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Calling Mr. King
Long considered cool, distant, and absolutely reliable, an American-born hit man, working throughout Europe, grows increasingly distracted and begins to develop an unexpected passion for architecture and art while engaged in his deadly profession. Although he welcomes this energizing break from his routine, he comes to realize that it is an unwise trajectory for a man in his business, particularly when he is sent on the most difficult job of his career.
Set in London, Paris, New York, and Barcelona, Calling Mr. King is at once a colorful suspense tale, laced with dark humor, and a psychological self-portrait of a character who is attempting, against the odds, to become someone else.
Set in London, Paris, New York, and Barcelona, Calling Mr. King is at once a colorful suspense tale, laced with dark humor, and a psychological self-portrait of a character who is attempting, against the odds, to become someone else.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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204 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 55 reviews
September 15, 2011
I kind of hate it when people write their reviews as mashups, but I can't resist in this case: This is The Bourne Identity meets The Catcher in the Rye. Seriously. A disgruntled and slightly petulant hit man wanders London, Paris, New York, and Barcelona, decries various phonies, has a gradual aesthetic awakening, and goes through a kind of begrudging solipsistic shift. And if that sounds like I'm being facetious, I'm not. It's a strange, dark, funny book -- in that order, I think -- and an interesting little meditation on the redemptive powers, or not, of art.
Come to think of it, this would be great paired with The Family Fang for just that reason. Anyway, I liked it. Not hugely propulsive -- it takes its sweet time -- but definitely a worthy experience.
Come to think of it, this would be great paired with The Family Fang for just that reason. Anyway, I liked it. Not hugely propulsive -- it takes its sweet time -- but definitely a worthy experience.
October 31, 2018
You've all read the novel (or seen the movie) about the hitman who has a midlife crisis and wants to pack the job in and retire, only he knows that in his chosen profession the only retirement plan is the permanent one -- right?
Well, this is that novel, again. Or, more accurately, it's not. That's the premise it starts off with, but author Ronald De Feo, formerly a senior editor at ARTNews Magazine and MOMA employee, takes the basic premise and does something a bit different with it: he makes out of it a novel about architectural history. I'm not sure the experiment actually works, but I certainly respect him for trying it and by and large I enjoyed the outcome.
Our unnamed hitman -- his bosses call him "Mr. King" when they contact him about each new job -- is regarded as a man at the top of his game: fearless and absolutely reliable. Yet recently his mind has taken an introspective turn. He's hesitant about a job in Paris, although he gets it right in the end. He bungles a job in Derbyshire, UK. Worse still, he develops an interest in domestic architecture -- especially the Georgian home. He also decides that he's becoming an intellectual, someone who reads books -- and not just for the pictures. And he realizes that, though he comes from upper New York State, he's really an Englishman at heart . . . and a minor aristocrat at that.
After the Derbyshire kerfuffle, his bosses "advise" him to go and lie low in New York for a few weeks or months -- to take a holiday. There, as mild-mannered English toff Peter Chilton, he longs for London while studying English art and architecture and ruminating on the hellish circumstances of his upbringing -- and even meets a girl:
The relationship goes nowhere, but it's part of a humanizing process that's alarmingly alien to him.
As you'll have guessed from that extract, the text is often slyly humorous, sometimes because "King" himself is witty in his thoughts and sometimes at his expense. As his intellectual pretensions increase, so do his pseudery, his faux-English uppercrust accent and his snobbery. We're encouraged to laugh both with him and at him. Here he is reacting as a buffoonish boss intrudes into a territory that "King" has come to regard as his own exclusive territory: philosophical reflection.
Where the novel has a problem is that it's about twice as long as it should be. We're treated to pages and pages of "King" wandering around London, experiencing a guidebook's worth of architectural information and doing a fair deal of shopping. Then he's off to New York, where, guess what, he wanders around the streets, experiencing a guidebook's worth of architectural information and doing a fair deal of shopping. Then he's posted to Barcelona for a major-league job, and . . . You'll have spotted the pattern by now. At least the architecture's radically different this time -- Gaudi and co., even some Art Nouveau. In Barcelona he tries to take in every single frigging location of architectural interest, a pellmell tour that saw my own architectural interest, not huge to begin with, decidedly flagging.
Despite that, the book's surprisingly readable. We're pulled along by the promise of the next witticism.
In the novel's closing line "King" reveals his true name, John Cole. I'm not sure if his final identification of a name represents his at last becoming an individual human being in his own eyes or if the name itself carries some significance (beyond the obvious pun) that I thickly haven't spotted. A conundrum.
