Nobody Move: A Novel

Denis Johnson's [[ASIN:1427206899 Nobody Move]] as an audio CD seemed to have everything going for it. The author had received a National Book Award for [[ASIN:B002KHMZGS Tree of Smoke]], and this was said to be a follow-up. The New Yorker had said, "So noir it's almost pitch-black..." It had been in part a serialization in Playboy, and this audio version had Will Patton doing the reading. I was familiar with Mr. Patton's style from a number of his narrations of James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels. All in all, looking forward to listening to these CDs was a fine thing to anticipate.

But it didn't turn out that way.

There's a cast of very marginal characters who, in a slightly noir classic sense, have a penchant for theft and violence. There's Jimmy Luntz, a bottom feeder of a gambler whom loves Hawaiian shirts and barbershop-chorus singing. There's a corrupt judge and lawyer who have embezzled a couple of million dollars, and the lawyer's beautiful wife Anita, who has been framed for the larceny, and she's ready for revenge.

There are more characters, but the problem with all of them is that they really have no depth; the entire story seems flat, yet almost claustrophobic. There's sex, but it also seems flat and not as erotic or even as passionate as one might expect, considering the characters. Jimmy takes Anita to bed after a booze-filled night at a local bar; they hop in bed, fall for each other, copulate, and scheme together. It's as flat as that, and often had this listener to the point of sometimes almost dozing off.

It's tough when you're faced with protagonists in a story one that just can't relate to, or just simply do not care for. Combine this with personalities that make them anything but likable and it makes the story quite difficult to follow, as one can't bond with the characters. Nobody Move falls into this trap with Jimmy and Anita, and at some point, almost everyone in the story decides that violence is the solution to practically any problem, and it's often the first solution they try, with some fairly gruesome results.

Johnson's Nobody Move tries to be is a stretched-tight crime story about a group of low-life types and a few people other with them, but it just doesn't deliver. The paradox is that Will Patton's reading makes the audio version seem worth listening to. He does a good job of capturing moods and sounds with perfection. Each of his voices does seem perfect for the character, and his narration fits what there is to the novel quite well. But it's a fast-paced story that often reads like some movie script; it's almost nothing but dialogue and action, and even Will Patton's expertise as a narrator just doesn't breathe the three-dimensional life into this one the way that this reader/listener hoped that it would. The plot is rather humdrum, but it's told with such energy and style that it keeps the listener's interest for the most part.

However, the bottom line is that writers like John Grisham, James Lee Burke, Lisa Scottoline, Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard just seem to do it better. Read [[ASIN:0061733148 Road Dogs]] by Elmore Leonard and you'll probably see the difference. And when it comes to narration, just listen to what Will Patton does with James Lee Burke's [[ASIN:0743571878 Swan Peak: A Dave Robicheaux Novel]], to name one of many.

So the end result here is a mediocre 2-star tale coupled with a very good 4-star narration. That averages out to a 3-star product that left me wishing that it could have moved me.

Noir was a peculiarly American, deeply Calvinist art form, influenced in no small part by the Hays Film Code, which required that evil doers not get away with it. The lapsarian tragedy at its core required that an ordinarily decent man, like ourselves, succumb to a moment of madness, invariably flowing from temptation by a woman, and that this sin lead inexorably to his downfall. These were cautionary tales for all of us, which is why the heroes were likable stars--Fred MacMurray for one--not low lifes.

Denis Johnson's Nobody Move, by contrast, features a "hero" who is unlikable, which drains the story of any drama. If he gets his comeuppance it will be simple justice, while if he gets away with it we'll be annoyed. I didn't even bother finishing the book.

"Nobody Move" is a gritty little noir in the classic style, featuring a cast of marginal characters with a boundless prediliction for larceny and violence. In the best noir tradition, the corruption extends from the lowest stratum of society (represented by Jimmy Luntz, a pathetic gambler with a passion for barbershop singing) to the highest (a crooked judge and lawyer who have embezzled $2.3 million). Throw in not one but two femmes fatales (Anita Disilvera, the lawyer's beautiful wife, framed for the theft and eager for revenge, and a former combat nurse willing to do favors for the mob), an Iranian mob boss who likes to pretend he's Hispanic and who has a reputation for dining--literally--on his enemies' testicles, a couple of hard case mob enforcers, and some very nice cars, and you have a recipe for turbulent crime stew.

At some point, nearly everyone in the story decides that extreme violence is the solution to practically any problem. Often, in fact, it's the first solution they try. The results are rather gruesome, but delivered in a matter-of-fact style, coupled with crisp, ironic dialogue. If the plot is somewhat predictable, it's told with such style and verve that it keeps the reader's interest, and the occasional bursts of suspense are well-handled.

Will Patton's reading really makes the audio version. He captures moods, accents and sounds with perfection, from world-weary sighs to angry grunts. Each of his voices seems perfect for the character and his narration fits the novel to a tee.

around a serviceable crime-noir plot, denis johnson has a handful of screw-ups screw things up in his inimitable denis johnson way. there are some excellent turns of phrases, which i fully expect from this great writer, but it's the dialogue that really distinguishes what amounts to a genre exercise for johnson. somewhere between his masterpiece jesus's son and his at times brilliant already dead. the audio version is excellent, too. will patton reads it perfectly, like a good actor having fun with a witty, juicy script.

