The Big Bounce

Rating:
Summary: Two good characters, Plot doesn't hold together
Review: Elmore Leonard has done much better than this and I am usually a big fan. Jack Ryan and Nancy Hayes are two very good characters and are well developed.
Unfortunately, a lot of Elomore Leonard's usual humor is missing from this book. Somehow the pacing seems off as well.
Leonard's ability to find distinct locations for his capers and describe them well works here as usual. I would never have suspected that cucumber farms and Michigan beach vacation spots for a crime novel

Rating:
Summary: Smooth Vintage Leonard
Review: I picked up a paperback of THE BIG BOUNCE somewhere and was thrilled because I thought it was a new Elmore Leonard. It wasn't until I was halfway through the book that I discovered it was written in 1969, almost 35 years ago. That is how well this book has held up: it reads like a fresh story. And smooth. That is the word that comes to mind: the writing in THE BIG BOUNCE is smooth. It flows and moves along easily. Maybe the best writing I've read of Elmore Leonard's works and I've read many. It's a subdued, subtle story with a great fight scene and a tense house B&E scene. It features Jack Ryan, maybe a little slow en la cabeza but who can swing a bat (or a tree limb) and knows a 100 ways to break into a house, and Nancy as the ambitious rich guy's GF who is more than a little psychotic. Rather than a roller coaster ride of plot twists, this novel is like like a fine vintage wine to be savored and enjoyed on the veranda with a good cigar. Get this book and light one up.

Rating:
Summary: Elmore, entertaining as always
Review: Jack Ryan is a small-time migrant worker/burgular/baseball player who's never accomplished much, aside from getting arrested a couple of times and finding a job as a hotel handyman. Nancy Hayes is a rich man's girlfriend who's made a life out of taking advantage of men and whose idea of a good time is shooting out windows and running people off the road. When the two of them get together, Nancy sees a guy who can help her latest boyfriend pay off, while Jack just sees someone attractive and interesting, but whom he can't quite figure out.

It's hard not to like any of Elmore Leonard's books; the characters are always shady, the plots are always interesting, and the dialogue is always fantastic. The Big Bounce is no different, though the ending is a little odd. This isn't Leonard's best book, but it's still entertaining and a pretty quick read. If you like Leonard's other work, you won't be disappointed with this book.

Rating:
Summary: "New" Novel More for Leonard Completists Than Newcomers
Review: Leonard's "new" book was actually written in the mid-1960s, I suspect. Whether it's a novel long out of print or simply an unpublished work, "The Big Bounce" is more for Leonard completists than newcomers.

Hard-luck protagonist Jack Ryan loses his job at a migrant camp in Michigan after assaulting his crew leader. Resort owner Walter Majestyk hires Jack, despite the fact that his old boss, Bob Jr., told him to leave town. Bob Jr. and migrant camp owner Ray Ritchie are seeing Nancy on the side, unbeknownst to each other. Once Nancy learns that Jack's past consists of a life of crime, she seduces him into a plot to steal $50,000 from Ray.

Those who found Leonard's last few books to be a bit tepid might also be disappointed in "The Big Bounce." Aside from being a dated piece of work, the novel falls more comfortably into a romance fantasy than traditional Leonard crime. Still, the impeccable characterisation and the way the plot pits characters against each other is indicative of Leonard's earlier works. Those looking for another "Ryan's Rules" or "Get Shorty" won't find as much bite here. If anything, "The Big Bounce" serves best as a means to chronicle Leonard's progession than fulfilling the need for an all-new Leonard novel (no more sequels, please).

Rating:
Summary: Meaningless, without a center, disappointing
Review: Leonard's style is to create strong, engaging characters and "see what happens." This story has neither interesting characters, nor does very much happen. Leonard is also famous for looking into the lives of petty crooks - but these are among the pettiest. A couple of selfish and self-indulgent losers get their kicks throwing rocks through the windows of homes. The readers are invited to giggle with glee at the stupid fools who live within, and stumble into the night to see what has happened. I tossed this book after reading the first half - a first for me. I have read every Elmore Leonard I could get my hands on. But this one, I couldn't wait get rid of. Skip this book.

Rating:
Summary: Why Elmore Leonard is more than a "mystery writer"
Review: This novel is not a mystery, rather an all-to-true to life expose of the kind of characters that we read about in newspapers (or know in real life) that live on the fringes. I couldn't help but see Hillary Swank as Nancy and George Clooney as Ryan (if I am not mistaken Jack Ryan reappears in Out Of Sight) the same role he did play in the movie.

I love Leonard and think he is a must for any serious lover of crime fiction (not just "mystery novels") read him all the way through and you will have fully explored unknown territory though the American psyche....

If Out Of Sight is a 5, then The Big Bounce is a 4. I'd give Swag 4.5, Be Cool a 4.5, Get Shorty a 5, and Cuba Libre only a 3.

If you like Leonard go to Jim Thompson next, or vice versa, or Andew Vacchs, but also I would say Cormac McCarthy (the writer that most resembles Leonard in my opinion)or even Russell Banks, Raymond Chandler or Richard Russo.