Violence, Nudity, Adult Content: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Realistic Legal Thriller
Review: Generally, I hate legal "thrillers" because in order to make the normally humdrum life of a lawyer seem interesting, the author is forced to make it ridiculously unrealistic. Vincent Passaro is such a talented writer that he doesn't have to do that. He, instead, tells it like it is in such a wonderful refreshing way that pyrotechnics and silly plot twists are rendered unnecessary. Violence, Nudity, Adult Content concerns Will Riordan, a senior associate gunning for partner in a New York law firm. He's got two unusual cases dogging him, and his marriage is falling apart. His job is a bit unfulfilling, the intra-firm politics vex him and in one of these cases, he must defend a wealthy client everyone believes murdered his wife. Will struggles with the morality of it all, including his rather high salary on which he has difficulty scraping by, in a wonderfully cynical manner. This novel is not for someone looking for Pollyanna II, but rather for someone looking for a witty, wise exploration of the gritty underside of NY law.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic Legal Thriller
Review: Generally, I hate legal "thrillers" because in order to make the normally humdrum life of a lawyer seem interesting, the author is forced to make it ridiculously unrealistic. Vincent Passaro is such a talented writer that he doesn't have to do that. He, instead, tells it like it is in such a wonderful refreshing way that pyrotechnics and silly plot twists are rendered unnecessary. Violence, Nudity, Adult Content concerns Will Riordan, a senior associate gunning for partner in a New York law firm. He's got two unusual cases dogging him, and his marriage is falling apart. His job is a bit unfulfilling, the intra-firm politics vex him and in one of these cases, he must defend a wealthy client everyone believes murdered his wife. Will struggles with the morality of it all, including his rather high salary on which he has difficulty scraping by, in a wonderfully cynical manner. This novel is not for someone looking for Pollyanna II, but rather for someone looking for a witty, wise exploration of the gritty underside of NY law.

Rating:
Summary: Zow! Legal Thriller With Soul!!
Review: I don't usually read legal thrillers, but in this case the title got me hooked. And it turns out this goes way beyond an up-and- coming lawyer on his way to making partner. Will Riordan is no longer introduced to us than he is enmeshed in two strange cases. An intense black woman (rape victim), a little unbalanced, sends him a barrage of stream-of-consciousness e-mails about the meaning of victimhood; the murder suspect he is defending is malevolent and undoubtedly guilty. Will's marriage is falling apart as we watch, and he is questioning the meaning and purpose of life. The dialogue is crisp and snappy, sometimes unbearably funny, while the characters struggle with emptiness and play legal games, office games, power games. And at the same time there is a strange goodness in the story. There is the hope of redemption. There is meaning to life after all. The story moves quickly; the writing is exquisite, poetical, sometimes vulgar and always believable. And, for me at least, this was not a book I "could not put down." You see, I had to put it down sometimes, to rest, to regroup. It was too intense to read straight through. It is a wonderful book and I recommend it highly!

Rating:
Summary: Very good, but could've been better
Review: I enjoyed this book, but thought it could have had a bit more "action" on the legal side. Will could've been more involved with his clients rather than spending 3 pages describing the car trip to upstate New York. I greatly enjoyed the characters in the book (except Ellie) and thought they were well-developed and explored. I especially like the fact that Will's secretary was given not just a name but also a personality and a past. Too many legal thrillers overlook the role that a secretary plays to an attorney. The plot was excellent and fast moving. I look forward to his future works!

Rating:
Summary: This book can't decide what it wants to be
Review: It's neither a legal thriller nor a piece of literary fiction. In places, Passaro just ends up doing the equivalent of written babbling. It's unfortunate, as the book holds some promise and some of the characters are very interesting and three dimensional. And yet, those characters are never given a chance to shine and there isn't any plot to speak of. I hesitate to give this novel a 1 star if only for the promise that is shown, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: This book can't decide what it wants to be
Review: It's neither a legal thriller nor a piece of literary fiction. In places, Passaro just ends up doing the equivalent of written babbling. It's unfortunate, as the book holds some promise and some of the characters are very interesting and three dimensional. And yet, those characters are never given a chance to shine and there isn't any plot to speak of. I hesitate to give this novel a 1 star if only for the promise that is shown, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Debut Novel for Lovers of Language
Review: Vince Passaro's "Violence, Nudity, Adult Content" is a brilliant character study without a single false note. This book is gritty, funny, tragic, moving, poetic and as real as an IRS Audit. It's also an unsentimental love story that takes no prisoners in its portrait of Will and Ellie's struggle with the incongruities of modern married life. "V,N,AC" includes some of the finest descriptive writing I have ever read. With this book, Vince Passaro takes his place in the front ranks of contemporary writers of fiction in America. "Violence, Nudity, Adult Content" is so much more than another legal thriller-- it aims higher and delivers. This is "literature" in the very best sense. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A good try
Review: William Riordan is almost partner at a New York law firm. He's got two sticky cases right now: a woman who was raped in her apartment and is now using Will's email as her therapy, and a rich crossdresser who appears to have murdered his wife and possibly sexually abused his kids. Will also has an on-edge wife, Ellie, and two young sons at home. While his cases are heating up with unnerving consequences, his marriage has turned glacier. As he struggles with ghosts from his past, with needs he has but can't verbalize and needs his wife has but he can't seem to fulfill, he and his colleagues -- the enormous Gerry, gay David, and mouthy Jack -- are kept on their toes beating out legal fires.

VIOLENCE, NUDITY, ADULT CONTENT would be a four star book but for its lack of cohesiveness. This surprisingly perceptive novel starts off well, with some hard punches all around, but unfortunately Passaro doesn't manage to finish what he starts. The tension between Will and Ellie, the revelations concerning their dissolving relationship, are worthy of better development and a more detailed finale. The two legal plots are haphazard and drifting, despite a very clued peek into the aftermath of rape, an insightful portrayal of office dynamics, and some touching scenes with the crossdresser's destitute 15-year-old son. Though Passaro's prose is excellent and almost boosts this legal thriller onto the literary plane, his talent proves unable to sustain a book that ultimately founders without a tangible plot or emotional direction.

If you like fast paced legal thrillers, this novel may disappoint. Ditto if you're seeking a literary work that fully explores human relationships. Still, VIOLENCE, NUDITY, ADULT CONTENT manages to combine the two subjects in a way that, while fully satisfying neither, certainly deserves an A for effort.