Dreadful Summit

by Stanley Ellin

Dopo aver assistito al pestaggio del padre, il sedicenne George LaMain decide di vendicarlo e di uccidere l’uomo che lo ha umiliato pubblicamente. Tornato a casa, si impadronisce della pistola del padre e si mette sulle tracce del picchiatore, un noto giornalista sportivo che ha agito spinto da oscuri motivi. George esce in strada, si inoltra nella città deciso a scovare l’uomo, ma prima di compiere la sua vendetta dovrà attraversare la sua personale discesa all’inferno, una brusca iniziazione all’età adulta in cui, come in una moderna odissea ambientata tra le vie e i luoghi segreti di Manhattan, conoscerà un mondo di attrazioni e perdizioni, un vortice onirico e sanguinoso fatto di night club, bar, prostitute e ninfomani.
Opera del 1948 al crocevia tra il noir alla Simenon (o alla Chabrol) e il bildungsroman in chiave pulp, Notte fatale fu il romanzo d’esordio e il primo vero successo di Stanley Ellin, tradotto in diciotto paesi. Tre anni dopo, il film tratto dal libro con il titolo La grande notte, diretto da Joseph Losey e interpretato da John Barrymore, gli diede fama internazionale.

Genres: Crime, Mystery

181 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Stanley Bernard Ellin was a mystery writer of short stories and novels. He won the Edgar Allan Poe Award three times and the Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere once, and in 1981 he was awarded with the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award.

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn't something I'd typically choose to read, but when it's looking at you longingly from a shelf in the famous 'Book Farm' how could I not? This was a short novel which could be read in one sitting if one has the time. It is a part thriller, part coming of age type novel, which gave me serious 'Catcher in the Rye' vibes more than once, I should say.

The story focuses on sixteen year old George, who, throughout the novel has it ingrained in his mind that he has to kill a man, who goes by the name of Al Judge. George's actual adventure of sorts takes place within around twelve hours, so the reader has enough time to listen to George's repetitiveness. Ellin has made it so George says the same line much too often, and eventually it drove me batty. (Hence 'Catcher in the Rye' vibes.)

There are some comical parts in here, ones that defuse a more serious and possibly morbid situation. I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to read more of Ellin's work any time soon, but it's a possibility for the future.

[Vicent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atípica novel·la negra americana. Acció trepidant. El protagonista, quan comença la novel·la, és un noi, i quan la novel·la acaba, 24 hores després, és un home. És el que passa quan la vida va massa de pressa.

[Zinaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5/5

[Ericpegnam Pegnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was Stanley Ellin's first novel and maybe his best. Its a kind of Catcher in the Rye Noir. A teenage boy sees his father humiliated where the father tends bar. The boy furious decides to track the man down and kill him. Some of the scenes are remarkably similar to some in Catcher in the Rye. The tone of adolescent rebellion against adult hypocrisy also owes a debt to Catcher in the Rye. Its a wonderful story in its own right and worth the time if you can track down a copy.

[Andrew Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theres a beautiful story about how i came to read Dreadful Summit, and the moral of this story is that you must never judge a book by its cover. I heard that phrase somewhere, don't know if you've heard it before. You see, the stark, exciting cover on this particular edition of the novella was favoured by Penguin's marketing department and became one of a series of postcards. A good friend spotted said postcard, and, given my predilection for mountains, thought of me.

Years later, on a whim and to satisfy one of my many eccentricities, i sought out the actual book to match the postcard i have displayed in my house. And so on ebay, i found it.

George LaMain watches his father get beaten by the local press baron, and vows to avenge him.

That is the plot. Its short - a little over 100 pages - and its all set in one night. George sneaks out of his house with two tickets to a wrestling match, thinking he can sneak up on Al Judge (the press baron) and 'do him in', using his dad's gun. George does not take into account the characters he'll meet along the way, nor could he possibly have imagined this one act would lead to his transition from boy to man, in a sexual sense.

There are no mountains in this novel, i can tell you that. The narrative is taut but undistractedly wavy - George's head is a fascinating place to inhabit, as his thoughts sway from the present, to the past, to literature, exaggerating and catastrophising. If this was today, George would have been diagnosed as 'on the spectrum'. Some of his actions are very questionable and certainly not relatable - pointing a gun at a baby - but others are recognisable. Seeing the worst case scenario of every situation, reading too much into offhand comments.

It feels like a classic American novel, like Catcher in the Rye or maybe even The Mosquito Coast, and as such it does actually leave a lasting effect, even if you weren't aware at the time. Its not brilliant - i couldn't sympathise with the protagonist and it highlights a culture that i don't particularly like - but it was an interesting read.

And, bottom line, i've read it. Which satisfies a weird quirk of my personality.

[Carles · Rating 4 out of 5]

L’adolescent "Georgie" LaMain és seriós. Li agrada llegir. Té un comportament força madur per la seva edat. I si es posa una corbata i el barret del seu pare, ben bé pot passar per un home adult.

Trobo que té molt mèrit per part de l’autor ser capaç d’escriure les reflexions que es fa el protagonista talment com se les faria un noi de setze anys, que no veu la realitat com la veuen els adults, ni entén correctament les situacions, i arriba a conclusions errònies que en certs moments fins i tot ens fan gràcia, si no fos per el dramatisme de la història.
Una novel·la curta on tot succeeix en una nit. I no pots deixar de llegir. Molt bona.

Desprès de llegir la novel·la hem vist el film clàssic “The Big Night” (1951), de Joseph Losey.
És força fidel al llibre, excepte alguns detalls, com ara la relació del noi amb Marion o el que li va succeir a Frances i, sobre tot, el desenllaç final. Ens ha semblat una bona pel·lícula, però no ens ha atrapat de la forma com ho ha fet la novel·la.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

... a lot can happen in twenty four hours... Revenge at pace.

[Lena Aguilar · Rating 4 out of 5]

M’encanta la personalitat del protagonista i com evoluciona la història sense perdre el temps en descripcions pesades i llargues. M’agrada el final.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be called a coming-of-age story, but in this case, it happens at warp speed for sixteen-year-old George. The action of the story all takes place within about twelve hours. On page 5 (in my edition) George announces “I think I liked Al Judge a lot before I knew I had to kill him.” In a few pages, we figure out why George thinks he has to kill Al Judge, and for almost the whole rest of the book, the reader is torn between hoping George succeeds or fails at this mission. Variations on the phrase “I had to kill Al Judge” appear with, for me, an annoying frequency, throughout the first half or so of the book. I think Ellin does a pretty good job of portraying the thought process of a sixteen-year old boy, (I can’t be sure, never having been one), and that’s probably the cause of all the repetition. At any rate, the reader is unlikely to forget George’s mission, even if they only read one page a day. I like the novel overall, and it’s a quick read due to its shortness, and the urgency which makes you want to hurry up and get to the part when and if George finally catches up with Al Judge. George is a bumbler, and the novel is almost comical with all the delays George runs into as he follows Al Judge around the city, except that the presence of the gun keeps reminding us how serious things are going to get, eventually.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a coming-of-age story in the form of a mystery. It succeeds admirably as both.

[Pablo]

Molt bella

[Ferran Barcelona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Instructing as teenager.
El vam llegir a l'institut, història de les que ajuden a madurar.

[Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is better than catcher in the rye.

[Conor Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging and interesting thriller that plays cleverly with misdirection.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: on the day George LaMain turned sixteen, he took his father's gun and set out to kill a man named Al Judge.