"Being beat is simply an attitude toward life which no amount of sophisticated rationalization can cover up. An attitude of me first, of anything-for-kicks. Larry had it. Or it had him. He may have been an extreme case, but I think the beats can be characterized best by one of their own sayings. Sick-sick-sick."
One of the things I have time for lately is reading. I've been doing alot of that. And I've also picked up a bunch of beat related pulps recently as well so until I can resume more normal blogging and, fingers crossed, podcasting, there will be a lot of book reviews.
SPOILER ALERT!!
I had read somewhere that this was Bloch's beatsploitation novel. Well, the beat references are pretty thin but it's still a great little crime novel and a really enjoyable read. I always enjoy Robert Blochs writing. Well paced and the character interactions seem quite natural and of course there's Blochs knack for setting a really creepy atmosphere with psychologically damaged characters.
Larry Fox, the main character here needs to hide out after taking a beating while trying to blackmail his ex girlfriend for a little cash to escape from a small time grift gone wrong that he's currently being sought for. Her new Beau runs the nightclub that she sings in and he has some ties with local gangsters and aranges the beating but Larry gets dumped in the back of a car belonging to one of the nightclub patrons and wakes up in a bed in suburbia. This is where it gets interesting. Larry is sort of a beat character. He's a small time grifter who works in hotels and plays piano in jazz combos. He's an urban cat through and through, so when he realizes where he is he decides that if he plays it just the right way, he can hide out here in the suburbs while he tries to get back at his ex and possibly extort more money from her. It's interesting the way Bloch turns your feelings of loyalty. In the beginning I felt somewhat sympathetic towards Larry but as he begins to decieve all of the innocent suburbanites that are trying to help him, he begins to show a despicable side. He secretly thinks these folks are the dumbest bunch of squares ever and even begins to scheme about getting the neighbours young daughter into a compromising position.
Jim Whittaker, one of the neighbors where Larry is staying is suspicious right from the beginning. He's a philosophical sort who is writing a book about how the father figure has become a hapless fool of a character due to televisions's portrayal of youth and this is all running over into real life. He also blames the beat generation for all his troubles. Naturally everyone thinks he's spouting a bunch of nonsense but he's the only one who's on the right track here. His ideas eventually strike a nerve in Larry and, along with the stress of attempting to blackmail his ex and not get killed by her husband, Larry begins to unravel. It all ends happily ever after because even though the gangster nightclub owner is the one who actually saves the day, he gets killed in the process, because you have to pay for your crimes somehow. Daughter runs home to daddy and all is well in suburbia as they marvel at how such a seemingly nice young man could be so troubled. All because of that misguided beat generation.
SPOILER ALERT!!
I had read somewhere that this was Bloch's beatsploitation novel. Well, the beat references are pretty thin but it's still a great little crime novel and a really enjoyable read. I always enjoy Robert Blochs writing. Well paced and the character interactions seem quite natural and of course there's Blochs knack for setting a really creepy atmosphere with psychologically damaged characters.
Larry Fox, the main character here needs to hide out after taking a beating while trying to blackmail his ex girlfriend for a little cash to escape from a small time grift gone wrong that he's currently being sought for. Her new Beau runs the nightclub that she sings in and he has some ties with local gangsters and aranges the beating but Larry gets dumped in the back of a car belonging to one of the nightclub patrons and wakes up in a bed in suburbia. This is where it gets interesting. Larry is sort of a beat character. He's a small time grifter who works in hotels and plays piano in jazz combos. He's an urban cat through and through, so when he realizes where he is he decides that if he plays it just the right way, he can hide out here in the suburbs while he tries to get back at his ex and possibly extort more money from her. It's interesting the way Bloch turns your feelings of loyalty. In the beginning I felt somewhat sympathetic towards Larry but as he begins to decieve all of the innocent suburbanites that are trying to help him, he begins to show a despicable side. He secretly thinks these folks are the dumbest bunch of squares ever and even begins to scheme about getting the neighbours young daughter into a compromising position.
Jim Whittaker, one of the neighbors where Larry is staying is suspicious right from the beginning. He's a philosophical sort who is writing a book about how the father figure has become a hapless fool of a character due to televisions's portrayal of youth and this is all running over into real life. He also blames the beat generation for all his troubles. Naturally everyone thinks he's spouting a bunch of nonsense but he's the only one who's on the right track here. His ideas eventually strike a nerve in Larry and, along with the stress of attempting to blackmail his ex and not get killed by her husband, Larry begins to unravel. It all ends happily ever after because even though the gangster nightclub owner is the one who actually saves the day, he gets killed in the process, because you have to pay for your crimes somehow. Daughter runs home to daddy and all is well in suburbia as they marvel at how such a seemingly nice young man could be so troubled. All because of that misguided beat generation.
3 comments:
Love the cover; love Bloch. I'll have to seek this one out!
In a lot of these beatsploitation pulps and movies, the beatniks and/or hipsters are portrayed either as slimy criminal psychopaths or wild and uninhibited lunatics indulging in orgies and bongo playing and other "kicks" (when they're not splashing out another Ab Ex painting or reciting Neo-Dada/Fluxus poetry). The behavior of most artistic people (in my experience anyway) is generally not like the behavior of criminals or drunken fratboys. Then again, when it comes to selling books or movies to the public, give the squares what they want, eh?
That's exactly right. They are exploitation novels after all. There are some that detail the scene a little better though and show that although the main characters are criminals, the beat scene they are a part of is not. They quite often have great passages detailing poetry parties at some individuals pad or cool jazz cellar scenes with interesting conversation to help set the tone of the novel. They seem too few and far between though.
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