call yourself a fan of crime fiction' Val McDermid'Higgins deserves to stand in the company of Chandler and Hammett as one of the true innovators in crime fiction' Scott TurowWhen small-time gunrunner Eddie Coyle is convicted on a felony, he's looking at three years in the pen - that is, unless he sells out one of his big-fish clients to the DA. But which of the many hoods, gunmen and executioners he calls his friends should he send up river? Set on the mean streets of Boston and told almost entirely in crackling dialogue by a vivid cast of cops and lowlifes, The Friends of Eddie Coyle set a standard for authentically gritty crime fiction that has never been bettered.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1971
761 people are currently reading
11759 people want to read
About the author
George V. Higgins
75 books262 followersGeorge Vincent Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,094 reviews
October 12, 2025
FAT CITY
Con amici come questi non hai bisogno di nemici.
Il romanzo uscì nel 1972 e solamente un anno dopo fu la volta del film.
Higgins all’epoca era un magistrato.
La sua storia è quanto di più lontano si possa immaginare dalle crime novel a caratteri cubitali come sono quelle di Winslow, come fu il più o meno contemporaneo “Il padrino” di Mario Puzo.
Molto vicina invece al realismo ordinario di un George Pelekanos.
Aspetto che mi seduce.
Splendido Robert Mitchum nella parte di Eddie Coyle, se la cuce addosso come un vestito fatto su misura.
Eddie Coyle, il protagonista del titolo, è un delinquente di piccolo calibro: acquista armi per ladri seri, professionisti delle rapine in banca – oppure guida camion con merce rubata.
Una mezza tacca nel sottobosco della malavita, uno che sbarca il lunario e mantiene una famiglia (moglie più tre figli) con lavoretti dalla parte sbagliata della legge.
I suoi crimini sono così poca roba che è costretto ad arrotondare facendo l’informatore.
Molto bello anche l’uso delle maschere nella rapine, tutti i rapinatori indossano maschere e vestiti uguali, cambiandoli da una rapina all’altra.
Eddie Coyle non ha amici, come sempre succede nel suo mondo.
Gli amici sono probabilmente solo quelli del tizio che gli commissionò una pistola, Eddie gliela procurò, l’arma si rivelò ‘segnata’, il tizio finì in prigione per quindici anni, i suoi ‘amici’ pensarono a Eddie, e gli fracassarono la mano chiudendogliela in un cassetto: e così gli regalarono il soprannome “Fingers”, le quarte nocche alla stessa mano.
Quel genere di amici di cui parla un proverbio (Dagli amici mi guardi dio, che dai nemici mi guardo io)
Ambientato a Boston, costruito essenzialmente sul dialogo, le descrizioni ridotte all’osso, rimane un classico, e continua a conquistare e stupire per il suo realismo.
Peter Boyle nella parte di Dillon. L’anno dopo, 1974, uscì “Frankenstein Junior”.
Il film è ancora eccellente, un ottimo esempio del cinema americano di quell’epoca, epoca che fu una rivoluzione. La regia è di Peter Yates, che ci ha regalato quel capolavoro di “Bullit”. Il cast è perfetto: Peter Boyle, che Mel Brooks ha reso immortale, Richard Jordan, nella sua interpretazione probabilmente migliore, tra i rapinatori c’è un vero gangster. Memorabile l’interpretazione di Mitchum che rende a meraviglia questo piccolo criminale, così infimo che non ha neppure diritto al fatidico viale del tramonto, per lui si tratta soltanto di un sentiero verso il tramonto.
E come non pensare a quel magnifico film di John Huston, appunto "Fat City-Città amara", che uscì l'anno prima di quello di Yates, e ha atmosfera così simile?!
Richard Jordan interpreta il poliziotto Foley. Il film di Peter Yates è del 1973, soltanto un anno dopo l’uscita del romanzo, un adattamento di insolita rapidità.
Con amici come questi non hai bisogno di nemici.
Il romanzo uscì nel 1972 e solamente un anno dopo fu la volta del film.
Higgins all’epoca era un magistrato.
La sua storia è quanto di più lontano si possa immaginare dalle crime novel a caratteri cubitali come sono quelle di Winslow, come fu il più o meno contemporaneo “Il padrino” di Mario Puzo.
Molto vicina invece al realismo ordinario di un George Pelekanos.
Aspetto che mi seduce.
Splendido Robert Mitchum nella parte di Eddie Coyle, se la cuce addosso come un vestito fatto su misura.
Eddie Coyle, il protagonista del titolo, è un delinquente di piccolo calibro: acquista armi per ladri seri, professionisti delle rapine in banca – oppure guida camion con merce rubata.
Una mezza tacca nel sottobosco della malavita, uno che sbarca il lunario e mantiene una famiglia (moglie più tre figli) con lavoretti dalla parte sbagliata della legge.
I suoi crimini sono così poca roba che è costretto ad arrotondare facendo l’informatore.
Molto bello anche l’uso delle maschere nella rapine, tutti i rapinatori indossano maschere e vestiti uguali, cambiandoli da una rapina all’altra.
Eddie Coyle non ha amici, come sempre succede nel suo mondo.
Gli amici sono probabilmente solo quelli del tizio che gli commissionò una pistola, Eddie gliela procurò, l’arma si rivelò ‘segnata’, il tizio finì in prigione per quindici anni, i suoi ‘amici’ pensarono a Eddie, e gli fracassarono la mano chiudendogliela in un cassetto: e così gli regalarono il soprannome “Fingers”, le quarte nocche alla stessa mano.
Quel genere di amici di cui parla un proverbio (Dagli amici mi guardi dio, che dai nemici mi guardo io)
Ambientato a Boston, costruito essenzialmente sul dialogo, le descrizioni ridotte all’osso, rimane un classico, e continua a conquistare e stupire per il suo realismo.
Peter Boyle nella parte di Dillon. L’anno dopo, 1974, uscì “Frankenstein Junior”.
Il film è ancora eccellente, un ottimo esempio del cinema americano di quell’epoca, epoca che fu una rivoluzione. La regia è di Peter Yates, che ci ha regalato quel capolavoro di “Bullit”. Il cast è perfetto: Peter Boyle, che Mel Brooks ha reso immortale, Richard Jordan, nella sua interpretazione probabilmente migliore, tra i rapinatori c’è un vero gangster. Memorabile l’interpretazione di Mitchum che rende a meraviglia questo piccolo criminale, così infimo che non ha neppure diritto al fatidico viale del tramonto, per lui si tratta soltanto di un sentiero verso il tramonto.
E come non pensare a quel magnifico film di John Huston, appunto "Fat City-Città amara", che uscì l'anno prima di quello di Yates, e ha atmosfera così simile?!
Richard Jordan interpreta il poliziotto Foley. Il film di Peter Yates è del 1973, soltanto un anno dopo l’uscita del romanzo, un adattamento di insolita rapidità.
January 2, 2014
Gun runner Eddie Coyle is facing jail time for some hijacked booze. While trying to procure some guns for a friend of his for a string of bank robberies, Coyle decides to drop a dime on the man he's buying from. But will that be enough? And what will happen to Eddie once people hear he's a fink?
Elmore Leonard called this the best crime novel ever written. Dennis Lehane called it a game changer. Raylan Givens even mentioned it on an episode of Justified. I figured I should give it a read.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a lot more challenging than you'd think a slim crime novel would be. It's mostly dialogue and a lot is left up to the reader to figure out. However, it's also clearly the spiritual ancestor of a lot of crime novels that came after. I was immediately reminded of the works of Elmore Leonard and Richard Stark, and the Boston setting reminded me of Lehane's work set in Bean Town.
Speaking of his friends, they're more like co-workers in that most of the characters are criminals, including Eddie. Even the cops are kind of shady. I wasn't sure who was lying to who for a great portion of the book.
Eddie's a conflicted character, not wanting to be a rat exactly but also not wanting to go jail. Even though he got what he deserved in the end, I still felt a little sorry for him.
Higgins' punchy dialogue is the star of the show. It holds up to the standards of today's crime fiction and probably inspired a lot of it, directly or indirectly.
The book's strength is also its weakness, however. Since it's mostly dialogue, it's hard to keep the characters straight at times and the only characters with any degree of substance are Eddie Coyle and Detective Foley.
I wouldn't say it's the greatest crime novel ever written but The Friends of Eddie Coyle is definitely worth your time. Four out of five stars.
Elmore Leonard called this the best crime novel ever written. Dennis Lehane called it a game changer. Raylan Givens even mentioned it on an episode of Justified. I figured I should give it a read.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a lot more challenging than you'd think a slim crime novel would be. It's mostly dialogue and a lot is left up to the reader to figure out. However, it's also clearly the spiritual ancestor of a lot of crime novels that came after. I was immediately reminded of the works of Elmore Leonard and Richard Stark, and the Boston setting reminded me of Lehane's work set in Bean Town.
Speaking of his friends, they're more like co-workers in that most of the characters are criminals, including Eddie. Even the cops are kind of shady. I wasn't sure who was lying to who for a great portion of the book.
Eddie's a conflicted character, not wanting to be a rat exactly but also not wanting to go jail. Even though he got what he deserved in the end, I still felt a little sorry for him.
Higgins' punchy dialogue is the star of the show. It holds up to the standards of today's crime fiction and probably inspired a lot of it, directly or indirectly.
The book's strength is also its weakness, however. Since it's mostly dialogue, it's hard to keep the characters straight at times and the only characters with any degree of substance are Eddie Coyle and Detective Foley.
I wouldn't say it's the greatest crime novel ever written but The Friends of Eddie Coyle is definitely worth your time. Four out of five stars.
July 5, 2015
The strength of this brilliant crime novel lies in the dialog, which constitutes about eighty percent of the book. George V. Higgins had an excellent ear and captures perfectly the voices of all of the characters who populate the book. I really have no idea what a group of typical run-of-the-mill criminals would actually sound like, but this is about the most realistic sounding group of crooks--and cops--that I've ever encountered in a novel.
At the center of the book is a small-time Boston criminal named Eddie Coyle, and the conceit of the book is that Eddie really doesn't have any friends. He has guys that he hangs out with and guys that he works with, and cops that he negotiates with, but none of them really gives a good goddamn about Eddie and anyone of them would sell him out for a tired dime.
Of course Eddie's not above dealing his "friends" either. He's in a real jam, having been convicted of driving a truck filled with stolen booze and he's looking at a long stretch in the pen. Eddie's convinced that he really can't do the time and he's looking to make a trade with the authorities that will get him off the hook.
Eddie's been supplying guns to a group of bank robbers. Perhaps he could give up the guy who's supplying him with the guns; perhaps he could give up the robbers themselves, but would either or both be enough to get the prosecutor to back off?
Clearly there's no honor among thieves, or among the cops, for that matter. These guys are all working stiffs, just trying to get through the day, irrespective of which side of the law they happen to reside on. There are no good guys and no bad guys in this tale; you find yourself rooting for Eddie simply because you sympathize with the poor mope and not because he embodies any recognizable virtues.
Again, it's the dialog that makes this book a classic. It has the ring of authenticity and listening to these guys scheme, negotiate, plead and promise becomes almost an intimate experience. It's a book that no fan of the crime genre should miss.
At the center of the book is a small-time Boston criminal named Eddie Coyle, and the conceit of the book is that Eddie really doesn't have any friends. He has guys that he hangs out with and guys that he works with, and cops that he negotiates with, but none of them really gives a good goddamn about Eddie and anyone of them would sell him out for a tired dime.
Of course Eddie's not above dealing his "friends" either. He's in a real jam, having been convicted of driving a truck filled with stolen booze and he's looking at a long stretch in the pen. Eddie's convinced that he really can't do the time and he's looking to make a trade with the authorities that will get him off the hook.
Eddie's been supplying guns to a group of bank robbers. Perhaps he could give up the guy who's supplying him with the guns; perhaps he could give up the robbers themselves, but would either or both be enough to get the prosecutor to back off?
Clearly there's no honor among thieves, or among the cops, for that matter. These guys are all working stiffs, just trying to get through the day, irrespective of which side of the law they happen to reside on. There are no good guys and no bad guys in this tale; you find yourself rooting for Eddie simply because you sympathize with the poor mope and not because he embodies any recognizable virtues.
Again, it's the dialog that makes this book a classic. It has the ring of authenticity and listening to these guys scheme, negotiate, plead and promise becomes almost an intimate experience. It's a book that no fan of the crime genre should miss.
July 23, 2020
Con el verano llegan a mi vida las chanclas piscineras, las terracitas cerveceras, las refrescantes sandías y las novelas negras y/o policiacas. Soy, pues, en este tipo de novelas, un lector de temporada y con esta que aquí les traigo empiezo la de este año, una novela catalogada por muchos como de las más grandes y novedosas del género.
La verdad es que no sé muy bien por qué mantengo esta tradición veraniego-literaria. Rara vez disfruto de estas lecturas, o, si las disfruto, algunas, no muchas, es como si fuera un placer de segundo orden, algo así como una alegría piscinera en comparación con el gozo marítimo o la dicha oceánica. Así que a los amantes del género les recomiendo que, entre que soy una especie de dominguero en este campo aledaño a mi terreno habitual y que me estoy volviendo un jodido snob en esto de la lectura, pasen de mi calificación y se dejen aconsejar mejor por quién sepa de estas cosas.
La novela es un arsenal de diálogos, solo interrumpidos por breves acotaciones, que dicen los entendidos fueron la punta de lanza de muchos de los que vinieron después. Yo, pobre de mí, soy incapaz de apreciar estas novedades a balón pasado y simplemente puedo decir que la novela me ha entretenido, y no mucho pues es cortita y se lee en un par de tardes. Su argumento es pura teoría de juegos, una situación de esas en las que todos saldrían ganando si se quedaran calladitos pero que, lamentablemente, todos tienen incentivos a abrir la boca y, para su propia desgracia, todos se pirran por los incentivos. El resultado… estudien teoría de juegos o lean la novela… o refrésquense con la cerveza o con una raja de sandía bien fresquita y disfruten del verano.
La verdad es que no sé muy bien por qué mantengo esta tradición veraniego-literaria. Rara vez disfruto de estas lecturas, o, si las disfruto, algunas, no muchas, es como si fuera un placer de segundo orden, algo así como una alegría piscinera en comparación con el gozo marítimo o la dicha oceánica. Así que a los amantes del género les recomiendo que, entre que soy una especie de dominguero en este campo aledaño a mi terreno habitual y que me estoy volviendo un jodido snob en esto de la lectura, pasen de mi calificación y se dejen aconsejar mejor por quién sepa de estas cosas.
La novela es un arsenal de diálogos, solo interrumpidos por breves acotaciones, que dicen los entendidos fueron la punta de lanza de muchos de los que vinieron después. Yo, pobre de mí, soy incapaz de apreciar estas novedades a balón pasado y simplemente puedo decir que la novela me ha entretenido, y no mucho pues es cortita y se lee en un par de tardes. Su argumento es pura teoría de juegos, una situación de esas en las que todos saldrían ganando si se quedaran calladitos pero que, lamentablemente, todos tienen incentivos a abrir la boca y, para su propia desgracia, todos se pirran por los incentivos. El resultado… estudien teoría de juegos o lean la novela… o refrésquense con la cerveza o con una raja de sandía bien fresquita y disfruten del verano.
December 18, 2013
With friends like these, you certainly wouldn’t need any enemies…
Eddie Coyle is a low-level Boston mobster facing serious prison time after getting arrested for driving a truck of hijacked liquor. While awaiting his sentencing, Eddie tries to buy guns to supply to some buddies who have been robbing banks, but he’s also angling to rat out his gun dealer to the cops in order to get out of going to jail.
I’ve been hearing about this book for quite a while, and I was worried that it couldn’t live up to its reputation. When guys like Elmore Leonard are calling it the greatest crime novel ever written, that’s a high bar to clear. While I probably wouldn’t go quite that far, it’s easy to see why it’s so highly praised.
It’s deceptively simple in that it’s mainly just dialogue with little set-up so it takes a minute to understand who these characters are and what they’re talking about. It’s on the reader to fill in the story based on these conversations, but when it comes together near the end, you realize what a neat trick that George Higgins pulled off.
Higgins was an assistant US attorney in Massachusetts, and his first book has a casual authenticity that a couple of generations of crime writers would kill their own mothers to have. The cops are less interested in seeing justice done than they are in getting the guy they’ve currently got by the balls into giving them someone higher in the food chain to get them to relax their grip a bit. The guys who make their living from crime are aware that anyone in a pinch is a potential rat no matter how solid they’ve been in the past. The name of the game is having info on someone doing something worse than you and feeding them to the system.
I checked out the movie version starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle after reading it and found that it also deserves its reputation. There’s just something about the ‘70s that give good crime movies of the era a nice sleazy feel.
Eddie Coyle is a low-level Boston mobster facing serious prison time after getting arrested for driving a truck of hijacked liquor. While awaiting his sentencing, Eddie tries to buy guns to supply to some buddies who have been robbing banks, but he’s also angling to rat out his gun dealer to the cops in order to get out of going to jail.
I’ve been hearing about this book for quite a while, and I was worried that it couldn’t live up to its reputation. When guys like Elmore Leonard are calling it the greatest crime novel ever written, that’s a high bar to clear. While I probably wouldn’t go quite that far, it’s easy to see why it’s so highly praised.
It’s deceptively simple in that it’s mainly just dialogue with little set-up so it takes a minute to understand who these characters are and what they’re talking about. It’s on the reader to fill in the story based on these conversations, but when it comes together near the end, you realize what a neat trick that George Higgins pulled off.
Higgins was an assistant US attorney in Massachusetts, and his first book has a casual authenticity that a couple of generations of crime writers would kill their own mothers to have. The cops are less interested in seeing justice done than they are in getting the guy they’ve currently got by the balls into giving them someone higher in the food chain to get them to relax their grip a bit. The guys who make their living from crime are aware that anyone in a pinch is a potential rat no matter how solid they’ve been in the past. The name of the game is having info on someone doing something worse than you and feeding them to the system.
I checked out the movie version starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle after reading it and found that it also deserves its reputation. There’s just something about the ‘70s that give good crime movies of the era a nice sleazy feel.
August 25, 2020
La maestría de esta novela se encuentra en los diálogos.
George V. Higgins ha influido, entre otros, a Quentin Tarantino.
Esta novela es puro diálogo. Divertida, ágil. Para mí gusto, le falta un poco de desarrollo de la acción. Por lo demás, excelente.
Quién quiera leer una novela parecida a un guión cinematográfico, esta es, sin duda, una buena opción.
The mastery of this novel lies in the dialogues.
George v. Higgins has influenced, among others, Quentin Tarantino.
This novel is pure dialogue. Fun, agile. To my thinking, it lacks a little development of the action. Otherwise, it is excellent.
If you want to read a novel similar to a film script, this is certainly a good choice.
George V. Higgins ha influido, entre otros, a Quentin Tarantino.
Esta novela es puro diálogo. Divertida, ágil. Para mí gusto, le falta un poco de desarrollo de la acción. Por lo demás, excelente.