I suppose you could read Calling Mr. King as in part a homage to hardboiled fiction, or even to Hemingway, but with Free Added Lyricism. Whatever the case, it's a bit of a mixed bag of a book, a worthy experiment, an oddball. I rather liked it.
Well, this is that novel, again. Or, more accurately, it's not. That's the premise it starts off with, but author Ronald De Feo, formerly a senior editor at ARTNews Magazine and MOMA employee, takes the basic premise and does something a bit different with it: he makes out of it a novel about architectural history. I'm not sure the experiment actually works, but I certainly respect him for trying it and by and large I enjoyed the outcome.
Our unnamed hitman -- his bosses call him "Mr. King" when they contact him about each new job -- is regarded as a man at the top of his game: fearless and absolutely reliable. Yet recently his mind has taken an introspective turn. He's hesitant about a job in Paris, although he gets it right in the end. He bungles a job in Derbyshire, UK. Worse still, he develops an interest in domestic architecture -- especially the Georgian home. He also decides that he's becoming an intellectual, someone who reads books -- and not just for the pictures. And he realizes that, though he comes from upper New York State, he's really an Englishman at heart . . . and a minor aristocrat at that.
After the Derbyshire kerfuffle, his bosses "advise" him to go and lie low in New York for a few weeks or months -- to take a holiday. There, as mild-mannered English toff Peter Chilton, he longs for London while studying English art and architecture and ruminating on the hellish circumstances of his upbringing -- and even meets a girl:
I was happily reading and chewing when I looked up some time later and noticed a pair of solid, shapely legs just one booth up and across from me. The legs were exposed all the way up to the thighs, where blue denim shorts suddenly covered the flesh. I tried not to be obvious but I kept straying from the top of a page to the bottom of this woman.
The relationship goes nowhere, but it's part of a humanizing process that's alarmingly alien to him.
As you'll have guessed from that extract, the text is often slyly humorous, sometimes because "King" himself is witty in his thoughts and sometimes at his expense. As his intellectual pretensions increase, so do his pseudery, his faux-English uppercrust accent and his snobbery. We're encouraged to laugh both with him and at him. Here he is reacting as a buffoonish boss intrudes into a territory that "King" has come to regard as his own exclusive territory: philosophical reflection.
". . . Then again, if only Parker had been shot they might not have figured it for a hit at all. They might've taken it for an accident. After all, people go hunting in the country. There's not much else to do. Hunting is a little like going crazy, when you think of it. I mean, even killing people makes more sense -- they've crossed you, gotten in your way, challenged you. But shooting up a bunch of rabbits or birds that have nothing to do with you or your business and aren't even much good to eat -- that's perverted, if you ask me. Anyway, people might have thought that Parker had been shot by some stupid cockeyed hunter -- the fool fires at a bird or rabbit, but he drops Parker instead. It's possible."
So is life after death, I thought wearily.
Where the novel has a problem is that it's about twice as long as it should be. We're treated to pages and pages of "King" wandering around London, experiencing a guidebook's worth of architectural information and doing a fair deal of shopping. Then he's off to New York, where, guess what, he wanders around the streets, experiencing a guidebook's worth of architectural information and doing a fair deal of shopping. Then he's posted to Barcelona for a major-league job, and . . . You'll have spotted the pattern by now. At least the architecture's radically different this time -- Gaudi and co., even some Art Nouveau. In Barcelona he tries to take in every single frigging location of architectural interest, a pellmell tour that saw my own architectural interest, not huge to begin with, decidedly flagging.
Despite that, the book's surprisingly readable. We're pulled along by the promise of the next witticism.
In the novel's closing line "King" reveals his true name, John Cole. I'm not sure if his final identification of a name represents his at last becoming an individual human being in his own eyes or if the name itself carries some significance (beyond the obvious pun) that I thickly haven't spotted. A conundrum.
I suppose you could read Calling Mr. King as in part a homage to hardboiled fiction, or even to Hemingway, but with Free Added Lyricism. Whatever the case, it's a bit of a mixed bag of a book, a worthy experiment, an oddball. I rather liked it.
December 18, 2017
Strange but interesting story built to make an architecture lecture more interesting. The narrator of the audiobook sounds like Tom Hanks which is an odd counterpoint to the character being a hit man.
February 28, 2012
Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Feo is an exhilarating read. It is poignant, funny, serious and sad. It grabs the reader from the beginning and we go on a short but rich journey with Mr. King, a hit-man, an employee of The Firm, as he transforms himself from a killer to a would-be intellectual and lover of art and architecture.
