Rating: 
Summary: Funny and moving noir
Review: "Truth: Whenever there are two people sharing space there's somebody trying to pull something on someone else. The plans aren't always big and grand, and the scam isn't always strictly illegal, but everybody's got a racket." -- Love is a Racket
It starts with the sound of broken fingers and lauches into a darkly funny attack on free health care, letting us know immediately that Love is a Racket by John Ridley (the author of Stray Dogs, which was turned into Oliver Stone's U-Turn) is no lighthearted romp.
Ridley quickly shows us that his protagonist Jeffty (the owner of those broken fingers) is a real loser. He can't even seem to sell drugs properly and he drives a GM Corvair. As he tells it, "In L.A., you are what you drive. Me? I'm unsafe at any speed" (citing the famous book by social activist Ralph Nader). When he attends a double feature of films starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews (Laura and Where the Sidewalk Ends), he paints himself instantly with a negative brush as he describes his co-patrons. "Losers all," he says, then adds, "I fit in quite cozily."
In the midst of trying to pay back a steadily-increasing debt to Haitian bookie Dumas, our loser -- er ... hero -- gets a visitor that looks like a n easy payday. His friend, Nellis, with whom he shared a life-changing event for both of them -- turns out to be a sure hand at zen poker: he can tell who at a poker table has (or will have) the winning hand; if it's not him, he folds. Jeffty sees in Nellis a way out of his predicament and they head on the road to Vegas.
Most of Love is a Racket consists of Jeffty looking for myriad ways out of this hole he has dug for himself, with Dumas continually getting angrier and using increasingly more violent methods of persuasion. Making him a failed screenwriter was a smart move, because it not only gives him a broken dream to lament, but also makes him instantly sympathetic and makes the articulate prose of this sad sack realistic. Mainstream readers can follow the plot and musings with getting distracted by slang or dialect. It also makes him seem smarter than the average person and his creative methods for getting out of trouble more entertaining.
And Love is a Racket is definitely entertaining. The autobiographical aspects of the book make it fascinating on another level, but it is on its own a satisfying and moving read, especially after the entry of what amounts to a loser's love interest in vagabond Mona. (I learned from Lawrence Block's Grifter's Game to steer clear of women named Mona.) They have a fascinating conversation about Frank Sinatra films, the kind that only happens in fiction (and usually that written by Elmore Leonard). Ridley also shows some of Leonard's skill in his ability to milk humor out of even the most shocking and disturbing events, the likes of which continually seem to happen to Jeffty.
The ending gets a little crazy as Ridley attempts to wrap up several plot points simultaneously within thirty pages, but the majority of Love is a Racket is a remarkable variation on modern noir that fans of the genre (and especially of the new paperback imprint Hard Case Crime) would enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Expect big things out of John Ridley!
Review: "Love is a Racket" is extremely well written. Some of Ridley's phrases and descriptions will leave you with your mouth hanging open--not too flowery, just everyday words linked together in such a way that you'll be amazed at the effect they have. The story is grim, the characters low-life, the setting depressing, and yet you'll find yourself actually caring about what happens next! I am happy to have come across Ridley's work and I now want to see everything he has done. I also wonder why he is so often compared to Elmore Leonard. I guess it is the seemy settings and the despicable, colorful characters, but the writing here is **far** better. I recently had the opportunity to meet John Ridley and found him to be a very interesting and friendly. Even as he answered stupid question after stupid question (mostly mine), he never let on that he was bored. He deserves his success, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. The bald guy in KC expects to see his name a lot in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Noir at its' most intriguing
Review: Already thirty-seven years old, Jeffty Kittridge is a failed scriptwriter, if one can be labeled as such based on an output of one rejected submission. The often drunk Jeffty, who lives in the skid row section of Hollywood, is a loser even among losers. He earns money by occasionally pulling off minor cons. However, when Jeffty cannot pay back the cash he owes Dumas (the local loan shark/bookie, not the writer), he is punished for his error when the hired muscle has his knuckles broken. When filthy street urchin Mona begs him for change, Jeffty sees the reincarnation of Pier Angeli, a deceased Hollywood starlet. He realizes that producer Moe Steinberg still worships Angeli, so Jeffty decides to clean Mona up and pass her off to Moe as an Angel. Jeffty figures he could hit up the man for some cash so that he does not have any additional bones broken. However, Jeffty begins to fall in love with his creation (a violation of the con game rule # 1) and the vic! e squad has put some heat on him to cooperate with their nvestigation of Dumas. This leaves the con artist's future even more blurrier than an alcoholic haze. In his second novel (see STRAY DOGS), John Ridley has smacked around George Bernard Shaw's PYGMALION and turned it upside down into a dark, satirical noir. Jeffty is the kind of bum that readers will want to help him in one chapter and five pages later want to give him a street lobotomy. The story line will remind readers of the darkest works of Lovecraft with its glimpse at the non-glamorous side of Hollywood. Though Jeffty fails to come across as a major boozer, the talented Mr. Ridley demonstrates in LOVE IS A RACKET that he understands the motivations, intricacies, and off-beat relationships of the underside of society. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A great rollercoaster ride!
Review: Experience this wild rollercoaster ride with Jeffty, during his highs and lows, and in his quest for freedom from being a loser. Endure the pain and feel the joy as Ridley weaves a tangled web for his characters. From the opening pages, Ridley grabs and pulls you in. If you enjoyed 'Stray Dogs', you'll like this even better. If you haven't read 'Stray Dogs', you should! (But I think my favorite is still 'Cold Around the Heart'.) Ridley continues to dazzle his readers. Enjoy Jeffty's journey...
Rating:
Summary: It's Depressing that Someone Who Writes So Well...
Review: hmm... what does a man do after scooping some dudes brain and skull bits off of his floor with a spoon? Read this excellent book and find out! The Hollywood that everybody sees, and pretends not to, is vividly, and excellently portrayed in this gritty noir excersise. The protagonost is the classic underdog in which all of us can relate to. It is through his eyes, that a story of crushed dreams, and one last chance at redemption unfolds. This novel is dark, but VERY funny. A hard trick that Mr. Ridley pulls off deftly. Youll love this book!
Rating:
Summary: youll need a shower to wash off the grime
Review: hmm... what does a man do after scooping some dudes brain and skull bits off of his floor with a spoon? Read this excellent book and find out! The Hollywood that everybody sees, and pretends not to, is vividly, and excellently portrayed in this gritty noir excersise. The protagonost is the classic underdog in which all of us can relate to. It is through his eyes, that a story of crushed dreams, and one last chance at redemption unfolds. This novel is dark, but VERY funny. A hard trick that Mr. Ridley pulls off deftly. Youll love this book!
Rating:
Summary: Ridley is brilliant!
Review: I enjoyed 'Stray Dogs', 'U-Turn', and 'Cold Around the Heart' - 'Love is a Racket' shows Ridley's gift to continually entertain and keep the reader intertwined within the main character's fortune (or lack thereof). You won't be disappointed!!
Rating: 
Summary: love is a racket
Review: i have read 208 pages and i am bored with this book. i don't think i can finish it.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Stepping Stone to Greatness
Review: I read John Ridley's first novel, 'Stray Dogs' and was pleased. Beyond that, however, it didn't blow me away. It was nasty, compact and smartly written, but in the end I deemed it merely servicable. Thank God I picked up his sophmore effort to show me exactly how much Ridley has grown as a writer. Love is a Racket is smarter, funnier, edgier, more densely plotted and filled with a cast of deeply written characters. Plus, the ending was brilliant; both unexpected, and, if you think about it, the only way the whole thing could have ended up. All great writers get better with age; it's part of the evolution of their craft. With a second book this good, I can't wait for the release of Mr. Ridley's next book, 'We All Smoke in Hell.'
Rating:
Summary: It's Depressing that Someone Who Writes So Well...
Review: is being largely ignored by the reading public. I can't imagine a writer of noir fiction writing anything better than "Love is a Racket." And I'm perplexed as to why Ridley isn't as popular as writers such as Patricia Cornwell and others. Or even a fellow African American writer of books set amongst down and out Angelenos -- Walter Mosley...I really have enjoyed "Love is a Racket," and only have 67 more pages to go. John Ridley deserves a far larger audience for his books. So if you're reading this in contemplation of buying "Love is a Racket," get it and all the the other books Ridley writes.
|
