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The Turnaround
New York Times bestselling author George Pelecanos, "perhaps the greatest living American crime wtiter" (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly), has written his most gripping novel yet.
On a hot summer afternoon in 1972, three teenagers drove into an unfamiliar neighborhood and changed six lives forever.
Thirty-five years after that harrowing day, one survivorreaches out to another, opening a door that could lead to salvation. But another survivor has a different plan a burning need for retribution and seizes the moment to claim reparation in any form he can find.
The Turnaround takes us on a journey from the rock-and-soul streets of the '70s to the changing neighborhoods of D.C. today, from the diners and auto garages of the city to the inside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the first stop for wounded men and women on their way home from war. A story of fathers and sons, wives and husbands, loss, victory, and violent redemption, The Turnaround is another compelling, highly charged novel from George Pelecanos, and proves why "there's so much praise for his fiction that it's practically become a currency" (Free Lance-Star).
297 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2008
120 people are currently reading
1602 people want to read
About the author
George P. Pelecanos
59 books1,627 followersGeorge Pelecanos was born in Washington, D.C., in 1957. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and woman's shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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November 5, 2023
I SOMMERSI E I SALVATI
La Washington di Pelecanos è lontana dallo stereotipo.
Anche questo Pelecanos è ambientato a Washington: è il quinto, o il sesto che leggo, e si svolgono tutti nella capitale americana.
Ma non bisogna aspettarsi nessuna immagine della Casa Bianca, o il Lincoln Memorial sotto la luna: sono cliché che Pelecanos lascia al cinema made in Hollywood e ai dépliant turistici.
È una Washington molto meno conosciuta, lontana dai palazzi del potere, una città di gente che si alza per andare a lavorare e fatica ad arrivare a fine mese, una città che ricorda molto i quartieri e la Baltimora che vengono mostrati nella superba serie televisiva che Pelecanos ha sceneggiato e prodotto, ‘The Wire’ (una di quelle che ha davvero rivoluzionato il linguaggio delle serialità televisiva).
Questa invece è Hamsterdam, quartiere di Baltimora nella serie The Wire.
E, anche questa, è una storia di violenza e di riscatto, della faticosa strada di chi ha sbagliato ma decide di ricominciare, di vite bruciate.
È una nuova storia di immigrati, di integrazione riuscita o meno (melting pot per modo di dire, molte isole e razzismo latente), di colori della pelle che sono diversi e possono essere un marchio indelebile quando la tonalità si allontana dal bianco.
Ford Gran Torino.
Inizia nel 1972: tre ragazzi bianchi (due figli di immigrati greci e un WASP), fatti di canne birra noia e caldo, a bordo di una Gran Torino (!!), sconfinano ed entrano nel ghetto nero. Dopo aver commesso la loro bravata, scoprono che la strada non va oltre: devono per forza di cose fare un’inversione a U, il dietrofront che il titolo originale indica chiaramente, ‘The Turnaround’ (invece dell’insulsa scelta dell’edizione italiana). Ma quando tornano indietro, trovano la strada sbarrata da quelli che hanno provocato offeso umiliato.
L’inversione a U è un tipo di turnaround. Questa è una foto dal film del 1997 “U-Turn” di Oliver Stone, con Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Joaquim Phoenix, Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Lopez, Clare Danes, Liv Tyler.
A questo punto sembra che il romanzo abbia la strada già tracciata: invece Pelecanos compie una svolta, un altro turnaround, e con un salto temporale di trentacinque anni ci porta ai giorni nostri (fu pubblicato nel 2008). La storia diventa soprattutto sulle conseguenze di quello che è successo, molto più che sul fatto in sé.
Il talento di Pelecanos si manifesta nella sua capacità di studio dei personaggi, di scavo dei sentimenti di uomini normali di fronte a piccole banali azioni che potrebbero essere insignificanti (il prisma dei piccoli momenti della vita) invece hanno effetti maggiori delle cause, e determinano grandi cambiamenti e, segnano il corso delle loro vite.
Si manifesta nel peso che dà alle piccole cose, che sono quelle che contano.
Scrive il Washington Post che Pelecanos è affascinato dalle decisioni minori che nel lungo corso fanno la differenza e fanno oscillare gli esiti quando persone buone ma imperfette cercano di fare la cosa giusta, anche se non sanno quale sia veramente.
Un'altra crime novel che va oltre il genere, sconfina, ‘svolta’, è prima di tutto dramma urbano, procede tra vite e quartieri in equilibrio tra pena e redenzione, tra colpa e salvezza. Perché siamo in America, e un altro finale è sempre possibile.
The Wire.
La Washington di Pelecanos è lontana dallo stereotipo.
Anche questo Pelecanos è ambientato a Washington: è il quinto, o il sesto che leggo, e si svolgono tutti nella capitale americana.
Ma non bisogna aspettarsi nessuna immagine della Casa Bianca, o il Lincoln Memorial sotto la luna: sono cliché che Pelecanos lascia al cinema made in Hollywood e ai dépliant turistici.
È una Washington molto meno conosciuta, lontana dai palazzi del potere, una città di gente che si alza per andare a lavorare e fatica ad arrivare a fine mese, una città che ricorda molto i quartieri e la Baltimora che vengono mostrati nella superba serie televisiva che Pelecanos ha sceneggiato e prodotto, ‘The Wire’ (una di quelle che ha davvero rivoluzionato il linguaggio delle serialità televisiva).
Questa invece è Hamsterdam, quartiere di Baltimora nella serie The Wire.
E, anche questa, è una storia di violenza e di riscatto, della faticosa strada di chi ha sbagliato ma decide di ricominciare, di vite bruciate.
È una nuova storia di immigrati, di integrazione riuscita o meno (melting pot per modo di dire, molte isole e razzismo latente), di colori della pelle che sono diversi e possono essere un marchio indelebile quando la tonalità si allontana dal bianco.
Ford Gran Torino.
Inizia nel 1972: tre ragazzi bianchi (due figli di immigrati greci e un WASP), fatti di canne birra noia e caldo, a bordo di una Gran Torino (!!), sconfinano ed entrano nel ghetto nero. Dopo aver commesso la loro bravata, scoprono che la strada non va oltre: devono per forza di cose fare un’inversione a U, il dietrofront che il titolo originale indica chiaramente, ‘The Turnaround’ (invece dell’insulsa scelta dell’edizione italiana). Ma quando tornano indietro, trovano la strada sbarrata da quelli che hanno provocato offeso umiliato.