Quién quiera leer una novela parecida a un guión cinematográfico, esta es, sin duda, una buena opción.
The mastery of this novel lies in the dialogues.
George v. Higgins has influenced, among others, Quentin Tarantino.
This novel is pure dialogue. Fun, agile. To my thinking, it lacks a little development of the action. Otherwise, it is excellent.
If you want to read a novel similar to a film script, this is certainly a good choice.
March 16, 2023
4 stars
The jacket of this classic cops-'n-robbers crime novel from 1971 says that it inspired many later popular crime thriller writers. (Think: Elmore Leonard)
"Eddie Coyle" may be a great read, but isn't an easy read. And here's why:
1) It's mostly dialogue, often without any dialogue tags (= "Eddie said"). You have to work out from context who is speaking.
2) There is no introduction to characters nor to the situation. The reader is dropped straight into the middle of things and left to swim on their own. It takes a good while to figure out who is who and what is what.
3) The blatant sexism/racism of the low-life characters and cops of 1970 is going to be hard for readers in our current PC times to stomach. If reading in English, be prepared for the n-word and other ethnic slurs to be casually bandied about a few times.
But with all that said, the Byzantine structure of the story, the lies and double-crosses, the tipping off the cops to save your own hide, the set up of gun running and bank jobs -- makes "Eddie Coyle" into an odd type of enjoyable puzzle, adding mystery elements to what is essentially a crime novel about a series of bank jobs.
Through the uneven reveal of information and the hazy quality of the characters, Higgins very cleverly puts the reader in the shoes of the cops, attempting to piece together on half-knowledge and theories who is committing what crime and who is in the know.
In short: "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" is a challenging novel on many levels. But for the right reader, it can be a highly rewarding experience.
And one that - just to get all the details straight- you'll probably want to read again.
The jacket of this classic cops-'n-robbers crime novel from 1971 says that it inspired many later popular crime thriller writers. (Think: Elmore Leonard)
"Eddie Coyle" may be a great read, but isn't an easy read. And here's why:
1) It's mostly dialogue, often without any dialogue tags (= "Eddie said"). You have to work out from context who is speaking.
2) There is no introduction to characters nor to the situation. The reader is dropped straight into the middle of things and left to swim on their own. It takes a good while to figure out who is who and what is what.
3) The blatant sexism/racism of the low-life characters and cops of 1970 is going to be hard for readers in our current PC times to stomach. If reading in English, be prepared for the n-word and other ethnic slurs to be casually bandied about a few times.
But with all that said, the Byzantine structure of the story, the lies and double-crosses, the tipping off the cops to save your own hide, the set up of gun running and bank jobs -- makes "Eddie Coyle" into an odd type of enjoyable puzzle, adding mystery elements to what is essentially a crime novel about a series of bank jobs.
Through the uneven reveal of information and the hazy quality of the characters, Higgins very cleverly puts the reader in the shoes of the cops, attempting to piece together on half-knowledge and theories who is committing what crime and who is in the know.
In short: "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" is a challenging novel on many levels. But for the right reader, it can be a highly rewarding experience.
And one that - just to get all the details straight- you'll probably want to read again.
September 1, 2017
3.5/ Es la primera novela que leo de Higgins y su estilo directo, casi sin narración, solo con diálogos me ha gustado. La trama está muy bien, muestra sin ningún apego tanto a los malos como a los buenos; como si estuviera explicando algo sin importancia.
May 19, 2014
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is a solid crime novel, in which suspicion is normal, and nothing is glamourous. It takes place mostly, but not entirely, in dialogue, which is amazingly well written.
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
June 13, 2017
This was a difficult read for me from page one as I was unable to pick a "friend" to root for. Whenever I read a book I pick a character which I like and over the course of the book I love and hate this character by what he/she does. And sometimes I switched sides too by dumping this one for someone more smart/good. It was so hard to pick a bad guy to hate let alone someone good to love in this book.
Eddie Coyle is facing jail time and to save himself he give little (not full) information to police. The police in turn to get to the root of the crime tip someone else about Eddie to extract more information about this crime, all the while keeping Coyle on the book.When things take a turn for worse Eddie wants to save himself but also wants to be loyal to his so called "friends" because of a bad experience in past. The worst thing is that everyone knows that Coyle is facing jail time, and soon he finds himself in the middle of this mess.
One of the strong point of this book is its dialogues. Since most of the book is covered by these dialogues, so they make up for awesome conversations among characters. They're captivating, funny, sarcastic, vile, and to the point. Also they show the kind of men these gangsters and law people are.
Higgins, who himself was an assistant U.S. attorney gives a real picture of 1970s crime scene of America. No one is a saint, be it a gangster or a cop. The only thing that matter is to keep doing the job, and stay clear off law. Everyone is using everyone, just don't ask for or expect loyalty.
If you're a crime genre fan, then its a must read for you.
P.S: The edition that I read has an awesome introduction by Dennis Lehane and it pretty much sums up the book in most simple words.
Eddie Coyle is facing jail time and to save himself he give little (not full) information to police. The police in turn to get to the root of the crime tip someone else about Eddie to extract more information about this crime, all the while keeping Coyle on the book.When things take a turn for worse Eddie wants to save himself but also wants to be loyal to his so called "friends" because of a bad experience in past. The worst thing is that everyone knows that Coyle is facing jail time, and soon he finds himself in the middle of this mess.
One of the strong point of this book is its dialogues. Since most of the book is covered by these dialogues, so they make up for awesome conversations among characters. They're captivating, funny, sarcastic, vile, and to the point. Also they show the kind of men these gangsters and law people are.
Higgins, who himself was an assistant U.S. attorney gives a real picture of 1970s crime scene of America. No one is a saint, be it a gangster or a cop. The only thing that matter is to keep doing the job, and stay clear off law. Everyone is using everyone, just don't ask for or expect loyalty.
If you're a crime genre fan, then its a must read for you.
P.S: The edition that I read has an awesome introduction by Dennis Lehane and it pretty much sums up the book in most simple words.
February 17, 2013
"The best crime novel ever written." - Elmore Leonard
"What I can't get over is that so good a first novel was written by the fuzz." - Norman Mailer
George Higgins was an assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusets when he set out to document the new reality of hardboiled criminal life in and around Boston with the story of Eddie Coyle. Told mostly in conversation the plot loosely revolves around petty criminal Eddie Coyle facing a sentencing trial and working to maneuver himself out of it with the assistance of a cop acquaintance. But this plot merely serves as a framework for what is for criminal behaviour what the police procedural is for police work. The crooked grind, the criminal routine, the underworld modus operandi.
It's all fly on the way stuff with dialogue feeling so authentic you have to retune your brain to the sounds of criminal class Boston, the kind of stuff Elmore Leonard is widely praised for but better. When not in conversation TFOEC is narrated with the kind of matter of fact attention to detail you might find in a Martin Beck or 87th Precinct novel for example, it's dry in itself but the subject matter isn't. The action might largely appear to be happening in between these chapters of conversation but the combination of dialogue and narration create a portrait of the life of these people, their criminal actions, the lifestyle choice, that will certainly serve as an anthropological study and an entertaining crime read for future generations.
"What I can't get over is that so good a first novel was written by the fuzz." - Norman Mailer
George Higgins was an assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusets when he set out to document the new reality of hardboiled criminal life in and around Boston with the story of Eddie Coyle. Told mostly in conversation the plot loosely revolves around petty criminal Eddie Coyle facing a sentencing trial and working to maneuver himself out of it with the assistance of a cop acquaintance. But this plot merely serves as a framework for what is for criminal behaviour what the police procedural is for police work. The crooked grind, the criminal routine, the underworld modus operandi.
It's all fly on the way stuff with dialogue feeling so authentic you have to retune your brain to the sounds of criminal class Boston, the kind of stuff Elmore Leonard is widely praised for but better. When not in conversation TFOEC is narrated with the kind of matter of fact attention to detail you might find in a Martin Beck or 87th Precinct novel for example, it's dry in itself but the subject matter isn't. The action might largely appear to be happening in between these chapters of conversation but the combination of dialogue and narration create a portrait of the life of these people, their criminal actions, the lifestyle choice, that will certainly serve as an anthropological study and an entertaining crime read for future generations.
July 25, 2020
This story of crime and consequences in the Boston underworld, based loosely on Whitey Bulger's associates, reads more like a play than a novel. Higgins allows plot and character to emerge mostly through a series of conversations, accompanied by a very minor amount of descriptive prose that reads almost like stage direction, and the result is a brutally bleak look at the inevitably ill-fated outcomes of crime and the indifference of the relentless justice system. The stark, realistic dialogue and unglamorized story has earned the novel a number of well-earned plaudits, and no less than Elmore Leonard insisted that it is the best crime novel ever written.
April 6, 2017
The textbook.
July 20, 2022
Henry, Tommy and the fellas are drinking, laughing and having a good time discussing George V. Higgins 1970 novel The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
Tommy: So I says to the cop, what’re you still doing here, I thought I told you to go –
[all laugh]
Anthony: So waddabout Higgins book?
Tommy: Waddabout it?
Henry: It’s great, some guys say it’s the best crime novel ever.
Paulie: Since when you read books?
Tommy: Henry can’t read, don’t let him fool you.
Anthony: No, I liked it too, great dialogue. Except none of the Irish mob in Boston are that smart.
Tommy: Yeah, it was ok, I liked the characters, that Jackie Brown was good, I’d like to run across a gun runner that green.
Paulie: What green? He got caught up in the racket.
Henry: Well Higgins was a cop too, so he knows how to write about goodfellas.
Tommy: Higgins knows ****, he wrote a book about some made up guys, they don’t know how we really talk.