Mr. King is one of The Firm's best marksmen and, as the novel opens, he is in Paris to do a hit. Something about the job starts getting to him and he postpones his hit repeatedly. He puts off an easy mark day after day. When he finally does his hit, it is with a bit of trepidation, anger and regret, wishing that he had something better to do.
This `something better' begins to take shape in his life as an appreciation for art, especially the Georgian architecture of his adopted city, London. He gets excited, going from bookstore to bookstore and collecting books on architecture and works of art by John Constable, the artist. His employer, however, is not happy with him. They are upset about the amount of time it took for him to do his job in Paris and they decide to send him to New York on a vacation. Mr. King feels he is long due for a vacation so this is not the worst thing in the world for him.
In New York, he devours the bookstores and museums, daily increasing his knowledge and excitement about art and architecture, expanding his interests and horizons in this area. He becomes interested in Regency style and art nouveau. He goes to see the Constable show at the Frick Museum after a clerk at Rizzoli's bookstore recommends this to him. He also becomes interested in John Turner and artists who paint the English countryside.
He was known as Peter Chilton in London and he uses this alias to its full advantage in New York, acting like a rich and well-appointed Englishman. It is hard to tell where Mr. King ends and Mr. Chilton begins. He dreams of living in a Georgian home of his own some day. He takes on an English accent and his identity becomes obscured. He is now Peter Chilton, the art aficionado on vacation from his manor in England. He decides to dress the part and purchases a $215 shirt. This is his entry into the world of fashion as well as art. The shirt represents the possibility of something more, of his presenting himself as the real Peter Chilton, a man to whom fashion is paramount.
One day while resting in his New York hotel, the phone rings and it's a call for Mr. King. This is the code name for The Firm calling him when they want a hit to be done. He is quite put out about being disturbed on his vacation but he leaves the hotel to return the call from a pay phone which is The Firm's way of doing things. He is going to have to do a hit in New York. He is sick of The Firm. He finds his bosses stupid, `onions', not up to his caliber. He does his hit within four hours in the hope that he'll be able to rest and continue his vacation. However, he is transferred to Barcelona.
Once in Barcelona, Mr. King becomes so immersed in the architecture of Gaudi and the city's art nouveau décor that he is overwhelmed. He knows that he has an important hit to do but by this time his bag of books is much, much heavier than his clothing and accoutrements. He is a man possessed by learning and potential.
We learn a bit about his early life. His father was a rage-ridden gun-crazy man, teaching Mr. King how to shoot animals - not how to play games or sports. His mother paid more attention to cleaning the house and taking care of her flowers than she did to Mr. King. When Mr. King left his home in a small suburb of New York when he was about twenty, it was in a traumatic way, and he was never to return except for his father's funeral.
Mr. King often wonders what his life would have been like had he been exposed to things besides guns and hunting. He is excellent at what he does but could he have been something else, something of the mind? The reader wonders this along with him because he is caught up in a life he can never leave alive. A life with The Firm is a life forever with The Firm. No matter how much art and architecture he sees or yearns for it can never be enough. And when will his time run out?
Mr. King goes through existential angst with nods to Camus and Sartre as he feels like a stranger and has an overwhelming sense of nausea about his identity and his place in the world. He is alone and a loner, someone who has never thought of himself as one with the world. Since childhood, he's been an outcast and finally, through his intellectual endeavors he is finding himself. The irony of this is that the closer he comes to finding himself, the further he travels from his required path.
This is a first novel by Mr. De Feo and it is an excellent piece of writing, one that had me devouring this book quickly. Mr. King made me laugh and feel deeply saddened. I was with him on every step of his journey and loved every minute of it. I hope that Mr. De Feo continues with his writing as he has quite an understanding of human nature.
Mr. King is one of The Firm's best marksmen and, as the novel opens, he is in Paris to do a hit. Something about the job starts getting to him and he postpones his hit repeatedly. He puts off an easy mark day after day. When he finally does his hit, it is with a bit of trepidation, anger and regret, wishing that he had something better to do.
This `something better' begins to take shape in his life as an appreciation for art, especially the Georgian architecture of his adopted city, London. He gets excited, going from bookstore to bookstore and collecting books on architecture and works of art by John Constable, the artist. His employer, however, is not happy with him. They are upset about the amount of time it took for him to do his job in Paris and they decide to send him to New York on a vacation. Mr. King feels he is long due for a vacation so this is not the worst thing in the world for him.
In New York, he devours the bookstores and museums, daily increasing his knowledge and excitement about art and architecture, expanding his interests and horizons in this area. He becomes interested in Regency style and art nouveau. He goes to see the Constable show at the Frick Museum after a clerk at Rizzoli's bookstore recommends this to him. He also becomes interested in John Turner and artists who paint the English countryside.
He was known as Peter Chilton in London and he uses this alias to its full advantage in New York, acting like a rich and well-appointed Englishman. It is hard to tell where Mr. King ends and Mr. Chilton begins. He dreams of living in a Georgian home of his own some day. He takes on an English accent and his identity becomes obscured. He is now Peter Chilton, the art aficionado on vacation from his manor in England. He decides to dress the part and purchases a $215 shirt. This is his entry into the world of fashion as well as art. The shirt represents the possibility of something more, of his presenting himself as the real Peter Chilton, a man to whom fashion is paramount.
One day while resting in his New York hotel, the phone rings and it's a call for Mr. King. This is the code name for The Firm calling him when they want a hit to be done. He is quite put out about being disturbed on his vacation but he leaves the hotel to return the call from a pay phone which is The Firm's way of doing things. He is going to have to do a hit in New York. He is sick of The Firm. He finds his bosses stupid, `onions', not up to his caliber. He does his hit within four hours in the hope that he'll be able to rest and continue his vacation. However, he is transferred to Barcelona.
Once in Barcelona, Mr. King becomes so immersed in the architecture of Gaudi and the city's art nouveau décor that he is overwhelmed. He knows that he has an important hit to do but by this time his bag of books is much, much heavier than his clothing and accoutrements. He is a man possessed by learning and potential.
We learn a bit about his early life. His father was a rage-ridden gun-crazy man, teaching Mr. King how to shoot animals - not how to play games or sports. His mother paid more attention to cleaning the house and taking care of her flowers than she did to Mr. King. When Mr. King left his home in a small suburb of New York when he was about twenty, it was in a traumatic way, and he was never to return except for his father's funeral.
Mr. King often wonders what his life would have been like had he been exposed to things besides guns and hunting. He is excellent at what he does but could he have been something else, something of the mind? The reader wonders this along with him because he is caught up in a life he can never leave alive. A life with The Firm is a life forever with The Firm. No matter how much art and architecture he sees or yearns for it can never be enough. And when will his time run out?
Mr. King goes through existential angst with nods to Camus and Sartre as he feels like a stranger and has an overwhelming sense of nausea about his identity and his place in the world. He is alone and a loner, someone who has never thought of himself as one with the world. Since childhood, he's been an outcast and finally, through his intellectual endeavors he is finding himself. The irony of this is that the closer he comes to finding himself, the further he travels from his required path.
This is a first novel by Mr. De Feo and it is an excellent piece of writing, one that had me devouring this book quickly. Mr. King made me laugh and feel deeply saddened. I was with him on every step of his journey and loved every minute of it. I hope that Mr. De Feo continues with his writing as he has quite an understanding of human nature.
October 7, 2011
Calling Mr. King is a novel about an experienced hit man undergoing an existential crisis. De Feo's killer is no Martin Blank in Grosse Point Blank, although that is certainly where my mind went when I first read the novel's jacket blurb. Instead, our man comes from a decidedly working-class background but is landing upon all the best books, exhibits, and quickly educating himself on his new-found interests. Admittedly, a professional killer makes for an unlikely sympathetic protagonist. In short order, however, he quickly becomes John Everyman, questioning how his life ended up where it has, what he might have become under different circumstances, and what to do about the steady unease and mounting dissatisfaction with his current existence which no longer seems to fit.
One of the most endearing attributes of our stone cold killer is his newly-found fascination with art and architecture, particularly the latter. Given that his career has taken him to some of the finest cities in the world, and the work of the novel takes him to Paris, London, New York and Barcelona, these travels allow him sufficient opportunity to discover anew places he's known much of his life with a whole new eye.
Without spoiling anything related to the ending, I want to simply state that Ronald De Feo does a marvelous job in bringing the story completely full circle. The book is sparsely written, highly believable, and altogether superbly rendered.
One of the most endearing attributes of our stone cold killer is his newly-found fascination with art and architecture, particularly the latter. Given that his career has taken him to some of the finest cities in the world, and the work of the novel takes him to Paris, London, New York and Barcelona, these travels allow him sufficient opportunity to discover anew places he's known much of his life with a whole new eye.
Without spoiling anything related to the ending, I want to simply state that Ronald De Feo does a marvelous job in bringing the story completely full circle. The book is sparsely written, highly believable, and altogether superbly rendered.