L’inversione a U è un tipo di turnaround. Questa è una foto dal film del 1997 “U-Turn” di Oliver Stone, con Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Joaquim Phoenix, Jon Voight, Billy Bob Thornton, Jennifer Lopez, Clare Danes, Liv Tyler.
A questo punto sembra che il romanzo abbia la strada già tracciata: invece Pelecanos compie una svolta, un altro turnaround, e con un salto temporale di trentacinque anni ci porta ai giorni nostri (fu pubblicato nel 2008). La storia diventa soprattutto sulle conseguenze di quello che è successo, molto più che sul fatto in sé.
Il talento di Pelecanos si manifesta nella sua capacità di studio dei personaggi, di scavo dei sentimenti di uomini normali di fronte a piccole banali azioni che potrebbero essere insignificanti (il prisma dei piccoli momenti della vita) invece hanno effetti maggiori delle cause, e determinano grandi cambiamenti e, segnano il corso delle loro vite.
Si manifesta nel peso che dà alle piccole cose, che sono quelle che contano.
Scrive il Washington Post che Pelecanos è affascinato dalle decisioni minori che nel lungo corso fanno la differenza e fanno oscillare gli esiti quando persone buone ma imperfette cercano di fare la cosa giusta, anche se non sanno quale sia veramente.
Un'altra crime novel che va oltre il genere, sconfina, ‘svolta’, è prima di tutto dramma urbano, procede tra vite e quartieri in equilibrio tra pena e redenzione, tra colpa e salvezza. Perché siamo in America, e un altro finale è sempre possibile.
The Wire.
August 24, 2025
Yet another wonderful crime and penance tale from the master and former The Wire: A Dramatic Series for HBO co-writer George Pelecanos… set amongst the Greek(!) and Afro American communities in and near Washington DC. Easily a Four Star, 8 out of 12 read.
2014 read
2014 read
September 23, 2013
Way back in 1972, three white boys drove into the black part of town with an eye toward starting some trouble. One boy wound up dead and the lives of three boys were changed forever. Now it's forty years later and Charles Baker thinks someone owes him for the year he did in prison...
Once again, George Pelecanos serves up a tale of redemption and forgetting the past, set against his usual Washington DC backdrop. Of all the George Pelecanos books I've read, this one is the least like a crime novel, although it does have some crime elements, most of which have to do with Charles Baker.
Alex Pappas, diner owner, has a chance encounter with Raymond Monroe, one of the black boys involved in the incident in his past that left him scarred both emotionally and physically. Raymond's brother James is the one charged with the shooting of Pappas' best friend back in the 70's. Meanwhile, Charles Baker, friend of the Monroe boys, is a waste of skin who's living with the mother of an aspiring drug dealer and begins planning to take over the youth's drug business.
Like a lot of Pelecanos' novels, one of the themes in The Turnaround is that it's possible to rise above rough beginnings or let them drag you down. It's also about talking about cars, basketball, music, and the restaurant business.
There's not a lot I have to say about this novel. It's a character driven book, even more than most of Pelecanos' books, and there's not a whole lot that actually happens aside from Charles Baker trying to shake people down and getting out of his depth. That being said, I couldn't wait for someone to take Baker out.
I wasn't too excited about this one after reading the dust jacket and mostly read it to get it out of the way. It's more literary than most of Pelecanos' books and pretty well written. Three stars.
Once again, George Pelecanos serves up a tale of redemption and forgetting the past, set against his usual Washington DC backdrop. Of all the George Pelecanos books I've read, this one is the least like a crime novel, although it does have some crime elements, most of which have to do with Charles Baker.
Alex Pappas, diner owner, has a chance encounter with Raymond Monroe, one of the black boys involved in the incident in his past that left him scarred both emotionally and physically. Raymond's brother James is the one charged with the shooting of Pappas' best friend back in the 70's. Meanwhile, Charles Baker, friend of the Monroe boys, is a waste of skin who's living with the mother of an aspiring drug dealer and begins planning to take over the youth's drug business.
Like a lot of Pelecanos' novels, one of the themes in The Turnaround is that it's possible to rise above rough beginnings or let them drag you down. It's also about talking about cars, basketball, music, and the restaurant business.
There's not a lot I have to say about this novel. It's a character driven book, even more than most of Pelecanos' books, and there's not a whole lot that actually happens aside from Charles Baker trying to shake people down and getting out of his depth. That being said, I couldn't wait for someone to take Baker out.
I wasn't too excited about this one after reading the dust jacket and mostly read it to get it out of the way. It's more literary than most of Pelecanos' books and pretty well written. Three stars.
September 14, 2018
Filled with themes of forgiveness, responsibility, and redemption, while still being just a simple, handsomely-told story about everyday working men, this book is pure Pelecanos. All the elements of his work are here, from the spare writing, to the constant theme of what it means and what it takes to be a man. One of his best traits that sets him apart from so many other writers is the sense you get when reading that he genuinely loves and cares about his characters. This is a great book to read as a primer to Pelecanos's work! Then read them all...
January 1, 2012
I recently read "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, and that had "cultural cringe" stamped all the way through it like a seaside resort's name in a stick of rock (no, not crack cocaine, a kind of candy). Upper class Americans in the late 19th century were completely in awe of Europe - its aristocracy, its culture, its old money. In the passing of a few decades, this cultural cringe had changed hands. A whole new sexy thing had been invented in America and entire industries were all revved up to tell us about it - principally Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley. This led to kids growing up in Britain in the 50s thinking that British people never wrote songs and only made rubbish films, and were never, ever cool. And seeping out from the slimy depths of 1920s/30s hardboiled pulp fiction came a kind of poetry which celebrated this new thing, this new cool. It was all made out of surfaces and brand names, it was technical language applied to the everyday, it was a whole new way of talking, full of assumptions, and if you were young and British it was like overhearing a conversation in Serbo-Croat, but it was also a dog whistle. When you heard it your nose got pressed up against whichever window it was coming out of. As for instance early Beach Boys and Jan and Dean lyrics :
Chrome reversed rims with whitewall slicks
And it turns a quarter mile in one oh six
Door handles are off but you know I'll never miss 'em
They open when I want with the solenoid system
or
She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored.
She'll do a hundred and forty in the top end floored
She's got a competition clutch with the four on the floor
And she purrs like a kitten till the Lake Pipes roar
And if that ain't enough to make you flip your lid
There's one more thing, I got the pink slip, Daddy
or
You'll probably wipeout when you first try to shoot the curve
Takin' gas in a bush takes a lotta nerve
Those hopscotch poledads and pedestrians, too, will bug ya
Shout Cuyabunga now and skate right on through
I mean, what does this all mean? Is it still English?
American authors do this a lot - Don DeLillo is a prime conjurer of technobrandnameism, great long paragraphs of White Noise for instance are pure abstractions to British readers because we only catch about one reference in twenty. And so with George Pelecanos.
Cody, with his black-on-black DC dog-tag hat, plain black T, Nautica jeans, and blck Air Force highs, looked like any rough-edged city kid...
Markos rose and went to the open kitchen, equipped with a Wolf cooktop and wall oven, an ASKO dishwasher and a Sub-Zero side-by-side.
BSR turntable, belt drive. Got the Shure magnetic cartridge on the tone arm. Marantz receiver, two hundred watts, driving these bad boys right here, the Bose Five-Oh-Ones.
America - this kind of America - is always cool. It never goes out of date, it's a style, a verbal legerdemain, all flash but real too, right from the 1920s up to three minutes ago. George Pelecanos does it well. And as for this particular novel, it's a slow burner, takes a whole hundred pages to get all the threads started up and get interesting. And in the end it turns out that this no-nonsense tough-talking book has a big ole liberal heart that dances on the very edge of schmaltziness. But that's okay. Talk tough to me some more, George. More guns, more cars, more stereos and kitchen appliances. You know I love it.
Chrome reversed rims with whitewall slicks
And it turns a quarter mile in one oh six
Door handles are off but you know I'll never miss 'em
They open when I want with the solenoid system
or
She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored.
She'll do a hundred and forty in the top end floored
She's got a competition clutch with the four on the floor
And she purrs like a kitten till the Lake Pipes roar
And if that ain't enough to make you flip your lid
There's one more thing, I got the pink slip, Daddy
or
You'll probably wipeout when you first try to shoot the curve
Takin' gas in a bush takes a lotta nerve
Those hopscotch poledads and pedestrians, too, will bug ya
Shout Cuyabunga now and skate right on through
I mean, what does this all mean? Is it still English?
American authors do this a lot - Don DeLillo is a prime conjurer of technobrandnameism, great long paragraphs of White Noise for instance are pure abstractions to British readers because we only catch about one reference in twenty. And so with George Pelecanos.
Cody, with his black-on-black DC dog-tag hat, plain black T, Nautica jeans, and blck Air Force highs, looked like any rough-edged city kid...
Markos rose and went to the open kitchen, equipped with a Wolf cooktop and wall oven, an ASKO dishwasher and a Sub-Zero side-by-side.
BSR turntable, belt drive. Got the Shure magnetic cartridge on the tone arm. Marantz receiver, two hundred watts, driving these bad boys right here, the Bose Five-Oh-Ones.
America - this kind of America - is always cool. It never goes out of date, it's a style, a verbal legerdemain, all flash but real too, right from the 1920s up to three minutes ago. George Pelecanos does it well. And as for this particular novel, it's a slow burner, takes a whole hundred pages to get all the threads started up and get interesting. And in the end it turns out that this no-nonsense tough-talking book has a big ole liberal heart that dances on the very edge of schmaltziness. But that's okay. Talk tough to me some more, George. More guns, more cars, more stereos and kitchen appliances. You know I love it.
August 23, 2022
The title The Turnaround surely does not refer to Pelecanos' fortunes. He has tried to write a literary novel and exposed his limited skill set. As the plot hardly moves, his prose comes under greater scrutiny and does not hold up. It is too dry to evoke feelings, it is bare bones and journalistic. I have read a lot of Pelecanos and compared to dime a dozen thriller writers, he is fine. But for the past few books, he has been trying to get more and more literary and it is not working out.
Elmore Leonard had a golden rule when it came to crime writing, drop the part readers tend to skip. Not universally applicable but a solid tenet. Pelecanos must be at the other extreme of the scale, write pages of stuff no one cares about. His characters sit and have a drink, cue pages of description on the music playing on radio. His character sees a car, cue encyclopedia of vintage cars. This never adds to character building and is a farfetched way to be atmospheric. The dialogue which is the saving grace for a lot of hard boiled crime writers has never been his strong suit and is equally underwhelming here.
I have read 15+ novels and 100+ characters from Pelecanos and all of them are the variations of the only two he knows how to write. The hero - a working class manly man who given a choice between sodomizing himself with his own severed dick and wearing a pink shirt will always chose the first. Did I tell you he is manly? If I did not Pelecanos will about a hundred times. And the villain - a gangster with kinky sex habits who overestimates his own worth. His characterization is actually the best part of his writing but if I wrote about the same two characters for twenty years, I too would do an ok job.
There is a third type in his books - the random female (with big tits and great ass, is there a single woman in DC who has not walked out of a Playboy Magazine?) who pops up everytime his salt of the earth working man characters needs to get laid. Once again genre fans will point out, a lot of crime authors can be derided on similar grounds. But remember I am being so harsh because Pelecanos is essentially writing a character driven narrative with shallow characters.
The plot deals with a bunch of white kids going into the wrong part of the town and playing what they perceive as a harmless prank. They do not understand its repercussions or maliciousness and lives on both sides of the race divide are shattered. The set up is good but the story that traces the lives of those involved three decades later is utterly predictable and boring. The dramatic conflict is further resolved by a pointless deus ex machina event. The big twist is evident from the first fifty pages. So there is nothing about the plot that merits a recommendation.
Pelecanos has always been a pretentious author. If his prose was backed up by a more focused narrative, this would be a better than average crime book. But he insists on getting on a pulpit and preaching about race relations and redemption. So as an incidental crime book with literary aspirations, this is crap. I might give him one last chance but I am getting tired of his shtick. Rating - 2/5
Elmore Leonard had a golden rule when it came to crime writing, drop the part readers tend to skip. Not universally applicable but a solid tenet. Pelecanos must be at the other extreme of the scale, write pages of stuff no one cares about. His characters sit and have a drink, cue pages of description on the music playing on radio. His character sees a car, cue encyclopedia of vintage cars. This never adds to character building and is a farfetched way to be atmospheric. The dialogue which is the saving grace for a lot of hard boiled crime writers has never been his strong suit and is equally underwhelming here.
I have read 15+ novels and 100+ characters from Pelecanos and all of them are the variations of the only two he knows how to write. The hero - a working class manly man who given a choice between sodomizing himself with his own severed dick and wearing a pink shirt will always chose the first. Did I tell you he is manly? If I did not Pelecanos will about a hundred times. And the villain - a gangster with kinky sex habits who overestimates his own worth. His characterization is actually the best part of his writing but if I wrote about the same two characters for twenty years, I too would do an ok job.
There is a third type in his books - the random female (with big tits and great ass, is there a single woman in DC who has not walked out of a Playboy Magazine?) who pops up everytime his salt of the earth working man characters needs to get laid. Once again genre fans will point out, a lot of crime authors can be derided on similar grounds. But remember I am being so harsh because Pelecanos is essentially writing a character driven narrative with shallow characters.
The plot deals with a bunch of white kids going into the wrong part of the town and playing what they perceive as a harmless prank. They do not understand its repercussions or maliciousness and lives on both sides of the race divide are shattered. The set up is good but the story that traces the lives of those involved three decades later is utterly predictable and boring. The dramatic conflict is further resolved by a pointless deus ex machina event. The big twist is evident from the first fifty pages. So there is nothing about the plot that merits a recommendation.
Pelecanos has always been a pretentious author. If his prose was backed up by a more focused narrative, this would be a better than average crime book. But he insists on getting on a pulpit and preaching about race relations and redemption. So as an incidental crime book with literary aspirations, this is crap. I might give him one last chance but I am getting tired of his shtick. Rating - 2/5
February 13, 2015
Surprisingly, the most trite of the Pelecanos oeuvre. Only one sympathetic death, while normally George is good for at least two, most often three, and even though neither Alex Pappas nor the Monroe brothers know that Charles Baker has been conveniently murdered by some deus ex machina hitmen, they still ride off into the sunset of Monroe's Mechanics. Color me not my usual level of impressed.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 13, 2009
Another great Pelecanos book where instead of standard crime/mystery story, you get a character study on loss, regret, and forgiveness.
April 22, 2010
I just finished George Pelacanos' book "The Turnaround". It's the second book of his that I've read and I'll tell ya, I don't think I'm going back for more.
The story here is actually a compelling one -- 30 years after a tragic racial incident in Washington DC, some of the principals are drawn back together. The book asks you to examine the effects that mistakes made young can have on your life -- and can you escape them. And it's not the plot that lets "The Turnaround" down, it's the execution.
Pelacanos writes "urban" crime-dramas, but unfortunately his books don't seem to have a lot of "street cred" with me. The characters are just a little too cliche' -- e.g., the black characters are constantly using words like "dawg". Really? Dawg? I feel like he's channeling Ice-T on Law & Order:SVU for inspiration. And even this might not be so bad except for the heavy use of product-placement as a substitute for "reality" -- for example let's see if I can channel it...
"Steve removed his New Balance 1123 running shoes and sighed as he stared at the screen of his iMac 8.1 which had an impressive 2.66 GHz processor speed. He removed his designer Oliver Peoples glasses and rubbed his eyes. He really didn't want to write this book review."
Decent plot? Yes. Though i saw the "surprise" coming from about page 45.
Execution? Poor.
Recommend? Not really. Unless you're really into the genre.
The story here is actually a compelling one -- 30 years after a tragic racial incident in Washington DC, some of the principals are drawn back together. The book asks you to examine the effects that mistakes made young can have on your life -- and can you escape them. And it's not the plot that lets "The Turnaround" down, it's the execution.
Pelacanos writes "urban" crime-dramas, but unfortunately his books don't seem to have a lot of "street cred" with me. The characters are just a little too cliche' -- e.g., the black characters are constantly using words like "dawg". Really? Dawg? I feel like he's channeling Ice-T on Law & Order:SVU for inspiration. And even this might not be so bad except for the heavy use of product-placement as a substitute for "reality" -- for example let's see if I can channel it...
"Steve removed his New Balance 1123 running shoes and sighed as he stared at the screen of his iMac 8.1 which had an impressive 2.66 GHz processor speed. He removed his designer Oliver Peoples glasses and rubbed his eyes. He really didn't want to write this book review."
Decent plot? Yes. Though i saw the "surprise" coming from about page 45.
Execution? Poor.
Recommend? Not really. Unless you're really into the genre.
August 11, 2008
Right up front: George Pelecanos is one of my favorite authors. He writes exactly the kind of crime novels I'm interested in reading, ones that venture beyond the crime (which in some cases doesn't even occur on the page) to its effects on a community. He prefers a lean, direct writing style, relies little on contrived plot twists, and allows his characters only the hardest earned of optimism. His dialogue is spot-on and his characters are complex. He rarely utilizes violence for its own sake, choosing instead to chart the effects that ripple out after an act of violence occurs. It's not a big surprise why David Simon tapped Pelecanos to write several episodes of "The Wire," since that show took all of the above qualities as its mission statement.
So I have pretty high standards for a Pelecanos novel, and each time he has delivered -- and, for the most part, he delivers in his new novel, "The Turnaround," as well. But sometimes when you've read an author a few times, you start to see the machinery behind the story, and all of those elements that made the first few books such eye-opening experiences now come off as rote. This might explain my disappointment in his otherwise solid new novel, one I'd still recommend despite its flaws. It contains all the hallmarks that make Pelecanos such a good read, but for the first time, I found myself saying, "We've been down this road before."
The novel begins in 1972, when three white teens, high on marijuana and youthful arrogance, drive to the other side of town and casually shout out racial epithets to three black teens as they drive by. But the road dead-ends, and the white kids are forced to turn around and drive back as the black kids stand waiting, poised. One kid runs away. Another doesn't make it out alive. The novel then jumps to present day, as we follow the progress of those teenagers, now in their 50s, as they all come to terms with their roles in The Incident.