Paulie: Listen to this one, they don’t know, will you even listen to yourself, Higgins dialogue sounds like it came from this table!
Tommy: You’re a ****, like you know literature.
Anthony: What literature? It’s a crime book, a great crime book, probably inspired lots of crime writing since. Somebody’s gonna make a movie about guys like that, guys like us.
Tommy: You’re a real wiseguy you know, a real ****.
Paulie: We follow Eddie, this low level goon who’s on trial for a liquor run what went south and he’s waiting for his sentencing and he gets in more trouble running guns for Scalisi’s crew and then things get even more whacked.
Tommy: Whacked? Who got whacked? That’s a bad word, no one’s getting whacked. [mimics a gun being pulled]
[all laugh]
Henry: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.
Tommy: What do you mean I'm funny?
Henry: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
[laughs]
Tommy: What do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?
Henry: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, you know the way you tell the story and everything.
Tommy: [it becomes quiet] Funny how? What's funny about it?
Anthony: Tommy no, you got it all wrong.
Tommy: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?
Henry: Jus...
Tommy: What?
Henry: Just... ya know... you're funny.
Tommy: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little ******* up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ******' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
Henry: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?
Tommy: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the **** am I funny, what the **** is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!
Henry: [long pause] Get the **** out of here, Tommy!
Tommy: [everyone laughs] Ya ************! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.
Tommy: So I says to the cop, what’re you still doing here, I thought I told you to go –
[all laugh]
Anthony: So waddabout Higgins book?
Tommy: Waddabout it?
Henry: It’s great, some guys say it’s the best crime novel ever.
Paulie: Since when you read books?
Tommy: Henry can’t read, don’t let him fool you.
Anthony: No, I liked it too, great dialogue. Except none of the Irish mob in Boston are that smart.
Tommy: Yeah, it was ok, I liked the characters, that Jackie Brown was good, I’d like to run across a gun runner that green.
Paulie: What green? He got caught up in the racket.
Henry: Well Higgins was a cop too, so he knows how to write about goodfellas.
Tommy: Higgins knows ****, he wrote a book about some made up guys, they don’t know how we really talk.
Paulie: Listen to this one, they don’t know, will you even listen to yourself, Higgins dialogue sounds like it came from this table!
Tommy: You’re a ****, like you know literature.
Anthony: What literature? It’s a crime book, a great crime book, probably inspired lots of crime writing since. Somebody’s gonna make a movie about guys like that, guys like us.
Tommy: You’re a real wiseguy you know, a real ****.
Paulie: We follow Eddie, this low level goon who’s on trial for a liquor run what went south and he’s waiting for his sentencing and he gets in more trouble running guns for Scalisi’s crew and then things get even more whacked.
Tommy: Whacked? Who got whacked? That’s a bad word, no one’s getting whacked. [mimics a gun being pulled]
[all laugh]
Henry: You're a pistol, you're really funny. You're really funny.
Tommy: What do you mean I'm funny?
Henry: It's funny, you know. It's a good story, it's funny, you're a funny guy.
[laughs]
Tommy: What do you mean, you mean the way I talk? What?
Henry: It's just, you know. You're just funny, it's... funny, you know the way you tell the story and everything.
Tommy: [it becomes quiet] Funny how? What's funny about it?
Anthony: Tommy no, you got it all wrong.
Tommy: Oh, oh, Anthony. He's a big boy, he knows what he said. What did ya say? Funny how?
Henry: Jus...
Tommy: What?
Henry: Just... ya know... you're funny.
Tommy: You mean, let me understand this cause, ya know maybe it's me, I'm a little ******* up maybe, but I'm funny how, I mean funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh, I'm here to ******' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?
Henry: Just... you know, how you tell the story, what?
Tommy: No, no, I don't know, you said it. How do I know? You said I'm funny. How the **** am I funny, what the **** is so funny about me? Tell me, tell me what's funny!
Henry: [long pause] Get the **** out of here, Tommy!
Tommy: [everyone laughs] Ya ************! I almost had him, I almost had him. Ya stuttering prick ya. Frankie, was he shaking? I wonder about you sometimes, Henry. You may fold under questioning.
January 29, 2025
Eddie "Fingers" Coyle is in trouble. He's a thief and a con man and a low-level mobster who was rounded up on a felony beef in New Hampshire. The DA copped him a deal that he could serve a lesser sentence if he just gives them a few names. You know: some of his friends. The problem: Eddie doesn't have friends. He has people he knows who work with him on occasional jobs, and he knows that if he squeals, and it gets back to them (and it will), having a lesser prison sentence will be a moot point anyway.
This is the basic premise of George V. Higgins's now-classic crime thriller "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", first published in 1971. It is considered to be one of the top ten best American crime novels of the 20th century, according to Dennis Lehane in the foreword, and Lehane knows his shit.
If you've ever read an Elmore Leonard novel or seen a Quentin Tarantino movie, then you've at least experienced the feel of a Higgins novel. Higgins was a huge influence on both Leonard and Tarantino, as well as anyone who writes in the crime genre. They are gritty and violent and they ring true.
They ring true, in large part, due to the fact that Higgins was, for a significant part of his life, a lawyer in Boston. On top of that, he was a lawyer for an anti-organized crime unit. He had conversations with some of the biggest mobsters in Boston and on the East Coast. He was privy to the ins and outs of mob crimes. If anybody could write accurately about Boston crime---outside of actual Boston criminals---it was Higgins.
A note on the book's format: "TFOEC" is written almost entirely in dialogue, with very few attributions. It gets confusing, sometimes, when you're not sure who is talking and to whom, but, after a while, you start to figure it out. Also, you won't be too upset because it is some of the best fucking dialogue ever written.
This is the basic premise of George V. Higgins's now-classic crime thriller "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", first published in 1971. It is considered to be one of the top ten best American crime novels of the 20th century, according to Dennis Lehane in the foreword, and Lehane knows his shit.
If you've ever read an Elmore Leonard novel or seen a Quentin Tarantino movie, then you've at least experienced the feel of a Higgins novel. Higgins was a huge influence on both Leonard and Tarantino, as well as anyone who writes in the crime genre. They are gritty and violent and they ring true.
They ring true, in large part, due to the fact that Higgins was, for a significant part of his life, a lawyer in Boston. On top of that, he was a lawyer for an anti-organized crime unit. He had conversations with some of the biggest mobsters in Boston and on the East Coast. He was privy to the ins and outs of mob crimes. If anybody could write accurately about Boston crime---outside of actual Boston criminals---it was Higgins.
A note on the book's format: "TFOEC" is written almost entirely in dialogue, with very few attributions. It gets confusing, sometimes, when you're not sure who is talking and to whom, but, after a while, you start to figure it out. Also, you won't be too upset because it is some of the best fucking dialogue ever written.
October 8, 2017
Sometime near the end of the previous century, when I was applying to MFA programs, one of the schools required samples in various disciplines, not just prose fiction, so I cranked out a neo-noir script that their film prof ended up getting mildly excited about, although he couldn't help adding it owed something to Tarantino. He must have been referring to my two assassins who discussed things like poetry and history in between whacking people, but I hadn't meant to ape Pulp Fiction at all. I think some things were just in the air—this was simply a place that screenwriting needed to go at that point. Tarantino isn't the father of this, anyway. Crime stories wandering happily away from their plots is at least as old as The Big Sleep: Chandler was an essentially lyrical writer, more interested in the chatter of a guy working the front desk, or in the non-sound that an empty room makes, than he ever was in plot.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle does all that beside-the-point stuff better than any crime novel I know. A cop complains about a grilled cheese he suffered through at a drug store counter. His chief tells him you need to add mayo—not that salad dressing some people call mayo, but real mayo made with eggs. This discussion takes up two pages. In another scene an old crook explains to a young crook how the mob once slammed his hand in a drawer (read: broke all his fingers)—when the weather's cold it still hurts. The dialogue, which dominates every page, is justly famous (and Higgins does it largely without working blue, although I cherish the line about the guy who "would fuck a dog with scarlet fever to get parole"). Having said this, the plot itself is plenty sturdy, a minor-key tragedy about a "stocky man" who digs his own grave. As Dennis Lehane rather pitilessly points out in his foreword, even Higgins himself was never able to write something this good again. As with other great novels, you find yourself wondering how in the world he did it.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle does all that beside-the-point stuff better than any crime novel I know. A cop complains about a grilled cheese he suffered through at a drug store counter. His chief tells him you need to add mayo—not that salad dressing some people call mayo, but real mayo made with eggs. This discussion takes up two pages. In another scene an old crook explains to a young crook how the mob once slammed his hand in a drawer (read: broke all his fingers)—when the weather's cold it still hurts. The dialogue, which dominates every page, is justly famous (and Higgins does it largely without working blue, although I cherish the line about the guy who "would fuck a dog with scarlet fever to get parole"). Having said this, the plot itself is plenty sturdy, a minor-key tragedy about a "stocky man" who digs his own grave. As Dennis Lehane rather pitilessly points out in his foreword, even Higgins himself was never able to write something this good again. As with other great novels, you find yourself wondering how in the world he did it.
April 23, 2012
"This life's hard, but it's harder if you're stupid."
Don't trust cops. Don't trust crooked cops especially. In his defense Serpico wasn't released yet. Maybe he didn't know any better? Don't be a sap, Mariel! There's no excuse. Eddie Coyle, known to frenemies as Eddie Fingers, is too fucking stupid to walk the streets a free man. George V. Higgins's The Friends of Eddie Coyle is watching someone get stabbed in the back that should never have been turned in the first place by all of the low life's that Boston had to offer. Did you know that Boston had criminals before Ben Affleck was around starring in blockbusters? Hard to believe. Don't be gullible, Mariel! Look what happened to Eddie!
Hey, maybe prison won't be so bad. If you flush the tank of your toilet enough times the water will be hot enough to cook those cup of soup things. It's just like that scene in Goodfellas when Paul Sorvino slices those pieces of garlic so perfectly. Cook the meat (don't ask me where you'll get meat) with a frayed extension cord. A fire can easily be started by sticking a pencil in an electrical socket. (The meanest thing anyone has ever told me was when I was eleven. My sister's then boyfriend told me that I would grow up to be Marge's sister on The Simpsons. "I would never like Macguyver!" I AM Macguyver, you a-hole!) You could do that standing on your head! Of course, if there are sidewalk sharks then there are sharks in the big tank too. My mom thought she made friends when she went to jail. She told it like it was Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail. "I'm Madea!" "You are not Madea," I said. "I don't get no piece?" She helped another inmate carry their tote. It was very sweet sounding. I'm sure they were all very friendly. Hey, my mom did tell me "YOU wouldn't make friends in rehab, Mariel." Only I wouldn't make friends in rehab. No one likes me! So it is possible that Eddie could make friends in jail. Maybe I'm just cynical after reading The Friends of Eddie Coyle because the hard bitten criminals he already knew weren't such nice guys. Everywhere I look there are snakes looking to turn you in for something. Maybe one of those stupid statutes they have in Florida. I have showered naked in Florida. If I had friends and an open door policy I could be in some big trouble.
The crooked cop is named Dave Foley. Because I am not stupid my favorite Kid in the Hall is Bruce. Other people I know may not be so lucky... Don't be stupid! Don't trust people with names like Little John or Big James either. Not that those people are in this book either. But you never know if someone will allow themselves to be referred to by such names. I refused my sister to call her baby Mariel because I didn't want to become Big Mariel. With good reason! Sure, they thought I was a heartless bitch. No one likes me and I don't know why. (Big James and Little John had a great thing going. They get away with everything by blaming each other. Funny, it has put a crimp in their friendship. But that's WHY they get away with everything! These are not people in this book. I won't tell you any more because someone might steal my idea for a reality tv show... You can't trust people these days...) Jackie Brown is a very '70s criminal name, isn't it? What has Eddie been doing with his time, other than toying with buying a color teevee for his lady? (She wouldn't appreciate it. Eddie can't do ANYTHING right.) Hasn't he seen Quentin Tarantino's film that came out decades later? Sheeeesh. What an idiot.
I pretty much just wanted to say that Eddie is so stupid that it is hard to feel sorry for him when he gets screwed over so badly by his so-called element. Peter Yates made a film version in 1973 starring Robert Mitchum as Eddie. I can't believe I haven't seen this. (I like Robert Mitchum when he's not getting sand in his ass crack.) Former friends of mine claim that I have seen every movie ever made. This is a lie! (That's one reason why I am not friends with them anymore. They went around spreading lies about me like that I am some kind of pale freak that stays inside all day reading or watching movies and showering in the nude.) The 1970s is still a sort of blind spot for me. I wonder if the movie might be just a bit better. Don't get me wrong (stop putting words in my mouth!), this is a great book. But I think Eddie would benefit if you could SEE how the wheels don't turn in his head. Watch the time between what people say and how he takes for granted that everyone is not just like him i.e. trying to beat a prison rap by trying to find someone else to turn in. How a snake can't slither fast enough in a snake pit, you know? The best thing about the book is watching the double faces on the slick words that comes out of everyone but Eddie's mouths. Eddie's mouth is lies that he is too stupid not to believe himself.
"Don't take it so hard. Some of us die, the rest of us get older, new guys come along, old guys disappear. It changes every day."
"It's hard to notice, though," Clark said.
"It is," the prosecutor said, "it certainly is."
I like how Higgins wrote about people by what they looked like. The stocky guy. They could be train car mustaches and tip toeing stripes hauling their own ball and chains behind them until they can't move lightly enough. I do find it really hard to accept how hard it is not to notice, too. Watch your back. Great book. The criminal world is faces just like that and if you forget what you're seeing is a mask that serves the underneath... Well, you'll probably end up like Eddie, or dead, anyway. Not that he wouldn't have done the exact same thing. I didn't forget what he was like, either.
Don't trust cops. Don't trust crooked cops especially. In his defense Serpico wasn't released yet. Maybe he didn't know any better? Don't be a sap, Mariel! There's no excuse. Eddie Coyle, known to frenemies as Eddie Fingers, is too fucking stupid to walk the streets a free man. George V. Higgins's The Friends of Eddie Coyle is watching someone get stabbed in the back that should never have been turned in the first place by all of the low life's that Boston had to offer. Did you know that Boston had criminals before Ben Affleck was around starring in blockbusters? Hard to believe. Don't be gullible, Mariel! Look what happened to Eddie!
Hey, maybe prison won't be so bad. If you flush the tank of your toilet enough times the water will be hot enough to cook those cup of soup things. It's just like that scene in Goodfellas when Paul Sorvino slices those pieces of garlic so perfectly. Cook the meat (don't ask me where you'll get meat) with a frayed extension cord. A fire can easily be started by sticking a pencil in an electrical socket. (The meanest thing anyone has ever told me was when I was eleven. My sister's then boyfriend told me that I would grow up to be Marge's sister on The Simpsons. "I would never like Macguyver!" I AM Macguyver, you a-hole!) You could do that standing on your head! Of course, if there are sidewalk sharks then there are sharks in the big tank too. My mom thought she made friends when she went to jail. She told it like it was Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail. "I'm Madea!" "You are not Madea," I said. "I don't get no piece?" She helped another inmate carry their tote. It was very sweet sounding. I'm sure they were all very friendly. Hey, my mom did tell me "YOU wouldn't make friends in rehab, Mariel." Only I wouldn't make friends in rehab. No one likes me! So it is possible that Eddie could make friends in jail. Maybe I'm just cynical after reading The Friends of Eddie Coyle because the hard bitten criminals he already knew weren't such nice guys. Everywhere I look there are snakes looking to turn you in for something. Maybe one of those stupid statutes they have in Florida. I have showered naked in Florida. If I had friends and an open door policy I could be in some big trouble.
The crooked cop is named Dave Foley. Because I am not stupid my favorite Kid in the Hall is Bruce. Other people I know may not be so lucky... Don't be stupid! Don't trust people with names like Little John or Big James either. Not that those people are in this book either. But you never know if someone will allow themselves to be referred to by such names. I refused my sister to call her baby Mariel because I didn't want to become Big Mariel. With good reason! Sure, they thought I was a heartless bitch. No one likes me and I don't know why. (Big James and Little John had a great thing going. They get away with everything by blaming each other. Funny, it has put a crimp in their friendship. But that's WHY they get away with everything! These are not people in this book. I won't tell you any more because someone might steal my idea for a reality tv show... You can't trust people these days...) Jackie Brown is a very '70s criminal name, isn't it? What has Eddie been doing with his time, other than toying with buying a color teevee for his lady? (She wouldn't appreciate it. Eddie can't do ANYTHING right.) Hasn't he seen Quentin Tarantino's film that came out decades later? Sheeeesh. What an idiot.
I pretty much just wanted to say that Eddie is so stupid that it is hard to feel sorry for him when he gets screwed over so badly by his so-called element. Peter Yates made a film version in 1973 starring Robert Mitchum as Eddie. I can't believe I haven't seen this. (I like Robert Mitchum when he's not getting sand in his ass crack.) Former friends of mine claim that I have seen every movie ever made. This is a lie! (That's one reason why I am not friends with them anymore. They went around spreading lies about me like that I am some kind of pale freak that stays inside all day reading or watching movies and showering in the nude.) The 1970s is still a sort of blind spot for me. I wonder if the movie might be just a bit better. Don't get me wrong (stop putting words in my mouth!), this is a great book. But I think Eddie would benefit if you could SEE how the wheels don't turn in his head. Watch the time between what people say and how he takes for granted that everyone is not just like him i.e. trying to beat a prison rap by trying to find someone else to turn in. How a snake can't slither fast enough in a snake pit, you know? The best thing about the book is watching the double faces on the slick words that comes out of everyone but Eddie's mouths. Eddie's mouth is lies that he is too stupid not to believe himself.
"Don't take it so hard. Some of us die, the rest of us get older, new guys come along, old guys disappear. It changes every day."
"It's hard to notice, though," Clark said.
"It is," the prosecutor said, "it certainly is."
I like how Higgins wrote about people by what they looked like. The stocky guy. They could be train car mustaches and tip toeing stripes hauling their own ball and chains behind them until they can't move lightly enough. I do find it really hard to accept how hard it is not to notice, too. Watch your back. Great book. The criminal world is faces just like that and if you forget what you're seeing is a mask that serves the underneath... Well, you'll probably end up like Eddie, or dead, anyway. Not that he wouldn't have done the exact same thing. I didn't forget what he was like, either.
December 30, 2019
I would not have heard of this old school crime classic if it weren't for Raylan Givens of the excellent Justified TV series, in the last ever episode he mentions this book, it looked interesting, I looked it up and according to Elmore Leonard, "the best crime novel ever", I immediately wanted to read it.
This book is relatively short at around 200pages and as the chapters are too it skips from different characters and scenarios making it a very easy book to read.
It's pretty much all dialogue and the author George V Higgins listened to hours upon hours of Police surveillance tapes so the dialogue would be as authentic as possible.
Eddie Coyle is a gunrunner for a crime syndicate who after being caught driving a hijacked vehicle is looking at a prison sentence, unless he turns informant for the ATF, of course, Eddie doesn't want to snitch, he also doesn't want a long stretch in the clink, what will he do?
