What do you think?
Rate this book
The Jook
/ 1899344918 / English literature / Engels / English / Anglais / Englisch / soft cover / 20 x 13 cm / 248 .pp /
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
5 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 1, 2009
Zelmont Raines has slid a long way since his ability to jook, to out maneuver his opponents on the field, made him a Super Bowl winning wide receiver, earning him lucrative endorsement deals and more than his share of female attention. But Zee hasn’t always been good at saying no, so a series of missteps involving drugs, a paternity suit or two, legal entanglements, shaky investments and recurring injuries have virtually sidelined his career.
That is until Los Angeles gets a new pro franchise, the Barons, and Zelmont has one last chance at the big time he dearly misses. Just as it seems he might be getting back in the flow, he’s enraptured by Wilma Wells, the leggy and brainy lawyer for the team--who has a ruthless game plan all her own. And it’s Zelmont who might get jooked.
That is until Los Angeles gets a new pro franchise, the Barons, and Zelmont has one last chance at the big time he dearly misses. Just as it seems he might be getting back in the flow, he’s enraptured by Wilma Wells, the leggy and brainy lawyer for the team--who has a ruthless game plan all her own. And it’s Zelmont who might get jooked.
October 30, 2016
Quote:
"I had butterflies with razor wings doing loop-the-loops in my stomach. I was psyched up & couldn't quite figure out why. The danger of them gangsters had me sharp, but that wasn't it. Motherfuckahs who thought with their guns were cowardly punks anyway. You had to respect a piece, but not the fool packing it. Guns gave 'em a false sense of security. That could be handled."
"Inside the room the air wasn't moving. It was like all the quickie stranger sex had been soaked into the cinder block walls & was seeping out a little bit at a time, getting absorbed into the skins of the users, then recycled back into the room. And the women like the ones prowling outside were living off the energy like it was antimatter in Star Trek."
"I had butterflies with razor wings doing loop-the-loops in my stomach. I was psyched up & couldn't quite figure out why. The danger of them gangsters had me sharp, but that wasn't it. Motherfuckahs who thought with their guns were cowardly punks anyway. You had to respect a piece, but not the fool packing it. Guns gave 'em a false sense of security. That could be handled."
"Inside the room the air wasn't moving. It was like all the quickie stranger sex had been soaked into the cinder block walls & was seeping out a little bit at a time, getting absorbed into the skins of the users, then recycled back into the room. And the women like the ones prowling outside were living off the energy like it was antimatter in Star Trek."
October 20, 2017
Pretty solid urban noir that reminded me a lot of the film Against All Odds, perhaps because of the down-on-the-luck football protagonist teaming up with his once best friend who owns a nightclub, all of it taking place, for the most part, in L.A. There's a few plot glitches and some of the loose ends are wrapped up a little too briskly, but overall it's a quick and engaging and rough-around-the-edges hard-boiled read.
November 29, 2017
This book doles out plenty of action, violence, sex and has a crazy, improbable plot. It’s a good read for fans of fast moving stories and larger than life characters, entertaining, but a little over the top for me.
June 18, 2020
With everything going on in the world right now I have had trouble focusing on any kind of non-fiction. Sometimes you need a couple hundred pages of pulp. I'll probably forget 80% of this book within a week, but it passed the time!
Read
March 13, 2023Maybe for a different day.
December 7, 2009
I love Gary Phillips, and this is pure Gary. The language and plot are pure South Central L.A., the action is intense, the storyline hustles you along and it's plenty down and dirty. I don't even like football, at all. And loved this.
September 4, 2015
Feeling super cynical about the NFL, I decided to pick this tale up and was glad I did. The plot was implausible but
the dialogue was superb as was the action. I liked it enough that I might try another one by the author at some point.
the dialogue was superb as was the action. I liked it enough that I might try another one by the author at some point.
February 24, 2011
Decent. A little hokey in spots, but worth a read. A crack smoking, speed taking football player on the outs gets caught up in a bad situation...
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews