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May 2024 - Hard Rain Falling
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I started reading about a week ago and I'm really enjoying it so far. It's almost like if Martin Eden had fallen for the wrong girl. It is literate, but also very accessible. If you're on the fence about joining in, give it a try!
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I'll be reading as well, but probably not for a few weeks. I read Hard Rain Falling a couple of years ago and thought it was great, so I am looking forward to reading it again and following along with the discussion.
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I will eventually get around to Carpenter because he sounds interesting
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I will eventually get around to Carpenter because he sounds interesting"
I thought so too, Algernon, especially in the first third or so. After that I found that it was easier to read the Strike parts than the Rocco parts until close to the end when I enjoyed both. I sure wish Price could get to the point a little quicker. Elmore Leonard would have told that same story in 185 pages and it would have been funnier too.
You'll be glad to know that Hard Rain Falling hooked me right away.
I have had some life changing events occur, plus like Algernon, Clockers is a slow read. I'm also having a bit of trouble procuring the book. SO I may sit this one out.
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It wasn't what I thought it would be. Even the first third of the book had me believing that I would be reading about the life and times of a small time criminal. The atmosphere of the various settings such as pool halls and bars and low-rent hotels felt very authentic. I used to play pool while I was at college and while I never was good enough to hustle anyone I enjoyed tthe game. It was great to see the various variations of the game, along with its quirky practitioners, brought to life in these pages (and before you ask, no I have not yet read The Hustler by Walter Tevis although I certainly plan to do so someday).
But the book made a sharp turn in the middle and became an examination of a young man's fruitless search for happiness and freedom and more importantly love, none of which he experienced growing up in an orphanage and juvenile detention. There were some contemplative parts that got a little dull at times. Carpenter's prose was sharp though, with a gritty edge that I was expecting and fully enjoyed.
So I liked it a lot, despite it not really being a "crime" novel. And I'm going to move Carpenter's "Hollywood Trilogy" into my To Be Read pile (although I won't be getting to it for a while).
Where is everyone else at in the book? Don't tell me I'm the only one reading it!
Mod
Obviously, Hard Rain Falling is largely an existential exposition - living inside Jack & Billy's heads as they make their way through the world. Such novels aren't my favorites, but Carpenter's writing is unquestionably very good. I enjoyed the way he crystallized the counter-culture attitude with the line, "They were hip and anybody who worked for a living was square."
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And I hope you will all join in for the June group read of The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West.
Pulp Fiction
Books mentioned in this topic
The Day of the Locust (other topics)The Hustler (other topics)
Hard Rain Falling (other topics)
Martin Eden (other topics)
Hard Rain Falling (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Nathanael West (other topics)Walter Tevis (other topics)
Don Carpenter (other topics)
From Carpenter's Wikipedia entry:
"A close observer of human frailty, his writing depicted marginal characters like pool sharks, prisoners and drug dealers, as well as movie moguls and struggling actors.
"Although lauded by critics and fellow writers, Carpenter's novels and stories never reached a mass audience and he supported himself with extensive work for Hollywood....
"Don Carpenter was born in Berkeley, California, and lived in Lafayette during the early years of his childhood. He attended and graduated from Berkeley High School. In 1951, Carpenter enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in Kyoto, Japan. During his time in the service, Carpenter was a writer for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, where he met musician and cartoonist Shel Silverstein.
"When Carpenter was discharged from service in 1955 he returned to Portland where he married Martha Ryherd. They had two daughters, Bonnie and Leha, and settled in San Francisco in the late 1950s. In 1957, Carpenter enrolled in San Francisco State College and received an M.A. when he graduated in 1961. Four years later (1965), the Carpenters settled in Mill Valley, California. Carpenter taught English for two years before publishing his first novel Hard Rain Falling (1966). From the late 1960s to the early 1980s Carpenter lived in and out of Hollywood writing screenplays for movies....
"...In the late 1980s, Carpenter suffered from several medical maladies including tuberculosis, diabetes, and glaucoma. As the years went on, Carpenter's illnesses got progressively worse. After many years of suffering, Carpenter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the summer of 1995 at his home in Mill Valley, California. He was 64."
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Car...
NY Times obituary: https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/30/ob...
An appreciation piece in the Oregonian: https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2015...