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Rag Man
Acclaimed for his sparkling dialogue, laugh-out-loud funny descriptions, and suspenseful, brilliantly drawn plots, Pete Hautman asks tough questions about the nature of good and evil -- and offers some unexpected answers in this blackly comic page-turner.
Mack MacWray's clothing company was wildly successful -- until his smooth-talking partner, Lars Larson, disappeared with all the assets, leaving Mack with nothing but debts and shattered dreams. Devastated, he thinks he has nothing left to live for until, on the cliffs of a remote Mexican resort, he finds his wayward partner. After push literally comes to shove, Mack has a sudden Maybe he's not such a nice guy after all.
Mack returns to the States minus his moral compass -- and discovers a world of opportunity. Without the ball and chain of guilt and accountability, his success is all but guaranteed. He transforms himself from bankrupt loser to hard-nosed success story -- but at what cost? His wife wants the old Mack back; her best friend wants Mack in bed; Lars's widow wants money (or revenge); and Detective Jerry Pleasant wants some answers....
Mack MacWray's clothing company was wildly successful -- until his smooth-talking partner, Lars Larson, disappeared with all the assets, leaving Mack with nothing but debts and shattered dreams. Devastated, he thinks he has nothing left to live for until, on the cliffs of a remote Mexican resort, he finds his wayward partner. After push literally comes to shove, Mack has a sudden Maybe he's not such a nice guy after all.
Mack returns to the States minus his moral compass -- and discovers a world of opportunity. Without the ball and chain of guilt and accountability, his success is all but guaranteed. He transforms himself from bankrupt loser to hard-nosed success story -- but at what cost? His wife wants the old Mack back; her best friend wants Mack in bed; Lars's widow wants money (or revenge); and Detective Jerry Pleasant wants some answers....
- GenresFiction
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
4 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Pete Hautman
59 books358 followersPeter Murray Hautman is an American author best known for his novels for young adults. One of them, Godless, won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The National Book Foundation summary is, "A teenage boy decides to invent a new religion with a new god."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 20, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this little wild ride of a book. Hautman takes you on the adventures of a meek and mild Mack MacWray - who soon loses that mild streak and becomes rather ruthless when he is balked out of a business deal by a con man. Hautman's writing style is fun and believable.......you whiz through this one, wanting to know WHAT THE HELL just happened? Would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick thrill ride.
September 21, 2017
Read it in the plane and it's fantastic! Clever quick and funny! Really neat read!
May 11, 2020
Darkly comic and vivid, in the vein of Carl Hiassen. Not enough redemption for me, at this place and time, but well done nonetheless and often laugh out loud funny.
December 19, 2012
It’s easy to see why Hautman continues to receive critical acclaim. He’s a good writer, and this particular book had one of those non-endings with loose ends that critics seem to love.
Mack MacWray was always a rather placid fellow, a bit boring to his wife, until a con man takes him for everything he’s got and leaves him several hundred thousand dollars in debt. To help soothe their troubles, Mack’s wife Paula, a travel agent, takes them on a vacation to Cancun. One day, while out wandering, Mack spies Lars Larson, his ex-business partner who ripped him off. He follows him, confronts him, and does nothing to save Lars when he meets with a fatal accident, leaving his accomplice widow with nothing. Suddenly, Mack is a new man.
When he and Paula return to Minneapolis, he bullies the bank and aggressively gets his raped business back up and running, and business is suddenly booming. But, of course, there is a dark side to the powerful new Mack, and he starts losing control at the same time he loses sight of who he really is. Lars Larson’s widow appears, ready to cause trouble, a policeman seems far too curious about a death that occurred in Mexico, and Paula starts to wonder what’s really going on. Of course, it is the last thing Mack expects that unravels his new life.
Disappointingly, I did not feel there was any kind of closure. Too many questions were left unanswered, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. It was as if Hautman suddenly tired of his protagonists at the last minute and ended the book with more minor characters instead. The book also suffered from a lack of focus. I was never quite sure I liked any of the characters, which made it hard to sympathize with anyone. Good guys should have flaws, but not so many we’re not so sure if they’re good. Pete Hautman writes good books, but this one is not at the top of my list. The story compelled me to keep reading, but the muddled ending didn’t leave me with the feeling it had been all that worthwhile. I recommend Mrs. Million or Short Money instead.
Mack MacWray was always a rather placid fellow, a bit boring to his wife, until a con man takes him for everything he’s got and leaves him several hundred thousand dollars in debt. To help soothe their troubles, Mack’s wife Paula, a travel agent, takes them on a vacation to Cancun. One day, while out wandering, Mack spies Lars Larson, his ex-business partner who ripped him off. He follows him, confronts him, and does nothing to save Lars when he meets with a fatal accident, leaving his accomplice widow with nothing. Suddenly, Mack is a new man.
When he and Paula return to Minneapolis, he bullies the bank and aggressively gets his raped business back up and running, and business is suddenly booming. But, of course, there is a dark side to the powerful new Mack, and he starts losing control at the same time he loses sight of who he really is. Lars Larson’s widow appears, ready to cause trouble, a policeman seems far too curious about a death that occurred in Mexico, and Paula starts to wonder what’s really going on. Of course, it is the last thing Mack expects that unravels his new life.
Disappointingly, I did not feel there was any kind of closure. Too many questions were left unanswered, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. It was as if Hautman suddenly tired of his protagonists at the last minute and ended the book with more minor characters instead. The book also suffered from a lack of focus. I was never quite sure I liked any of the characters, which made it hard to sympathize with anyone. Good guys should have flaws, but not so many we’re not so sure if they’re good. Pete Hautman writes good books, but this one is not at the top of my list. The story compelled me to keep reading, but the muddled ending didn’t leave me with the feeling it had been all that worthwhile. I recommend Mrs. Million or Short Money instead.
May 27, 2012
This "yarn" felt like light reading for entertainment value, not to be taken seriously. Good man, gone bad.
It moves fast and it's witty, and of course has a dramatic ending. I liked the nicely complex situation dynamics, with characters becoming more and more entwined as the story progressed.
It's a fun read.
It moves fast and it's witty, and of course has a dramatic ending. I liked the nicely complex situation dynamics, with characters becoming more and more entwined as the story progressed.
It's a fun read.
October 21, 2011
pretty funny but not a book I would say "you just have to read this"
not sure I buy into the idea that one's character can change so quickly even though a very
traumatic event occurred.
Nevertheless, it is a good read
not sure I buy into the idea that one's character can change so quickly even though a very
traumatic event occurred.
Nevertheless, it is a good read
Read
February 18, 2008Hautman, Pete
February 9, 2011
when you do something out of character does your character then change?
July 24, 2014
Good read!
Read
June 15, 2015Very good but you question if these folks were "Ever" good!
November 27, 2016
Well written, enjoyable and engaging.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews