Gone Fishin' : Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story "Smoke" (Easy Rawlins Mysteries (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Character study
Review: This was the first Mosely I've read. I know of his genre/style, and have seen the film of Devil in a Blue Dress. This though seemed a departure, at least from my expectations.

The opening short story Smoke is more L.A. sleuth/heavy Easy as he searches out a school bomber. Smoke seems to be more like the Mosely I'd heard of than the main piece, Gone Fishin'. Smoke is a serial piece, continued into Six Easy Pieces. It ended with my curiosity peaked....

Gone Fishin' is a character study of both Easy and Mouse, as they drive into Southeast Texas to seek money for Mouse's upcoming wedding to EttaMae. This story is incredibly written. The dialect/colloquealism'd language gives much to the charaters and the setting. As well, Mosely paints Mouse as the "funny-man" to Easy's "straight-man," in that Mouse's actions lead Easy to response, and truly progress the action. But Easy, being the conscience of the piece is fascinated by Mouse, haunted by dreams and visions and leads us through an eye opening experience in through late 30's south Texas. Throughout the story Easy is in one form of disorientation after another, overcome by the country people he encounters, realizing along the way that he is at a pivitol time in his life. I suppose that Gone Fishin' too is a serial piece, a prequel though to Easy and Mouse's later adventures.

I left Gone Fishin' liking Easy, sympathizing with his way in the world, and curious to read about his war experience, how he gets to California, as well as what becomes of Mouse and EttaMae.

Rating:
Summary: Can't ask for a more wonderful "prequel"!
Review: Zora Neale Hurston would be so-oooo proud! In addition to being a master storyteller, Mosley captures history and colloquial language like no other. Having read all of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, "Gone Fishin'" fills in a few holes with respect to the constant bonds between Easy and Raymond "Mouse" Alexander. In addition to a deft and economic usage of words, this book is full of vibrant images of places and characters who are not characters but living, breathing people with full lungs, and also brings us closer to understanding the man that 19-year old Easy is moving into. You couldn't ask for a more wonderful "prequel"; my personal wish is to see at least one more Easy Rawlins book which recounts his experience in the military during WWII and discovering Paris, France. Cannot wait. De'Loi