This is treated with the gravity you'd expect from Pelecanos, as he understands more than most other crime novelists how one 10-minute sequence in 1972 could leave scars that never go away. There's also an economy to his prose that is both deliberate and welcome; Pelecanos has always flirted with the stripped-down aspect of hard-boiled fiction, but never before with such confidence.
If you had to single out one overarching theme coursing through his works, it's the nature of manhood. On whether a character measures up as a man, Pelecanos's definition seems clear: a real man gets up, goes to work every day, is there for his children (biological or otherwise), remains faithful to his woman, stays loyal to his friends, pays his bills and his debts, and maintains a long mental Rolodex of great soul songs from the 1970s. Tough to argue with those criteria, but sometimes Pelecanos relies exclusively on those guidelines when establishing his characters, to the point of repetition.
In "The Turnaround," one character, having worked hard all day, is said to relax at night with his "bought-on-time" television. Another character, who works in his father's restaurant, learns that "Work was what men did. Not gambling or freeloading or screwing off. Work." The effect is that Pelecanos sometimes telegraphs his characters in a way that's only slightly less clumsy than just saying Character A is good and Character B is bad.
Most of these hiccups occur in the early stages of the novel; the story settles in once the action moves to present day, and as they say on book jackets everywhere, I wasn't able to put the book down. But this still seems like a small step back from his previous novel, "The Night Gardener"; it's minor Pelecanos, a novelist riffing on some familiar themes.
So I have pretty high standards for a Pelecanos novel, and each time he has delivered -- and, for the most part, he delivers in his new novel, "The Turnaround," as well. But sometimes when you've read an author a few times, you start to see the machinery behind the story, and all of those elements that made the first few books such eye-opening experiences now come off as rote. This might explain my disappointment in his otherwise solid new novel, one I'd still recommend despite its flaws. It contains all the hallmarks that make Pelecanos such a good read, but for the first time, I found myself saying, "We've been down this road before."
The novel begins in 1972, when three white teens, high on marijuana and youthful arrogance, drive to the other side of town and casually shout out racial epithets to three black teens as they drive by. But the road dead-ends, and the white kids are forced to turn around and drive back as the black kids stand waiting, poised. One kid runs away. Another doesn't make it out alive. The novel then jumps to present day, as we follow the progress of those teenagers, now in their 50s, as they all come to terms with their roles in The Incident.
This is treated with the gravity you'd expect from Pelecanos, as he understands more than most other crime novelists how one 10-minute sequence in 1972 could leave scars that never go away. There's also an economy to his prose that is both deliberate and welcome; Pelecanos has always flirted with the stripped-down aspect of hard-boiled fiction, but never before with such confidence.
If you had to single out one overarching theme coursing through his works, it's the nature of manhood. On whether a character measures up as a man, Pelecanos's definition seems clear: a real man gets up, goes to work every day, is there for his children (biological or otherwise), remains faithful to his woman, stays loyal to his friends, pays his bills and his debts, and maintains a long mental Rolodex of great soul songs from the 1970s. Tough to argue with those criteria, but sometimes Pelecanos relies exclusively on those guidelines when establishing his characters, to the point of repetition.
In "The Turnaround," one character, having worked hard all day, is said to relax at night with his "bought-on-time" television. Another character, who works in his father's restaurant, learns that "Work was what men did. Not gambling or freeloading or screwing off. Work." The effect is that Pelecanos sometimes telegraphs his characters in a way that's only slightly less clumsy than just saying Character A is good and Character B is bad.
Most of these hiccups occur in the early stages of the novel; the story settles in once the action moves to present day, and as they say on book jackets everywhere, I wasn't able to put the book down. But this still seems like a small step back from his previous novel, "The Night Gardener"; it's minor Pelecanos, a novelist riffing on some familiar themes.
October 17, 2008
I've read with relish the earlier GP titles (NICK'S TRIP, KING SUCKERMAN, etc.). THE TURNAROUND is a more complex, mature title. GP has dialed back on the violence and focused on families. The other trademarks like the musical and pop culture references; detailed observations; and a strong sense of setting remain intact. The social slant still comes through (crime doesn't pay, the USA sends its soldiers into meatgrinder wars, etc.). I haven't read any other of themore recent titles to make comparisons to THE TURNAROUND.
July 25, 2011
I'm a huge George Pelecanos fan and I don't think I've really seen him make a misstep. And he didn't here, either. Granted, I had insomnia last night, but I read the book in a little more than a day...and was sorry I finished it so quickly, which says something.
April 12, 2022
Este é o género de livros que gosto. Que mexe com as nossas convicções. Que nos faz pensar.
Com um leque de personagens muito bem construídas e complexas, com personalidades diversas e histórias de vida difíceis.
Trata de temáticas pertinentes, como os problemas raciais, a guerra e os seus "demónios", de como as pessoas são esquecidas após regressarem do inferno da guerra e têm de começar do zero.
Fala da importância da família, tanto no bem como no mal, de como esta nos transforma e faz de nós seres humanos complexos.
Pode fazer de nós as melhores pessoas mas também pode destruir-nos por dentro sem retorno possível.
O que fica desta leitura é o facto de todos nós cometermos erros, de termos acções precipitadas que causam sofrimento a outros.
No entanto, podemos sempre tentar perceber o que fizemos mal e tentar redimir-nos.
E isso pode ser ser uma grande e boa mudança na nossa vida.
Uma história dura e realista acerca das dificuldades da vida e das oportunidades perdidas.
Recomendo muito.
Com um leque de personagens muito bem construídas e complexas, com personalidades diversas e histórias de vida difíceis.
Trata de temáticas pertinentes, como os problemas raciais, a guerra e os seus "demónios", de como as pessoas são esquecidas após regressarem do inferno da guerra e têm de começar do zero.
Fala da importância da família, tanto no bem como no mal, de como esta nos transforma e faz de nós seres humanos complexos.
Pode fazer de nós as melhores pessoas mas também pode destruir-nos por dentro sem retorno possível.
O que fica desta leitura é o facto de todos nós cometermos erros, de termos acções precipitadas que causam sofrimento a outros.