January 24, 2012
All right, all right, call me prejudiced but I thought a book written by an author who, it says so on his blurb, worked for The Museum of Modern Art and was senior editor of ARTnews Magazine would be as stodgy with pretention as an underboiled Christmas pud. But how wrong I was Mr De Feo. This book has not a pretentious bone in its body and is funny as hell to boot.
The book chronicles the life of a very likeable American hit man. Coming from a disadvantaged background, his skill in being brilliant with a gun earns him a marksman career that allows him to travel, and sample the cosmopolitan life as he targets his 'marks' in Rome, London and Paris. But sooner or later he gets tired of always travelling from kill to kill, and finds an unlikely hobby in studying Georgian architecture. He starts to wonder, is there more to life than this?
A totally universal story, his crude, unsophisticated bosses who hound him resonated with me. Every person has a family member or boss who hounds you and you would dearly like to tell to fuck off but don't dare. But in this tale the hit man might just do that ...or maybe he doesn't pull it off.....either way he tries to escape from the world of bang bang you're dead to living the life of a refined English gent and is utterly lovable in the process!
The book chronicles the life of a very likeable American hit man. Coming from a disadvantaged background, his skill in being brilliant with a gun earns him a marksman career that allows him to travel, and sample the cosmopolitan life as he targets his 'marks' in Rome, London and Paris. But sooner or later he gets tired of always travelling from kill to kill, and finds an unlikely hobby in studying Georgian architecture. He starts to wonder, is there more to life than this?
A totally universal story, his crude, unsophisticated bosses who hound him resonated with me. Every person has a family member or boss who hounds you and you would dearly like to tell to fuck off but don't dare. But in this tale the hit man might just do that ...or maybe he doesn't pull it off.....either way he tries to escape from the world of bang bang you're dead to living the life of a refined English gent and is utterly lovable in the process!
May 19, 2012
Took me awhile to get through this one. The author is a magazine writer and cannot help but turning what could be a decent short story for a magazine into a dry novel. It's only 291 pages but, wow, do you feel it. De Feo tries (unsuccessfully) to combine the supposedly fun idea of a hitman having second thoughts with him taking a keen interest in architecture. If you've ever been interested in a hitman-having-second-thoughts-who-suddenly-develops-a-keen-interest-in-architecture read then this is the book for you. Despite my decided lack of interest in architecture, I felt that this could have been a solid read but the author provides little introspection and jumps around from point to point too often, leaving the reader unsatisfied.
April 11, 2012
Great premise. A career hit man, working for The Firm, is getting burned out. The same way as some mid-level bureaucrat gets burned out, and starts not to care much anymore about his job. His attention is increasingly being diverted by art, or Art, especially Georgian architecture. He wants to retire and be free to do what he wants, go where he pleases, and just enjoy his peace.
Stand in line.
He doesnt suffer enough, and he's not cold enough, or mean enough -- he's just not well developed enough. And I'd had enough.
The story just needed more ... ooomph.
Stand in line.
He doesnt suffer enough, and he's not cold enough, or mean enough -- he's just not well developed enough. And I'd had enough.
The story just needed more ... ooomph.
June 4, 2011
I was intrigued, and a little let down. I can't decide if I liked it or was just amazingly disappointed.
For my full review, visit:
http://boundanddeterminedtofindagoodr...
Many Adventures,
Richard
For my full review, visit:
http://boundanddeterminedtofindagoodr...
Many Adventures,
Richard
May 3, 2012
I'm actually surprised that I finished the entire book. I think the storyline could've been a good one but with all the boring details of his travels, the Georgian house he wanted, cities, rambling thoughts, and day-to-day dull activities, it just made the book uninteresting.
October 25, 2011
First 30 pages great. Last page great. The middle becomes unfocused and rambling.
January 28, 2022
This book spends a lot of time in the mind of a man that is on one career path as a hit man and finds another passion. But how to change gears is his (and mine) question.
“The point is, I think that most people, at least people I know, are restless, dissatisfied. They always want to change themselves, change their lives. Give them one thing and they want something else. Do you see what I mean?” Pg 155
“The point is, I think that most people, at least people I know, are restless, dissatisfied. They always want to change themselves, change their lives. Give them one thing and they want something else. Do you see what I mean?” Pg 155
September 9, 2023
2.5/5.
It was not what I thought it would be so I didn’t like it. And then I know that the main character and some of the other ones are meant to be hardcore scary men but why did the author have to make them make very racist comments, anti-homeless, etc??? You can develop a mean man character without attacking other groups…
Idk I just didn’t really like it. At first I thought I did, but then it got stupid and redundant and then the characters started making horrendous comments and blah blah blah. All in all I don’t like it.
