Book Review: Small Town

Reviewed By: Sarah - RAM

Small Town     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Lawrence Block
Class/Genre:   Mystery
...

Oh my god.

OH MY GOD.

Now, I like a lot of books. This is apparent from the reviews I write. But then there are the books that make me go through some kind of hellish mind-altering state, where I put the book down not because I want to, but because I need a breather. Because I KNOW I will be finishing this in one gulp, whether I like it or not.

SMALL TOWN is one of these books. It may be a while before I can pick my jaw up off of the floor, it might be semi-permanently attached.

Just because everybody I know has been way excited about it since he finished the manuscript last summer, just because every review I've read thus far has been nothing short of adulatory, well, that didn't mean I was going to take it all at face value. But this, oh yeah, it's quite the book.

Though it's not for the faint of heart. In part because, as Larry put it in his newsletter, it's "pretty hot stuff" but because there so much emotion packed in there. The characters love New York, and it's oh so obvious the author does as well. The book just reeks of it.

There's lots of humor though, and I loved all the fun poked at publishing and the ins and outs. Many bits made me laugh out loud but especially the end, when an agent pitches a book to an editor that's "Bridget Jones meets THE LOVELY BONES." Why do I have a sneaking suspicion something like that has already occurred in real life, several times...?

In any case, here's an early front runner for a whole lot of 2003 awards. No doubt about it.

Sarah - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Sarah - RAM