No entanto, podemos sempre tentar perceber o que fizemos mal e tentar redimir-nos.
E isso pode ser ser uma grande e boa mudança na nossa vida.
Uma história dura e realista acerca das dificuldades da vida e das oportunidades perdidas.
Recomendo muito.
February 12, 2009
I don't know that I would ever call Pelecanos a 'great' writer. His stories are not epic, he doesn't write particularly quotable dialogue and I won't necessarily remember any particular book years from now (except for Down By the River Where the Dead Men Go-- good book & best title ever-- and King Suckerman-- just plain badass). Pelecanos has, however, definitely earned his place as a 'damned good' writer. His plots are tight and bullshit-free (David Baldacci and a gazillion others could learn from him), his characters are real and the man knows how to put his readers at the scene. He sees the details, not only in setting but in the ways people interact with each other. He pays attention, and he has the rare ability to transmit his observations without the excess that so many other writers use to pad the page. What makes him unique in my experience & what I look forward to in each of his books is his ability to write a soundtrack for his stories-- he has what seems to be an encyclopedic knowledge of popular music from the 60s through the early 90s. I've learned more about old school R&B (the good stuff, not the modern crap) through his stories than I ever did through a radio.
November 9, 2008
The Turnaround is the best gook I’ve read this year about events coming full circle. Three white boys looking for trouble drives into a black community yelling racial slurs out their window. Not knowing the street they were on was a cul-de-sac, one of the boys jumps out the car and escapes. One is killed and the other badly beaten. The brother who committed the killing does not go to jail because his brother takes the rap for him. The brother comes out a beaten man who gives up on becoming a success at anything including getting a decent job while the brother he protected follows the path their parents had laid out. The brother who committed the murder accidentally bumps into the teen injured, now a man, and decides to put things right. What I liked most about this book was I was not able to predict the ending.
August 1, 2008
Pelecanos continues to amaze me. As someone who was born in Washington, DC and lived there for most of my life, I think that Pelecanos understands the non-political DC, the DC of ordinary working people of various ethnicities, better than any writer I've read. This book takes a slightly different turn than his usual, concentrating on the aftermath of violence and the possibility of redemption. In addition to the usual street life, he uses Walter Reed Medical Center, those who work there as well as the injured soldiers treated there, to look at the effect of war on those in the military. This book is thought-provoking, and I'm sure that I will continue to think about it for a long time.
February 28, 2015
We had a good discussion of this at my book club. A number of us were dissatisfied with the ending. One woman who grew up in SE Washington DC in the 60's and 70's didn't find the author's portrayal of DC of the time very nuanced. Many of us felt that despite the author's attempt to represent social justice, it really represented a benevolent white savior story. I found the writing pedestrian. It's the first Pelecanos book I've read, and was not the only book club member who said it'd be the last. There are too many good books we want to read so we don't want to spend time reading books like this. Popular, yes, but people look for and get different things from books they read.
April 14, 2017
The Turnaround isn't so much about crime, rather the lasting effects that crime has on the lives of those directly impacted by split decisions of provoked violence. Told in two distinctive time frames; the first centering on a racial encounter which led to the murder of a young man, the second centering on those same men as adults many years later with children of their own. The Turnaround is about redemption, remorse, and hurt. It's also about hope. This is a character driven story that does feel like a slow-burn at times but it's worth it. I listened to the abridged audio version narrated by Dion Graham who was a perfect match for these characters. 4/5 stars.
June 15, 2020
More great crime fiction from Pelecanos. This time events from more than 30 years ago come back to haunt these characters now in their 50s. A bit of a slow burn, but great storytelling keeps the pages turning. 4 + Stars
July 24, 2024
Για μένα από τα καλύτερά του. Συμμορίες, εφηβικά όνειρα, αδιέξοδα, η ανάγκη για συγχώρεση. Η Ουάσιγκτον του 70 και του 2000
July 31, 2013
Com o racismo e a divisão das diferentes classes sociais como pano de fundo, George Pelecanos conta-nos, num tom familiar, a história de um acidente que teve lugar há 30 anos atrás. Os envolvidos, outrora jovens e agora adultos, antes filhos e agora pais, são os meios a que o autor recorre para demonstrar os efeitos dos nossos erros. O ser humano, sempre imperfeito, é perseguido pelo seu passado.
Infelizmente, as personagens são clichés demasiado óbvios e a evolução dos acontecimentos não tem nada de surpreendente ou inesperado: o que pensamos que vai acontecer, é de facto o que acontece.
Entre os aspectos positivos estão a atmosfera simpática e acolhedora, o retrato, ainda que superficial, das relações familiares e a gestão de um negócio de família. Apesar da ausência de profundidade das descrições, "Acerto de Contas" proporciona alguns momentos sentimentais e divertidos, com alguns diálogos convidativos à leitura.
A ausência de um fio condutor é a causa principal da fraca qualidade do livro. Os saltos entre as personagens tornam-se cansativos à medida em que a informação que vamos absorvendo se revela cada vez mais insignificante. A história carece de ritmo e a estagnação está longe de ser o seu pior defeito. O enredo vagueia no que parece uma eternidade, enveredado sempre por caminhos idênticos até terminar da forma mais previsível possível. Com "Acerto de Contas" não há espaço para surpresas!
Infelizmente, as personagens são clichés demasiado óbvios e a evolução dos acontecimentos não tem nada de surpreendente ou inesperado: o que pensamos que vai acontecer, é de facto o que acontece.
Entre os aspectos positivos estão a atmosfera simpática e acolhedora, o retrato, ainda que superficial, das relações familiares e a gestão de um negócio de família. Apesar da ausência de profundidade das descrições, "Acerto de Contas" proporciona alguns momentos sentimentais e divertidos, com alguns diálogos convidativos à leitura.
A ausência de um fio condutor é a causa principal da fraca qualidade do livro. Os saltos entre as personagens tornam-se cansativos à medida em que a informação que vamos absorvendo se revela cada vez mais insignificante. A história carece de ritmo e a estagnação está longe de ser o seu pior defeito. O enredo vagueia no que parece uma eternidade, enveredado sempre por caminhos idênticos até terminar da forma mais previsível possível. Com "Acerto de Contas" não há espaço para surpresas!