It was not what I thought it would be so I didn’t like it. And then I know that the main character and some of the other ones are meant to be hardcore scary men but why did the author have to make them make very racist comments, anti-homeless, etc??? You can develop a mean man character without attacking other groups…
Idk I just didn’t really like it. At first I thought I did, but then it got stupid and redundant and then the characters started making horrendous comments and blah blah blah. All in all I don’t like it.
August 19, 2024
"Fakat sorun, aynı anda sadece tek bir kişi olabilmeniz ve bir sebepten, uzun zaman önce, olmaya, oluşturmaya karar verdiğiniz o ilk kişiden kurtulmak çok zor. Kolay kolay kaybolmuyor. Sizi bırakmıyor. Bu yalnızca sizin hatanız değil. Siz o kişi olma yolundayken çevrenizdekiler de buna yardım ediyor. Bir süre geçince de ona alışıyor ve ondan başka biri haline gelmenizi kabullenmiyor, kabullenemiyorlar."
December 20, 2019
A slightly odd, yet rather enjoyable little book!
February 3, 2020
Odd book, but kept me reading.
February 21, 2020
Wonderfully written and because I had no idea where the story was going, it kept me entertained to the end.
October 31, 2020
Yaptığı işten sıkılmaya başlayan ve mimaye olan tutkusunu keşfeden işinin erbabı bir tetikçi in hayatı...
September 12, 2021
Hilarious! Hit man with delusions of grandeur. Great concept, unique narrator voice, and colorful descriptions of London, New York, and Barcelona. Really enjoyable.
February 14, 2012
Calling Mr. King by Ronald De Foe chronicles an unnamed hit man’s realization that he wants more out of his life than what his profession asks of him. The narrator—who answers to the pseudonym Mr. King—carries out hits as ordered to him by his employers, whom he simply refers to as “The Firm”. He is liked by The Firm due to his excellent shot and having the capability to have a “job” done quickly and cleanly. All of this changes in an instant, however, when while trailing a hit he begins to feel nervous. Feeling nervous makes him even more nervous, as he has long since blocked out feeling any emotions. This leads to a rather messy kill in the English countryside.
The Firm begins to wonder if Mr. King is starting to lose his touch. They decide he will (unwillingly) go on a vacation of sorts to take the heat off him, and settle on sending him to his native New York. On vacation, he stays at a hotel under the alias Peter Chilton. While he finds it hard to leave his work behind (he constantly carries a weapon, and has an instance where he thinks he is being followed), he begins to relax and develops an affinity for architecture—Georgian houses in particular. His desire to learn more about architecture and its different styles becomes borderline obsessive, as he feels he must learn as much as possible before The Firm rips him away to perform another job. The time comes where they do call and send him to Barcelona, where he must take control of his life and decide what kind of future he will have.
Calling Mr. King does not contain as many action-packed sequences as you might think, so if you are looking for a thriller you won’t find it here. The book is more about Mr. King’s inner struggle and the epiphany that he must choose to transform his own life. I felt as if it would have been more successful if it was shorter, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
The Firm begins to wonder if Mr. King is starting to lose his touch. They decide he will (unwillingly) go on a vacation of sorts to take the heat off him, and settle on sending him to his native New York. On vacation, he stays at a hotel under the alias Peter Chilton. While he finds it hard to leave his work behind (he constantly carries a weapon, and has an instance where he thinks he is being followed), he begins to relax and develops an affinity for architecture—Georgian houses in particular. His desire to learn more about architecture and its different styles becomes borderline obsessive, as he feels he must learn as much as possible before The Firm rips him away to perform another job. The time comes where they do call and send him to Barcelona, where he must take control of his life and decide what kind of future he will have.
Calling Mr. King does not contain as many action-packed sequences as you might think, so if you are looking for a thriller you won’t find it here. The book is more about Mr. King’s inner struggle and the epiphany that he must choose to transform his own life. I felt as if it would have been more successful if it was shorter, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
March 31, 2012
What happens when a hit man is tired of being a hit man? He turns to architecture, of course. At least that's what Mr. King does after he becomes increasingly distracted on the job. Mr. King is the go-to guy if you need someone hunted down and pegged, quickly and in a professional manner, but his latest target bothers him. The target seems cheerful, almost toying with his executioner, and when he buys a white carnation and places it in his lapel, taunting King, it's game over. But King is thrown.
For a man who, for obvious reasons, has such difficulty in building a stable life, Mr. King suddenly wants one desperately, buying book after heavy book full of Georgian homes and their histories, seeking not just an abode but an area of interest. He knows how to hunt. He knows how to kill. He realizes, almost too late, he wants something more than either of those things.
