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Rating: 
Summary: I've Only Read One of These, But ...
Review: "Greenwich Killing Time" is one of the worst books I've ever read. It's completely devoid of humor (although Friedman apparently thinks himself pretty funny,) the characters are poorly defined (I found myself needing to re-read pages in order sort out confusion over characters less than ten pages into the book,) and the dialog is stale, unpredictable and charmless.Throughout the book, Friedman attempts to pay tribute to 50s pulp in apparently the only way he is capable (by spreading the allegory so thick that it obscures the rather thin plot,) but he comes nowhere near the artful, dark poetry that one sees in a truely well written pulp novel. The book is also packed with racist stereotypes, a noticable anti-feminist slant, homophobia, "liberal-o-phobia" and more failed attempts at humor than a weeks worth of Dennis Miller shows. The ending was also completely predictable; I figured out "who-done-it" the first time the character was introduced ... something that rarely happens when I'm reading a "real" pulp novel. If you're looking for an interesting, engaging, and darkly humerous crime novel, skip "Greenwhich Killing Time" and get yourself the real item instead; truely talented authors like Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and Horace McCoy can write circles around a failed-pop-star-cum-author like Friedman.
Rating:
Summary: I've Only Read One of These, But ...
Review: "Greenwich Killing Time" is one of the worst books I've ever read. It's completely devoid of humor (although Friedman apparently thinks himself pretty funny,) the characters are poorly defined (I found myself needing to re-read pages in order sort out confusion over characters less than ten pages into the book,) and the dialog is stale, unpredictable and charmless. Throughout the book, Friedman attempts to pay tribute to 50s pulp in apparently the only way he is capable (by spreading the allegory so thick that it obscures the rather thin plot,) but he comes nowhere near the artful, dark poetry that one sees in a truely well written pulp novel. The book is also packed with racist stereotypes, a noticable anti-feminist slant, homophobia, "liberal-o-phobia" and more failed attempts at humor than a weeks worth of Dennis Miller shows. The ending was also completely predictable; I figured out "who-done-it" the first time the character was introduced ... something that rarely happens when I'm reading a "real" pulp novel. If you're looking for an interesting, engaging, and darkly humerous crime novel, skip "Greenwhich Killing Time" and get yourself the real item instead; truely talented authors like Jim Thompson, David Goodis, and Horace McCoy can write circles around a failed-pop-star-cum-author like Friedman.
Rating: 
Summary: Kinky Comments
Review: This was the first book by Kinky Friedman that I purchased and the fact that it contained not 1 but 3 stories (books) seemed like a smart purchase. I sat in the bookstore and read the first few pages of each book, just to see if individually they were worth buying the book...and they were. (Who wants to buy a book that has 3 stories in it, but only 1 is good? ) Kinky Friedman has a distinct, non-politically-correct way of summing up life's happenings, but despite his incorrectness, I still laughed-a lot. His use of imagery is absolutely unusual and will keep you guessing as to what his next words of wit will be. I highly recommend purchasing this book if you're a fan of (private detective) mysteries, sarcasm, wit, country music, Judaism or whiskey (read the book and you'll see what I mean).
Rating:
Summary: Kinky Comments
Review: This was the first book by Kinky Friedman that I purchased and the fact that it contained not 1 but 3 stories (books) seemed like a smart purchase. I sat in the bookstore and read the first few pages of each book, just to see if individually they were worth buying the book...and they were. (Who wants to buy a book that has 3 stories in it, but only 1 is good? ) Kinky Friedman has a distinct, non-politically-correct way of summing up life's happenings, but despite his incorrectness, I still laughed-a lot. His use of imagery is absolutely unusual and will keep you guessing as to what his next words of wit will be. I highly recommend purchasing this book if you're a fan of (private detective) mysteries, sarcasm, wit, country music, Judaism or whiskey (read the book and you'll see what I mean).
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