July 28, 2010
I can understand now why Pelecanos has been called the Zola of crime fiction. His characters are always introduced as the products of a specific personal, social and racial environment. They are almost always male, residents of Washington DC or the Maryland suburbs (a place Pelecanos knows and brings to life like no other author except maybe Edward P Jones), and they range from street hoods to cops and small businessmen who may or may not have been to college. These backgrounds having been established, Pelecanos has each character choose between living right and living wrong, and there's never any doubt in the reader's mind which is which. The collisions, rises, and falls that follow these initial conditions read almost like a physics textbook, so swift and sure are the natural consequences. Not that these novels are ever saccharine; they're satisfyingly real, and dirty where they need to be. Sometimes the brand names and carefully calibrated street dialect threaten to make them a little too real.
The moral stakes are especially vivid in The Turnaround, dealing as it does with a racial incident in 1972 and its aftermath in 2006. The story is complex enough to be interesting, but there's never any doubt which kind of ending the reader is supposed to want to see.
The moral stakes are especially vivid in The Turnaround, dealing as it does with a racial incident in 1972 and its aftermath in 2006. The story is complex enough to be interesting, but there's never any doubt which kind of ending the reader is supposed to want to see.
October 11, 2014
3.5 (Cuatro estrella por entretenido).
Creo que encontré dos problemas en este libro:
1- Por cada personaje que aparecía en la el libro o era mencionado, el autor sentía la necesidad de aclarar a que Iglesia o que religión era, el color de piel, si era rubio, etc. En sí, la novela lo que quiere decir que hay tanto personas buenas como malas sin importar el color del piel y demás cosas, pero esa diferenciación que hace sobre todos en un momento se vuelve cansadora y no ayuda a esa idea de unión que, parece, desea Pelecanos.
2- Si bien la trama es muy entretenida, ya que Pelecanos tiene un estilo ágil para escribir, me hubiese gustado que el problema con Charles Baker lo resolvieran los tres personajes que en un momento se reencuentran y no por un asunto paralelo que tenía Baker, lo que hace pensar que Pelecanos no sabía como terminar la novela y se le ocurrió esa forma, cambiando determinadas partes de la novela.
Por lo demás, es una novela de personajes que han sufrido demasiado e intentan superarse cada día más allá de sus padecimientos. Una lectura entretenida y ágil.
Creo que encontré dos problemas en este libro:
1- Por cada personaje que aparecía en la el libro o era mencionado, el autor sentía la necesidad de aclarar a que Iglesia o que religión era, el color de piel, si era rubio, etc. En sí, la novela lo que quiere decir que hay tanto personas buenas como malas sin importar el color del piel y demás cosas, pero esa diferenciación que hace sobre todos en un momento se vuelve cansadora y no ayuda a esa idea de unión que, parece, desea Pelecanos.
2- Si bien la trama es muy entretenida, ya que Pelecanos tiene un estilo ágil para escribir, me hubiese gustado que el problema con Charles Baker lo resolvieran los tres personajes que en un momento se reencuentran y no por un asunto paralelo que tenía Baker, lo que hace pensar que Pelecanos no sabía como terminar la novela y se le ocurrió esa forma, cambiando determinadas partes de la novela.
Por lo demás, es una novela de personajes que han sufrido demasiado e intentan superarse cada día más allá de sus padecimientos. Una lectura entretenida y ágil.
February 13, 2011
I'm torn on how to rate this one. On writing alone, Pelecanos is a 5+. He instantly breathes life into his characters. The dialogue has a perfect rhythm and sounds real. He brings more than entertainment, by tackling a difficult topic and never shying away from the dirt within.
What I had a problem with was the volume of characters and the constant game of leapfrog from one to another. Because there were so many characters, as a reader I was never able to truly latch on to one and invest completely in that person's story. The characters all eventually connected, their lives interweaving in both the past and the present. But the jump in time, combined with the number of characters involved, for me, took away that emotional investment I like to have in a story.
What I had a problem with was the volume of characters and the constant game of leapfrog from one to another. Because there were so many characters, as a reader I was never able to truly latch on to one and invest completely in that person's story. The characters all eventually connected, their lives interweaving in both the past and the present. But the jump in time, combined with the number of characters involved, for me, took away that emotional investment I like to have in a story.
May 23, 2023
George Pelecanos is a Good Author
...and I think you are going to like all of his books as much as I do.
He writes about violence, and love, and forgiveness in The Turnaround, without giving anything away. Those are some pretty big themes.
I imagine that some highly critical readers could observe that maybe you could guess some things about the end before they happen, etc. But I think he does a great job writing about timeless topics that need to be adddressed even more in 2023 than in 2008 when this book was copyrighted.
I recommend this, and all of this author's novels.
They are great for a light read at the beach in the summer, or around the fireplace (if I had a fireplace) during the cold nights of winter.
#WashingtonDC ; read all about it!
...and I think you are going to like all of his books as much as I do.
He writes about violence, and love, and forgiveness in The Turnaround, without giving anything away. Those are some pretty big themes.
I imagine that some highly critical readers could observe that maybe you could guess some things about the end before they happen, etc. But I think he does a great job writing about timeless topics that need to be adddressed even more in 2023 than in 2008 when this book was copyrighted.
I recommend this, and all of this author's novels.
They are great for a light read at the beach in the summer, or around the fireplace (if I had a fireplace) during the cold nights of winter.
#WashingtonDC ; read all about it!
March 7, 2020
Good story about racism and senseless, spur of the moment violence. Nice ending
May 27, 2023
A friend of mine gave me this book because she thought it was too dark and sopped reading it. I read "The Night Gardner," a few years ago and liked it so I cracked this one open. I didn't find it dark but I did reach a point in the middle when I was asking myself why I was still reading it. It's set in DC and involves the murder of a teenager after a racially charged incident. The beginning and middle are slow as characters are developed and fleshed out, sometimes in too much detail that doesn't push the narrative forward fast enough for me. There's also a lot of detail about the geography of Washington DC which is interesting to me because I live there but sometimes it appeared as an affectation. The pace picks up speed towards the end as the threads get tied together but the ending seemed a bit corny and contrived. Overall not bad but not my favorite.