The book isn't action packed, which is not at all what you expect when the premise includes a hit man. Instead, King's obsession takes control of everything, and there were several moments when I wanted to snap him out of it, but De Feo doesn't let King - or the reader - off that easily, and King travels deeper into himself, unwilling to answer the phone call with his order to kill.
In the end, the symmetry of this novel was perfect. And it's something I JUST CAN'T GIVE AWAY. And that drives me crazy. Because I totally want to sit and tell you how cool the ending is, but I can't. And won't.
This won't be a book for everyone. In fact, if you are looking for a James Bond-style narrative, please do not pick this up. This novel's intricacies lie in its exploration of obsession but also in structure and writing, and though not everyone will like that, I really did.
For a man who, for obvious reasons, has such difficulty in building a stable life, Mr. King suddenly wants one desperately, buying book after heavy book full of Georgian homes and their histories, seeking not just an abode but an area of interest. He knows how to hunt. He knows how to kill. He realizes, almost too late, he wants something more than either of those things.
The book isn't action packed, which is not at all what you expect when the premise includes a hit man. Instead, King's obsession takes control of everything, and there were several moments when I wanted to snap him out of it, but De Feo doesn't let King - or the reader - off that easily, and King travels deeper into himself, unwilling to answer the phone call with his order to kill.
In the end, the symmetry of this novel was perfect. And it's something I JUST CAN'T GIVE AWAY. And that drives me crazy. Because I totally want to sit and tell you how cool the ending is, but I can't. And won't.
This won't be a book for everyone. In fact, if you are looking for a James Bond-style narrative, please do not pick this up. This novel's intricacies lie in its exploration of obsession but also in structure and writing, and though not everyone will like that, I really did.
September 16, 2013
"Calling Mr.King" by Ronald De Feo is about a hitman. He's the best of the best. The man you call if you need a job to be done. This man grew up in a really bad environment. His mom didn't care about him and his dad was a hunting maniac who has almost killed him. This man (for the sake of this review, I'm calling him joe) was very disturbed as a kid. Once, after some kid bullied him, Joe decides to play a "game". He makes the bully place an apple on his own head while Joe shoots the apple off of his head- with his fathers rifle. Joe grew up thinking he would never be able to have a proper career that he enjoyed and was good at. His friend told him about a job that he thought Joe would qualify for. Joe became a hitman and very quickly became the best. After one particularly difficult job, Joebegins slacking off. He takes a break and becomes interested in architecture, art, and English Georgian houses. He loses interest and enthusiasm in anything that has to do with something other than arts. Joe buys expensive clothes and poses as a rich british man.
This book is so amazing in so many ways I cant even put it in to words. It has an amazing plot twist at the end and is totally worth reading. I learned so many architectural terms in this book without being bored at all. I strongly recommend this book to teens, young adults, adults, and basically anyone that can read (that is over the age of 12) because its exhilarating and although it is long and difficult, I promise you that you won't regret you ever picked it up once you're done.
PLEASE READ
This book is so amazing in so many ways I cant even put it in to words. It has an amazing plot twist at the end and is totally worth reading. I learned so many architectural terms in this book without being bored at all. I strongly recommend this book to teens, young adults, adults, and basically anyone that can read (that is over the age of 12) because its exhilarating and although it is long and difficult, I promise you that you won't regret you ever picked it up once you're done.
PLEASE READ
December 30, 2016
A friend passed along Calling Mr. King, saying he thought I might like it. Since he’s never done this in the 20 years I’ve known him, the book made its way to the top of my TBR pile.
The main character is a hit man, so maybe my friend gave it to me because I write crime fiction. At first I was fascinated by the unique first-person POV of the assassin as he tracks his marks, but after a few kills, about page 60, the book started to feel flat, like there wasn’t going to be a story arc. Just in time, the protagonist flubs one of his missions and is sent from London back to his home state of New York on a mandatory “vacation.”
The book definitely becomes more interesting as the character moves about NYC, experiencing an identity crisis. But part of the reason I liked this section of the book was that I recently visited NYC and enjoyed revisiting the Big Apple, or as the hit man’s boss calls it, the Big Onion.
Calling Mr. King gains emotional depth when the protagonist decides to return to his hometown in upstate New York and the reader learns more of what formed this sociopath.
The last section of the book moves to Barcelona, another favorite city of mine. The narrator, who has grown increasingly dissatisfied with his occupation, has been given a critical job. Although there is tension around what he will do, the Barcelona backdrop sustained my interest through this part up to a clever, seemingly inevitable, and yet somewhat unsatisfying ending.
