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Crit
Notorious L.A. rock critic Gabe Sack is tired. Tired of knee-jerk cynicism. Tired of hating everything on principle. Tired of wrecking bands and relationships with his venom-tipped tongue. Tired of getting black eyes and fat lips from angry musicians.
There’s just one thing standing between him and Las Vegas. Gabe Sack’s final assignment is a heart-of-darkness journey to the bright lights of Sin City, where he’s supposed to pen a withering profile of a legendary lounge singer, Hambert Larkin. But in that land of cheap fakes and grand illusions, Gabe discovers that Hambert Larkin is much more than just a target for an easy hit piece. In Las Vegas, Gabe realizes that redemption can come in the most unlikely places, that frauds and thieves can be saviors in disguise – and that dive-bar karaoke just might save your life. Crit is the hilarious and heartbreaking story of what happens when a rock critic takes the ultimate gamble – and reviews himself.
"The famous knock on rock criticism is that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. What, then, does that say about a guy who writes a novel about a guy who writes about music? In the wickedly funny case of Andrew Kiraly, it's like driving a tractor trailer full-speed right through the middle of a kinda messy and anti-architecture, but a helluva lot of fun." — Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, author, co-host of public radio's Sound Opinions
“Crit is a seriously funny look at a terrible business (music) and a ridiculous pursuit (rock criticism). The triumph of the book is its relative straightness, as Kiraly is smart enough to know that if you need to satirize the music industry, you’re doing it wrong. Gabe Sack is a character I’ll remember for a long time.” — Tom Bissell, author of God Lives in St. Petersburg and Other Stories, and Extra Why Video Games Matter
“Kiraly’s darkly satirical view of Sin City is evident in this comic literary novel, which takes readers on a journey filled with black eyes, buffet food, bad pop songs and themed casinos.” — Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
“Crit is a sly little novel, replete with wit and a beer-soaked intimacy with the rock-club demimonde.” — CityLife
There’s just one thing standing between him and Las Vegas. Gabe Sack’s final assignment is a heart-of-darkness journey to the bright lights of Sin City, where he’s supposed to pen a withering profile of a legendary lounge singer, Hambert Larkin. But in that land of cheap fakes and grand illusions, Gabe discovers that Hambert Larkin is much more than just a target for an easy hit piece. In Las Vegas, Gabe realizes that redemption can come in the most unlikely places, that frauds and thieves can be saviors in disguise – and that dive-bar karaoke just might save your life. Crit is the hilarious and heartbreaking story of what happens when a rock critic takes the ultimate gamble – and reviews himself.
"The famous knock on rock criticism is that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. What, then, does that say about a guy who writes a novel about a guy who writes about music? In the wickedly funny case of Andrew Kiraly, it's like driving a tractor trailer full-speed right through the middle of a kinda messy and anti-architecture, but a helluva lot of fun." — Jim DeRogatis, pop music critic, author, co-host of public radio's Sound Opinions
“Crit is a seriously funny look at a terrible business (music) and a ridiculous pursuit (rock criticism). The triumph of the book is its relative straightness, as Kiraly is smart enough to know that if you need to satirize the music industry, you’re doing it wrong. Gabe Sack is a character I’ll remember for a long time.” — Tom Bissell, author of God Lives in St. Petersburg and Other Stories, and Extra Why Video Games Matter
“Kiraly’s darkly satirical view of Sin City is evident in this comic literary novel, which takes readers on a journey filled with black eyes, buffet food, bad pop songs and themed casinos.” — Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
“Crit is a sly little novel, replete with wit and a beer-soaked intimacy with the rock-club demimonde.” — CityLife
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2011
2 people are currently reading
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 8, 2011
I really wish I liked this book more than I do. It's not that it's bad, it's just that it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I feel really bad about that because I've met the author and he seems like such a super nice guy.
Kiraly has a way with words, that's for sure. I really enjoyed his description and just the way he writes. He's really witty and smart with his word choices.
Speaking of witty, I have to admit that one of the problems I had with the book is that the conversation between characters seemed, at times, overly witty. I began to feel like a real dolt for having such lame conversations with my friends (and I have cool friends). Overall, I was unconvinced that this was realistic dialogue.
Another thing I noticed were the hyperbolic descriptions of Las Vegas. Kiraly makes the environment seem even more absurd than it really is. I'm noting it here, but not complaining about it.
Gabe is not exactly a sympathetic character, or at least, I never felt any sympathy for him, but that doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate how he changes throughout the story. The ending satisfied me.
There were some moments when I actually laughed out loud. The description of Larkin's singing put me right there.
Bottomline: I like Kiraly's writing style and would love to read more from him. I have a feeling this will not be his best work.
Kiraly has a way with words, that's for sure. I really enjoyed his description and just the way he writes. He's really witty and smart with his word choices.
Speaking of witty, I have to admit that one of the problems I had with the book is that the conversation between characters seemed, at times, overly witty. I began to feel like a real dolt for having such lame conversations with my friends (and I have cool friends). Overall, I was unconvinced that this was realistic dialogue.
Another thing I noticed were the hyperbolic descriptions of Las Vegas. Kiraly makes the environment seem even more absurd than it really is. I'm noting it here, but not complaining about it.
Gabe is not exactly a sympathetic character, or at least, I never felt any sympathy for him, but that doesn't mean that I didn't appreciate how he changes throughout the story. The ending satisfied me.
There were some moments when I actually laughed out loud. The description of Larkin's singing put me right there.
Bottomline: I like Kiraly's writing style and would love to read more from him. I have a feeling this will not be his best work.
Displaying 1 of 1 review