July 2, 2010
I will not give you synopsis of the story. Other reviews have already done that. I am only writing this for you and for me.
OK, I have not read a book in one day in a long time! This book I read in a day. I have read Pelacanos before and have enjoyed his writing. Part of the reason is because he sets most of his books (as far as I know) in DC/Montgomery County. I lived in Silver Spring for about eight years. I met George before he became well known; his preschooler went to day care with my preschooler. So when he started publishing books, I started reading them. So I came in through the back door but like where I have found myself.
You don't have to know much about the early 1970s, but if you do, you will get some special enjoyment -- or nostalgea. I'd call Pelacanos a relist. He paints his word canvas with a lot of attention to detail in language and location. Mostly the detail actually has no direct bearing on the story; it is just fun and so Pelacanic.
Part of his attention to detail involves product placement. If he gets paid for any of his name brand mentions, he is doing OK. It just doesn't matter that it is a grape Nehi soda and Wise potato chips, but there it is. Plenty of that. I have to put some space between Pelacano books so that my mind can forget some of the style details and I can enjoy them again. You have to be willing to smile to yourself, "This is George all right."
His time leap from 1972 to 2007 is a positive aspect of the story. You do not need to walk along with a character for 35 years to have him/her be well developed. We do learn a lot about the main characters and their progression through life.
Not to be a spoiler, I was not that impressed with the conclusion. It does fit the storyline and the developed characters but much of the book had more intensity than the conclusion.
One interesting tidbit: War by Sebastian Junger is set in a Korengal valley outpost in Afghanistan. The son of one of the major characters in The Turnaround is stationed in that same location. Probably both in the same division/regiment/unit. Must be the place to be!
I might have to read a few more Pelacanos books before I would get tired of his pattern. And, like I said, if I allow some time to pass between books it is OK for me. So far. The publication schedule is just about right for me although I do have some catching up to do since I have taken a several year break.
OK, I have not read a book in one day in a long time! This book I read in a day. I have read Pelacanos before and have enjoyed his writing. Part of the reason is because he sets most of his books (as far as I know) in DC/Montgomery County. I lived in Silver Spring for about eight years. I met George before he became well known; his preschooler went to day care with my preschooler. So when he started publishing books, I started reading them. So I came in through the back door but like where I have found myself.
You don't have to know much about the early 1970s, but if you do, you will get some special enjoyment -- or nostalgea. I'd call Pelacanos a relist. He paints his word canvas with a lot of attention to detail in language and location. Mostly the detail actually has no direct bearing on the story; it is just fun and so Pelacanic.
Part of his attention to detail involves product placement. If he gets paid for any of his name brand mentions, he is doing OK. It just doesn't matter that it is a grape Nehi soda and Wise potato chips, but there it is. Plenty of that. I have to put some space between Pelacano books so that my mind can forget some of the style details and I can enjoy them again. You have to be willing to smile to yourself, "This is George all right."
His time leap from 1972 to 2007 is a positive aspect of the story. You do not need to walk along with a character for 35 years to have him/her be well developed. We do learn a lot about the main characters and their progression through life.
Not to be a spoiler, I was not that impressed with the conclusion. It does fit the storyline and the developed characters but much of the book had more intensity than the conclusion.
One interesting tidbit: War by Sebastian Junger is set in a Korengal valley outpost in Afghanistan. The son of one of the major characters in The Turnaround is stationed in that same location. Probably both in the same division/regiment/unit. Must be the place to be!
I might have to read a few more Pelacanos books before I would get tired of his pattern. And, like I said, if I allow some time to pass between books it is OK for me. So far. The publication schedule is just about right for me although I do have some catching up to do since I have taken a several year break.
May 10, 2009
i love pelecanos' writing -- his use of the vernacular, his sense of pace, the slow but sure build-up of his plots, the large cast of well-loved characters (down to the extras), the web-like structure of the narrative, the road maps, the soda cans, the cigarettes, the cars, the playlists. it's all very cool stuff. nothing is introduced that is not dealt with technically. if there's a car there's a special feature and a motor part named by their proper names (if you don't know what they are you are welcome to look them up in the dictionary); if there's a gun, same; if there's a stereo, an item of clothing, sneakers... you get the idea. the use of expertise makes the text thrilling to me. you get into the fabric of things, just like in life, and if you don't get it you don't get it, just like in life. pelecanos does his homework and never condescends to his readers.
i am not in love with crime novels unless they are told from the cop side, which this isn't. the criminal mind doesn't interest me very much. straight-up criminals seem pretty boring to me, both the smart variety and the dumb variety. this is not, however, a crime novel proper, though there is some crime in it. this is a story about the aftermath of crime and you know what happens from the beginning, minus a little denouement which you see coming pretty quickly. the beauty of this book is its stark (too stark?) presentation of the social determinisms of class and race -- how some people are bound for shit lives, others for two cars and three bedrooms lives, others yet for rolex & hugo boss lives. for the people who are bound for shit lives, prison is almost genetic: their babies are born with a foot in jail even before their first lung-cleansing scream.
it's heartbreaking and pelecanos does a good job at impressing the heartbreakingness on you. since he writes so well, and since what he says is so well said, i think this would make for an excellent lower-division teaching book. me, i liked this book best for the language, hands down. important as the story and the themes are, i found them slightly too didactic. the ending is downright schlocky.
i am not in love with crime novels unless they are told from the cop side, which this isn't. the criminal mind doesn't interest me very much. straight-up criminals seem pretty boring to me, both the smart variety and the dumb variety. this is not, however, a crime novel proper, though there is some crime in it. this is a story about the aftermath of crime and you know what happens from the beginning, minus a little denouement which you see coming pretty quickly. the beauty of this book is its stark (too stark?) presentation of the social determinisms of class and race -- how some people are bound for shit lives, others for two cars and three bedrooms lives, others yet for rolex & hugo boss lives. for the people who are bound for shit lives, prison is almost genetic: their babies are born with a foot in jail even before their first lung-cleansing scream.
it's heartbreaking and pelecanos does a good job at impressing the heartbreakingness on you. since he writes so well, and since what he says is so well said, i think this would make for an excellent lower-division teaching book. me, i liked this book best for the language, hands down. important as the story and the themes are, i found them slightly too didactic. the ending is downright schlocky.
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