This book gets points for being original, so I’m giving it a 4, with the caveat that those who aren’t pulled along by the Paris, London, NYC and Barcelona settings may not find the book as good as I did.
The main character is a hit man, so maybe my friend gave it to me because I write crime fiction. At first I was fascinated by the unique first-person POV of the assassin as he tracks his marks, but after a few kills, about page 60, the book started to feel flat, like there wasn’t going to be a story arc. Just in time, the protagonist flubs one of his missions and is sent from London back to his home state of New York on a mandatory “vacation.”
The book definitely becomes more interesting as the character moves about NYC, experiencing an identity crisis. But part of the reason I liked this section of the book was that I recently visited NYC and enjoyed revisiting the Big Apple, or as the hit man’s boss calls it, the Big Onion.
Calling Mr. King gains emotional depth when the protagonist decides to return to his hometown in upstate New York and the reader learns more of what formed this sociopath.
The last section of the book moves to Barcelona, another favorite city of mine. The narrator, who has grown increasingly dissatisfied with his occupation, has been given a critical job. Although there is tension around what he will do, the Barcelona backdrop sustained my interest through this part up to a clever, seemingly inevitable, and yet somewhat unsatisfying ending.
This book gets points for being original, so I’m giving it a 4, with the caveat that those who aren’t pulled along by the Paris, London, NYC and Barcelona settings may not find the book as good as I did.
September 30, 2011
The concept of Calling Mr. King is intriguing, if not entirely original. I enjoyed the narrator's struggle with his work and his life's trajectory, and his eventual descent into near-madness, and his affected British turns of phrase. However, many hefty sections of the story were devoted to lists of book titles, architectural styles and the names of artists or composers. The final chapters, in particular seemed like a long list of places of interest, culled directly from a Barcelona travel guide. From a focus of paranoid obsession, I guess it got the point across, but from a reader's view, it felt unnecessary. Dark, humorous and interesting, kind of like Grosse Pointe Blank, with a more artistic bent and less of a love story.
I received this book for free though the Goodreads First-Reads program. Thanks.
I received this book for free though the Goodreads First-Reads program. Thanks.
October 3, 2011
I did not know if I would be able to root for an assassin protagonist, but the author really pulled if off. It was very interesting to see him struggle with the continuation of his line of work and try to find more out of life. It was also interesting that his conflict with his line of work was not an ethical debate. The book does not deal with the right or wrongs of being a professional assassin but treats it as any other job. The novel is an interesting journey into the struggle with insanity, madness, and complete disassociation with society and personal contact. The book was also a nice introduction into architecture, with out being overly detailed. I am glad that the first reads giveaway gave me a chance to read this novel that I might have easily passed up otherwise.
November 4, 2011
Can reading about architecture, noticing architectural details, going to the Metropolitan Museum and the Frick make a person better, more humane? Can these "hobbies" transform a killer so that he seems more likable? Calling Mr King, which appears to have been written on a dare, sets up and answers these kinds of Nietzchean questions. The answer is of course not, but although they don't exactly add depth, these activities do instill quirkiness and a new raison d'etre in the protagonist Tom Cole, rendering him less amenable to carrying out his jobs for "the Firm."
August 24, 2012
Absolutly boring, probably the worst book I have ever come into contact with. I understand that an assassin can crack up after having to endure the psychological trauma of killing people. However, I do not think an author could have developed a more boring way for an assassin to catalyze his own demise. I have never once given up on a book once I start reading it, this almost became the exception. Read your local phone book for more entertainment, if I could give this book a lower rating I would.
July 16, 2012
Calling Mr.King is about the story of one man, a hit-man to be specific, and how he discovers his own interests while trying to follow the interests of his superiors. This mental journey of his progresses after each kill taking place in various parts of the world. Trouble arises when he begins to question his actions and pursue a life that comes into conflict with his current one. I genuinely enjoyed this book and I thought it was a great read, but I cant help but feel like the story moved on at a quick pace, with seemingly no gradation.
September 17, 2016
It's quite hard to define what this book is. A hit man, tired of the job, suddenly finds an interest in Georgian architecture. But changing who he is isn't that easy and the job keeps catching up with him. I think I was interested by the premise, but actually, the book wasn't actually that interesting. The narrator was a bit of a pain in the ass, and his new interest seems a little far-fetched. There were a lot of chapters of him musing on things and not a lot of plot. I didn't hate it, but I was glad when it was done.
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