Dealing with determined ATF agents such as Dave Foley and not wanting to tread on the toes of heavy villains Scalisi and Artie Van, and the Man pulling the strings, all does not go to plan, and I could sympathize to a degree, with Eddie's situation, despite it being his own fault entirely.
Best bet is to not know too much and just read this classic crime novel blind, easily readable in one sitting, I'd be interested to check out more of the authors work as well as other similar crime novels, not brilliant, but very a enjoyable 4 Stars.
This book is relatively short at around 200pages and as the chapters are too it skips from different characters and scenarios making it a very easy book to read.
It's pretty much all dialogue and the author George V Higgins listened to hours upon hours of Police surveillance tapes so the dialogue would be as authentic as possible.
Eddie Coyle is a gunrunner for a crime syndicate who after being caught driving a hijacked vehicle is looking at a prison sentence, unless he turns informant for the ATF, of course, Eddie doesn't want to snitch, he also doesn't want a long stretch in the clink, what will he do?
Dealing with determined ATF agents such as Dave Foley and not wanting to tread on the toes of heavy villains Scalisi and Artie Van, and the Man pulling the strings, all does not go to plan, and I could sympathize to a degree, with Eddie's situation, despite it being his own fault entirely.
Best bet is to not know too much and just read this classic crime novel blind, easily readable in one sitting, I'd be interested to check out more of the authors work as well as other similar crime novels, not brilliant, but very a enjoyable 4 Stars.
May 9, 2015
Decades after seeing Peter Yates's extraordinary film version of George V. Higgins's novel THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE, I finally got around to reading the book, which has a reputation for greatness commensurate with the film's. I love the film deeply. Now I love the book the same way. Higgins, whose first published novel this was, has, as almost every critic has noted, a preternatural gift for startlingly real dialog. Much of the book is written in dialog. None of it is precious or self-consciously "real." It simply is real. Just about every phrase sounds as though it had been recorded verbatim from actual conversation, yet none of it contains the painful gracelessness of actual everyday speech. Every character sounds colorful, but there's no pretense about it, no visible brush strokes. Higgins at the time he wrote this book was an Assistant United States Attorney, and his knowledge of the world of criminals and the law was authentic. This story, about a range of criminals, each connected in some way with a small-time crook named Eddie Coyle, and the law enforcement figures who oppose them go about their activities during a brief period of time. That Eddie Coyle is coming up for sentencing on a minor felony is the hinge upon which all the elements of the story turn. One gets the feeling reading the book that this must be what life for the average criminal and lawman is really like -- often dull or commonplace, punctuated by violence and folly, spoiled or accomplished with large helpings of coincidence and error. This book makes me very much want to read Higgins's other works. (And interpolated kudos to whoever thought to have Robert Mitchum play Eddie Coyle. It's a role one would think no one would consider Mitchum for, yet it became one of his very best and most successfully executed.)
November 8, 2022
Los amigos de Eddie Coyle
George V. Higgins, 1939-1999, fue periodista, abogado, fiscal y docente. Durante siete años trabajó para el estado en la lucha contra el crimen en la zona de Boston. Esto le dio inspiración para muchas de sus novelas.
En esta, publicada en 1970, cuenta la historia de Eddie Coyle, un delincuente común que espera una condena por contrabando. Eddie tiene muchos contactos, tanto en su entorno, traficantes, atracadores o asesinos, como en la policía. Para evitar la condena piensa en delatar a la policía a alguien de su entorno, pero no sabe a quién.
En un mundo donde todo el mundo desconfía de todo el mundo, Higgins muestra a sus personajes con diálogos llenos de humor negro, irónicos, cada uno dice y se calla lo que le conviene, se esconden traiciones y se dan falsas pistas. Se habla sin hablar de lo que se quiere hablar, pero dando a entender lo que se quiere decir.
El mismo título de la novela ya nos da una pista de la ironía de Higgins, porque Eddie Coyle en realidad no tiene amigos. Sus “amigos” en realidad son los delincuentes con los que trafica y el policía que le puede ayudar si delata a alguno de ellos.
Esta novela significó una revolución en la novela negra americana, nunca antes los diálogos tuvieron tanta relevancia. En el prólogo, Dennis Lehane dice entre otras cosas:
… “Ah, los diálogos… Constituyen más del ochenta por ciento de la novela y a nadie le importaría que fuesen el cien por cien. Nadie, antes o desde entonces, ha escrito unos diálogos tan escabrosos, divertidos, rayanos en la histeria, ni tan poderosamente auténticos.” ….
… “En muchas novelas, el diálogo es la sal y la trama es la comida. En Los amigos de Eddie Coyle, el diálogo es la comida. Y también es la trama, los personajes, la acción y todo el tinglado.”
Después del éxito de esta novela le decían a Higgins que le había salido por casualidad siendo su primera obra. Higgins dijo que había escrito 15 novelas antes, aunque todas fueron rechazadas, que de casualidad nada. Lo cierto es que en las siguientes novelas intentó seguir con esos diálogos, pero los resultados cada vez fueron peores.
En 1973, se estrenó la película del mismo nombre, protagonizada por el gran Robert Mitchum en el papel de Coyle y Peter Boyle como Dillon, que es el barman/asesino.
Quentin Tarantino admirador de Higgins por sus diálogos, usó el nombre de uno de los personajes para una de sus películas, Jackie Brown.
En España, en los 70, el libro se tradujo como “El Chivato” y para seguir con las torpezas, la película la titularon “El Confidente”, perdiéndose así, parte de la ironía de Los amigos de Eddie Coyle.
Para acabar una joya:
“Hacia el final del libro, un personaje le pregunta a otro: «¿No se termina nunca esta mierda? ¿Es que en este mundo las cosas no cambian nunca?». Y el otro personaje responde: «Pues claro que cambian. No te lo tomes tan a pecho. Algunos nos morimos, los demás envejecemos, llega gente nueva, los antiguos se marchan… Las cosas cambian todos los días».”
George V. Higgins, 1939-1999, fue periodista, abogado, fiscal y docente. Durante siete años trabajó para el estado en la lucha contra el crimen en la zona de Boston. Esto le dio inspiración para muchas de sus novelas.
En esta, publicada en 1970, cuenta la historia de Eddie Coyle, un delincuente común que espera una condena por contrabando. Eddie tiene muchos contactos, tanto en su entorno, traficantes, atracadores o asesinos, como en la policía. Para evitar la condena piensa en delatar a la policía a alguien de su entorno, pero no sabe a quién.
En un mundo donde todo el mundo desconfía de todo el mundo, Higgins muestra a sus personajes con diálogos llenos de humor negro, irónicos, cada uno dice y se calla lo que le conviene, se esconden traiciones y se dan falsas pistas. Se habla sin hablar de lo que se quiere hablar, pero dando a entender lo que se quiere decir.
El mismo título de la novela ya nos da una pista de la ironía de Higgins, porque Eddie Coyle en realidad no tiene amigos. Sus “amigos” en realidad son los delincuentes con los que trafica y el policía que le puede ayudar si delata a alguno de ellos.
Esta novela significó una revolución en la novela negra americana, nunca antes los diálogos tuvieron tanta relevancia. En el prólogo, Dennis Lehane dice entre otras cosas:
… “Ah, los diálogos… Constituyen más del ochenta por ciento de la novela y a nadie le importaría que fuesen el cien por cien. Nadie, antes o desde entonces, ha escrito unos diálogos tan escabrosos, divertidos, rayanos en la histeria, ni tan poderosamente auténticos.” ….
… “En muchas novelas, el diálogo es la sal y la trama es la comida. En Los amigos de Eddie Coyle, el diálogo es la comida. Y también es la trama, los personajes, la acción y todo el tinglado.”
Después del éxito de esta novela le decían a Higgins que le había salido por casualidad siendo su primera obra. Higgins dijo que había escrito 15 novelas antes, aunque todas fueron rechazadas, que de casualidad nada. Lo cierto es que en las siguientes novelas intentó seguir con esos diálogos, pero los resultados cada vez fueron peores.
En 1973, se estrenó la película del mismo nombre, protagonizada por el gran Robert Mitchum en el papel de Coyle y Peter Boyle como Dillon, que es el barman/asesino.
Quentin Tarantino admirador de Higgins por sus diálogos, usó el nombre de uno de los personajes para una de sus películas, Jackie Brown.
En España, en los 70, el libro se tradujo como “El Chivato” y para seguir con las torpezas, la película la titularon “El Confidente”, perdiéndose así, parte de la ironía de Los amigos de Eddie Coyle.
Para acabar una joya:
“Hacia el final del libro, un personaje le pregunta a otro: «¿No se termina nunca esta mierda? ¿Es que en este mundo las cosas no cambian nunca?». Y el otro personaje responde: «Pues claro que cambian. No te lo tomes tan a pecho. Algunos nos morimos, los demás envejecemos, llega gente nueva, los antiguos se marchan… Las cosas cambian todos los días».”
February 6, 2017
Lean and mean, The Friends of Eddie Coyle is what you get when you take all the glamour out of the crime world and are left with a bunch of guys just trying to make their rent and buy color TVs, guys getting into arguments with their girlfriends, guys trying to stay out of prison. No one trusts anyone else, but that still doesn't meant they're distrusting the right people. It's a grimy, defeatist, working class and middle-management kind of world; structurally tragic, but with the catharsis surgically removed.
All that makes it feel real--and Higgins certainly had the background to know whereof he wrote--but too much fatalism would spoil any sense of fun, and so what this book has in place of charm is snappiness: great, funny, clever dialogue. You could argue that everyone talks the same, and I'm not sure you'd be wrong, but it's a stylistic touch I'm willing to accept. And a tremendously influential one, because you can see crime writers after Higgins gleefully adopt it: leave the existentialism, take the banter. When you think about it, "criminals as guys doing a job, guys who bullshit like anybody else" is as much a game-changing epiphany as "this is all dispiriting rather than sparkling," and an admittedly more marketable one. The coexistence here of the grime and the gab is worth studying.
One more thing: another part of how convincing this is lays in Higgins's portrayal of how easily things go wrong. Sometimes people are lied to, but more than that, they often make wrong but understandable assumptions. They forget that their working lives intersect with their personal lives. They think about power and overlook pettiness. That complexity is, maybe even more than the dialogue or the tone, what I take away from the book: the sense of endless and almost random collision that Higgins captures in a series of stiletto-sharp scenes.
All that makes it feel real--and Higgins certainly had the background to know whereof he wrote--but too much fatalism would spoil any sense of fun, and so what this book has in place of charm is snappiness: great, funny, clever dialogue. You could argue that everyone talks the same, and I'm not sure you'd be wrong, but it's a stylistic touch I'm willing to accept. And a tremendously influential one, because you can see crime writers after Higgins gleefully adopt it: leave the existentialism, take the banter. When you think about it, "criminals as guys doing a job, guys who bullshit like anybody else" is as much a game-changing epiphany as "this is all dispiriting rather than sparkling," and an admittedly more marketable one. The coexistence here of the grime and the gab is worth studying.
One more thing: another part of how convincing this is lays in Higgins's portrayal of how easily things go wrong. Sometimes people are lied to, but more than that, they often make wrong but understandable assumptions. They forget that their working lives intersect with their personal lives. They think about power and overlook pettiness. That complexity is, maybe even more than the dialogue or the tone, what I take away from the book: the sense of endless and almost random collision that Higgins captures in a series of stiletto-sharp scenes.
October 7, 2022
Edgy little novel about a bunch of small time crooks squealing on each other to escape jail sentences. The novel is mostly entertaining dialog and there is very little description of people, places or events. The characters and the plot develops almost entirely through the dialog.
There is a lot of machismo with a couple of the crooks discussing a woman's cunt in her presence. This eventually leads to their downfall. There is praise from Norman Mailer, Dennis Lehane and Elmore Leonard in the first few pages. Mailer must definitely have been inspired by this book when he wrote Tough Guys Don't Dance.
I liked it, but some of the dialog was just not interesting enough. The tension is caged in because of which it never really rises above a certain level. But definitely worth a read.
There is a lot of machismo with a couple of the crooks discussing a woman's cunt in her presence. This eventually leads to their downfall. There is praise from Norman Mailer, Dennis Lehane and Elmore Leonard in the first few pages. Mailer must definitely have been inspired by this book when he wrote Tough Guys Don't Dance.
I liked it, but some of the dialog was just not interesting enough. The tension is caged in because of which it never really rises above a certain level. But definitely worth a read.
September 3, 2018
"There is no honor among thieves . . ." - American proverb
Eddie is a middle-aged, low-level mook in Boston's Irish-American organized crime of the early 70's. He received the nickname "Fingers" years ago after a gun deal went wrong. In a punitive response his hand was forced into an open drawer which was then kicked closed. Some 'friends,' huh?
The Friends of Eddie Coyle was the debut novel of George V. Higgins, a Boston native who was a New England-based federal prosecutor as well as a newspaper columnist and college professor. (Said first book probably garnered the most attention when it was superbly adapted into a Robert Mitchum-led ensemble film back in 1973, which was helmed by Bullitt director Peter Yates.)
Higgins is effective from the first chapter - a dialogue-heavy, eight-page diner scene between Eddie and firearms dealer Jackie Brown - in establishing an Elmore Leonard-esque understanding or portrayal of the criminal underworld. (No glamour here, just a bunch of violent working stiffs doing [illegal] jobs.) In fact, the book is simply A LOT of dialogue, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Similarly, there a couple of other scenes - long-running conversations between a federal agent, who uses Eddie as an occasional 'snitch,' and the agent's supervisor - which sound absolutely authentic.
It looks like (per other reviews) this novel will be an acquired taste, but I think it was plausible fiction in the best sense - bitterly and coldy realistic, yet a quietly stylized mean and lean little crime drama.
*Lastly, I absolutely loved that crime novelist Dennis Lehane composed the introduction for this 40th anniversary edition of Eddie. Lehane's own The Drop is of similar flair and harsh quality.*
Eddie is a middle-aged, low-level mook in Boston's Irish-American organized crime of the early 70's. He received the nickname "Fingers" years ago after a gun deal went wrong. In a punitive response his hand was forced into an open drawer which was then kicked closed. Some 'friends,' huh?
The Friends of Eddie Coyle was the debut novel of George V. Higgins, a Boston native who was a New England-based federal prosecutor as well as a newspaper columnist and college professor. (Said first book probably garnered the most attention when it was superbly adapted into a Robert Mitchum-led ensemble film back in 1973, which was helmed by Bullitt director Peter Yates.)
Higgins is effective from the first chapter - a dialogue-heavy, eight-page diner scene between Eddie and firearms dealer Jackie Brown - in establishing an Elmore Leonard-esque understanding or portrayal of the criminal underworld. (No glamour here, just a bunch of violent working stiffs doing [illegal] jobs.) In fact, the book is simply A LOT of dialogue, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Similarly, there a couple of other scenes - long-running conversations between a federal agent, who uses Eddie as an occasional 'snitch,' and the agent's supervisor - which sound absolutely authentic.
It looks like (per other reviews) this novel will be an acquired taste, but I think it was plausible fiction in the best sense - bitterly and coldy realistic, yet a quietly stylized mean and lean little crime drama.
*Lastly, I absolutely loved that crime novelist Dennis Lehane composed the introduction for this 40th anniversary edition of Eddie. Lehane's own The Drop is of similar flair and harsh quality.*
February 8, 2016
Supposedly, some authors and fans savor this tough, depressing story and that's their prerogative. I did not enjoy this choppy, belittling, bad guy saga in the least. 0 of 10 stars
May 14, 2024
Higgins’ “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” (1970) became a movie starring Robert Mitchum just a few years later, which makes sense considering that the dialogue-driven story feels more like a movie than a classical novel. Dennis Lehane, in his introduction, says it is quite possibly one of the four or five best crime novels ever written. He also tells us that the title is tongue-in-cheek in the sense that Eddie has no friends, but that is nothing personal because no one in his world really has any friends. They are just trying to get by and sometimes that means leaving some wreckage as they plow through. Someone has to do the time and most want it to be the other dude.
Eddie is also known as Eddie Fingers cause some guns he sold upstream were traceable and the guys who did time as a result were not happy with Eddie and smashed his fingers in a drawer, giving him permanently a second set of knuckles on that hand, but on the positive side, they were kind enough to let Eddie choose which hand. By the way, Eddie is a member of the Boston criminal class. retails weapons to other criminals such as Artie Van and Scalisi who are out using the guns to take bank manager’s families hostage while they empty the vaults. Eddie gets his guns from Jackie Brown, who also sells them upstream to a group of hippies he meets in a parking lot. Eddie, like many of his brethren, is facing a sentencing hearing and talks to a federal agent in the hopes of cutting his time. Eddie does not realize that not all favors to federal agents are equal and that all of his so-called friends, once caught in a trap, can add two and two and come up with Eddie as the rat. Which is all to say that Eddie is more anti-hero than hero and, at the end of things, really doesn’t have one damn friend, not one.
The thing with the way Higgins offers this novel to us readers is that he leaves out the omniscient narrator and, similar to Elmore Leonard, just plunges into dialogue so that these guys are just mouthing off to each other and the cops sound just as hard as the criminals.
Eddie is also known as Eddie Fingers cause some guns he sold upstream were traceable and the guys who did time as a result were not happy with Eddie and smashed his fingers in a drawer, giving him permanently a second set of knuckles on that hand, but on the positive side, they were kind enough to let Eddie choose which hand. By the way, Eddie is a member of the Boston criminal class. retails weapons to other criminals such as Artie Van and Scalisi who are out using the guns to take bank manager’s families hostage while they empty the vaults. Eddie gets his guns from Jackie Brown, who also sells them upstream to a group of hippies he meets in a parking lot. Eddie, like many of his brethren, is facing a sentencing hearing and talks to a federal agent in the hopes of cutting his time. Eddie does not realize that not all favors to federal agents are equal and that all of his so-called friends, once caught in a trap, can add two and two and come up with Eddie as the rat. Which is all to say that Eddie is more anti-hero than hero and, at the end of things, really doesn’t have one damn friend, not one.
The thing with the way Higgins offers this novel to us readers is that he leaves out the omniscient narrator and, similar to Elmore Leonard, just plunges into dialogue so that these guys are just mouthing off to each other and the cops sound just as hard as the criminals.
October 17, 2021
A few quick thoughts:
This lived up to the hype. Higgins constructed this novel out of dialogue and cars pulling in and out of parking lots and rest stops. As there is very little exposition, and the dialogue is in the slang of the 1970s Boston underworld, sometimes I was a little lost as to what exactly was going on. I think a second reading would sort that out. The plot itself is straightforward and tight and all the characters are memorable. I started watching the movie but Robert Mitcham seemed like he was reading from a teleprompter. The talk in the book should be cut down for a film and the action relied on more - there is a good amount of that in the book too.
This lived up to the hype. Higgins constructed this novel out of dialogue and cars pulling in and out of parking lots and rest stops. As there is very little exposition, and the dialogue is in the slang of the 1970s Boston underworld, sometimes I was a little lost as to what exactly was going on. I think a second reading would sort that out. The plot itself is straightforward and tight and all the characters are memorable. I started watching the movie but Robert Mitcham seemed like he was reading from a teleprompter. The talk in the book should be cut down for a film and the action relied on more - there is a good amount of that in the book too.
September 12, 2022
Higgins' style is distinctive and ear-catching but it has one drawback. We know Eddie is a middle-aged fink who drinks Carstairs whiskey and is trying to avoid a two-year stint in Danbury Prison. "Stand-up guys go to jail" and Eddie is not a stand-up guy. But I would have preferred less word-of-mouth and more thought-of-head. We learn enough about the other characters through all the yakking and tattling. But for Eddie, I wanted to hear him ruminate and feel him sweat.
May 29, 2023
From 1970
The most significant thing to me is the influence of this one novel on Elmore Leonard. (who always stated this).
I recently finally read Leonard's first crime novel, The Big Bounce from 1969. It was kind of good and kind of not good. When Friends of Eddie Coyle came out it influenced his writing criminals in a big way. It's very noticeable here.
This is mostly dialogue, maybe not enough plot for good movement.
The most significant thing to me is the influence of this one novel on Elmore Leonard. (who always stated this).
I recently finally read Leonard's first crime novel, The Big Bounce from 1969. It was kind of good and kind of not good. When Friends of Eddie Coyle came out it influenced his writing criminals in a big way. It's very noticeable here.
This is mostly dialogue, maybe not enough plot for good movement.
August 10, 2016
Excellent book containing 95% dialog. Mob, guns and MOPARS. I think that was one of my favorite things in this book visualizing that $4000 Road Runner hauling machine guns and grocery sacks full of sizzling hot pistols in her trunk. Should have been read in one setting as it is a short book that moves along at a real good pace but a guy has to sleep & work sometimes.
June 3, 2016
Published in 1970, The Friends of Eddie Coyle took the crime novel to a sad, unglamorous place. During the course of its story, a weary old gunrunner departs the scene and a young pup making the same mistakes neatly takes his place in the unbroken continuance of the criminal order.
George V. Higgins' Boston in the late '60s crawls with repeat offenders on various levels of a hierarchical termite-ridden totem pole: people who've served time for offending, people who are going "legit" but still have their hands in the game and their ears to the tracks, some who are in the process of re-offending, some who are offending and on bail or on notice for sentencing for some entirely different crime. Sharing this web are the detectives, undercover cops, and new players in the criminal game, as well as mafiosi and corrupt citizens making their own ill-gotten gains from it all.
They all precariously traipse a web connecting themselves to each other, where one ripple in any corner of the web can bring the spider right to you, or to someone close to you, who, as it happens, is probably, at best, a fair-weather friend. That's Eddie's friends, and that's what he is to them. Even fulfilling the "what have you done for me lately" requirements doesn't make him or anyone else safe.
Coyle is facing jail time for driving a heist vehicle, and throughout the novel is dancing an odd slow tango with police to try to get his case tossed or his time lessened. But all he has to offer them are measly crumbs, and the way in which he doles those out is critical, and he knows it, because his "friends" are always listening to see who might be trying to rat them out. Rats don't live long. The real art is surviving, because in this world, everyone has ratted, is ratting or will rat.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is about a man, and men, playing on the fine edge. Coyle is a repeat loser, wise in his way, yet ever stupid -- a man who knows the game and the players; except, in this round, he just can't see who has their hands in the game. In this game he's bluffing, but he bluffs too long. For even if he gains a small victory he's just, in the end, shooting dice on the Titanic.
Coyle's hopes to avoid yet another jail stint are desperate, and hopeless, his maneuvers to work a system where his influence is negligible, are pathetic. He holds onto the last fragment of hope but he's written his book and he is too far in for a rewrite; his denouement is a black hole, and gravity is something he can't beat.
The overall mood of the story is one of sadness. This is not a crime novel that sensationalizes or romanticizes crime. Coyle and his friends eat Velveeta cheese sandwiches and drink Cokes and do a lot of sitting and waiting in cars. It's a banal world and its inevitabilities Shakespeare would easily recognize. With so much paranoia afoot, it's no wonder that Coyle's downfall is largely due to a misunderstanding, a mere suspicion of something he didn't do. There's a great sense of Shakespearean irony in this; the fates will do what they do. In this world, agency is moot.
I have to state a bias, and that is that I'm not a big crime-novel fan, and -- as good as this is -- I'm still not a convert. The main reason I wanted to read this is because the same-titled 1973 movie adaptation is one of my favorite films of the 1970s. Now that I've read this book, I feel like the movie to some degree better realizes the possibilities of this material.
The novel is famous for being largely dialogue driven, and that's fine -- I appreciate that this carries itself along so remarkably wholly on dialogue. I appreciate the lean-and-mean ballsiness of that. But, the book doesn't give us facial expressions, or a sense of inner moods or even much scene setting. In the book, we're left to guess at the subtleties of Eddie's mood, while in the film we are privileged to see the world-weary resignation on Robert Mitchum's *face* -- and it speaks volumes. Robert Mitchum is what's missing in the book, he gives us a heart and soul that, yes, is there, but not as richly.
Elmore Leonard called this the greatest of all crime novels, and Dennis Lehane in his introduction to this edition puts it in his top five -- a "game-changer" for the crime novel, he calls it. I respect that, and what I did like about the book is that it had the kind of tragic existentialism I look for in my fiction. I wish, actually, it had had more, but that is why I usually read non-genre fiction, where the plot imperatives take a back seat to pure explorations of feeling and thought and ideas. I think Higgins was trying to break out of those genre conventions to take the crime novel toward that universe, and for that, I have total respect.
I was going to rate this a solid 3 for most of the way, but then Higgins came up with a beautiful, boffo circle-back ending that had me shaking my head in complete appreciation. So now it's 4.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
George V. Higgins' Boston in the late '60s crawls with repeat offenders on various levels of a hierarchical termite-ridden totem pole: people who've served time for offending, people who are going "legit" but still have their hands in the game and their ears to the tracks, some who are in the process of re-offending, some who are offending and on bail or on notice for sentencing for some entirely different crime. Sharing this web are the detectives, undercover cops, and new players in the criminal game, as well as mafiosi and corrupt citizens making their own ill-gotten gains from it all.
They all precariously traipse a web connecting themselves to each other, where one ripple in any corner of the web can bring the spider right to you, or to someone close to you, who, as it happens, is probably, at best, a fair-weather friend. That's Eddie's friends, and that's what he is to them. Even fulfilling the "what have you done for me lately" requirements doesn't make him or anyone else safe.
Coyle is facing jail time for driving a heist vehicle, and throughout the novel is dancing an odd slow tango with police to try to get his case tossed or his time lessened. But all he has to offer them are measly crumbs, and the way in which he doles those out is critical, and he knows it, because his "friends" are always listening to see who might be trying to rat them out. Rats don't live long. The real art is surviving, because in this world, everyone has ratted, is ratting or will rat.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle is about a man, and men, playing on the fine edge. Coyle is a repeat loser, wise in his way, yet ever stupid -- a man who knows the game and the players; except, in this round, he just can't see who has their hands in the game. In this game he's bluffing, but he bluffs too long. For even if he gains a small victory he's just, in the end, shooting dice on the Titanic.
Coyle's hopes to avoid yet another jail stint are desperate, and hopeless, his maneuvers to work a system where his influence is negligible, are pathetic. He holds onto the last fragment of hope but he's written his book and he is too far in for a rewrite; his denouement is a black hole, and gravity is something he can't beat.
The overall mood of the story is one of sadness. This is not a crime novel that sensationalizes or romanticizes crime. Coyle and his friends eat Velveeta cheese sandwiches and drink Cokes and do a lot of sitting and waiting in cars. It's a banal world and its inevitabilities Shakespeare would easily recognize. With so much paranoia afoot, it's no wonder that Coyle's downfall is largely due to a misunderstanding, a mere suspicion of something he didn't do. There's a great sense of Shakespearean irony in this; the fates will do what they do. In this world, agency is moot.
I have to state a bias, and that is that I'm not a big crime-novel fan, and -- as good as this is -- I'm still not a convert. The main reason I wanted to read this is because the same-titled 1973 movie adaptation is one of my favorite films of the 1970s. Now that I've read this book, I feel like the movie to some degree better realizes the possibilities of this material.
The novel is famous for being largely dialogue driven, and that's fine -- I appreciate that this carries itself along so remarkably wholly on dialogue. I appreciate the lean-and-mean ballsiness of that. But, the book doesn't give us facial expressions, or a sense of inner moods or even much scene setting. In the book, we're left to guess at the subtleties of Eddie's mood, while in the film we are privileged to see the world-weary resignation on Robert Mitchum's *face* -- and it speaks volumes. Robert Mitchum is what's missing in the book, he gives us a heart and soul that, yes, is there, but not as richly.
Elmore Leonard called this the greatest of all crime novels, and Dennis Lehane in his introduction to this edition puts it in his top five -- a "game-changer" for the crime novel, he calls it. I respect that, and what I did like about the book is that it had the kind of tragic existentialism I look for in my fiction. I wish, actually, it had had more, but that is why I usually read non-genre fiction, where the plot imperatives take a back seat to pure explorations of feeling and thought and ideas. I think Higgins was trying to break out of those genre conventions to take the crime novel toward that universe, and for that, I have total respect.
I was going to rate this a solid 3 for most of the way, but then Higgins came up with a beautiful, boffo circle-back ending that had me shaking my head in complete appreciation. So now it's 4.
(KevinR@Ky 2016)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,094 reviews