Denis Johnson follows his award-winning masterpiece, TREE OF SMOKE, with a little noir novel. This is narrated by actor Will Patton who did such a wonderful job with the author's previous novel. He does the author's deadpan humor especially well.

It reminded me of Ray Bradbury's DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, James Jones's A TOUCH OF DANGER, and Cormac McCarthy's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Literary novelists turning to genre with a touch of parody, while still not abandoning their own style or core beliefs.

A five-starred romp.

Denis Johnson follows his award-winning masterpiece, TREE OF SMOKE, with a little noir novel. This is narrated by actor Will Patton who did such a wonderful job with the author's previous novel. He does the author's deadpan humor especially well.

It reminded me of Ray Bradbury's DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS, James Jones's A TOUCH OF DANGER, and Cormac McCarthy's NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. Literary novelists turning to genre with a touch of parody, while still not abandoning their own style or core beliefs.

A five-starred romp.

This is a tough one to rate. Its kinda like being asked what did you think of that snickers bar. Well, it was a snickers bar, what more can I say? And Nobody Move, it's an American crime novel. True, the author, Denis Johnson, a National Book Award winner who wrote the wonderful Tree of Smoke (and thereby created one of the great characters in literature, Colonel Sands) is clearly slumming here--Nobody Moves was originally published in Playboy, fer cryin' out loud. Yeah, he's doing it for the dough, but, so what, this ain't a filet mignon, it's a snickers bar. And it tastes just right: lots of snappy dialogue, creepy characters and rat-a-tat-tat action. Oh, and the narrator, Will Patton, he's aces. He's great at inflecting his voice for each character without overdoing it. He does policemen . . . and fly-blown barkeeps . . . and hefty blondes . . . and real cool killers. Come to think of it, I'd listen to him read off the ingredients to a snickers bar. All in all, an entertaining way to pass the time of day while stuck in traffic.

The style is called Crime Noir. With authors like Spillance, Collins, Hammett, Cain and Gorman. It is the darker side of detective fiction. It is a complex puzzle that builds to a finally that twists and tuens.

A man who owes a large sum of money to a small time crime boss. The boss sends an agent to collect. The man shoots the hood, steals his car and leaves him for dead...but the collector didnt die. Now this formula thriller becomes a high stakes game of Cat and mouse. Murder, blackmail and triple crosses fill these CDS..you will be hooked

This audio production recanted by narrator Will Patton is a dark place where life's low lives act and react. If you want a major thriller that builds and intrigues, you found it here. It is worth listening to!

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

Readers who know Denis Johnson only from his 614-page National Book Award winner, "Tree of Smoke," a complicated novel about the Vietnam War, will find it difficult to believe that "Nobody Move" is from the same author. "Nobody Move" is short and it is certainly not complicated. The novel, in fact, first appeared in print as a four-part serialization in Playboy in 2008 and the book's pacing reflects the fact that it was written to be presented in four distinct parts over a period of months.

In a book filled with lowlifes, thugs, enforcers, and other assorted sociopaths, Jimmy Luntz is about the closest thing to a hero there is - proving that everything is, indeed, relative. Luntz, in debt to a cutthroat loan shark, one day finds himself in a car being driven by Gambol, a man who intends to remind Luntz of his monetary obligations by using a $10 crowbar on his kneecaps. Gambol, though, gets careless just long enough for Luntz to gain the upper hand. Luntz, not one to pass up an opportunity to avoid a good beating, manages to shoot Gambol in the leg, steal his fat wallet, push Gambol out of the car, and drive away in the man's Cadillac.

Jimmy, now on the run in northern California, meets one Anita Desilvera, newly divorced and recently framed by her ex-husband in a $2.3 million embezzlement scheme. Anita is determined to get her hands on the money she has been accused of stealing and sees Jimmy as the kind of "muscle" she needs to get it done. Jimmy, on the other hand, just likes what he sees when he looks at Anita and is happy to be hiding out with someone so attractive.

Jimmy and Anita hatch a plan that will net each of them half of the missing $2.3 million dollars but, when Gambol and his loan shark boss catch up with them, plans change - and quickly. What happens next reads like Raymond Chandler on speed. Denis Johnson pulls no punches. This is a dark book, one filled with violence and brutality but, very much in the Chandler style, Johnson uses dark humor and sharp dialogue to temper what his characters are doing to each other.

The audio version of "Nobody Move" is read by actor Will Patton, well known for the major books he has narrated in the past, including Johnson's own "Tree of Smoke." Patton's delivery is perfect for this four-CD audio book, employing exactly the tone needed to deliver Johnson's sarcastic dialogue and witty give-and-take at its best. Even the most brutal of Johnson's characters are given distinct personalities of their own by Patton's vocal takes on their make-up.

This one, bloody as it is at times, is still great fun, and that is due in no small part to Will Patton's reading. I am not sure that I would have found it nearly so funny in written format but I highly recommend the "Nobody Move" audio book to readers who have a "Pulp Fiction" frame-of-mind.

Jimmy Luntz, a gambler/member of a quartet, finds himself in a world of trouble. It would appear some very bad guys are after him following a misunderstanding and a shooting. When he flees the area, he meets a beautiful yet flawed half-Indian (Anita) who is married to the local prosecutor. Apparently, she not only has a problem with alcohol, but is going thru a nasty divorce and possibly facing jail time for stealing a "boatload" of money (over $2 million). Together Jimmy and Anita make quite the pair, and as they navigate the problems in their lives, they find themselves depending on each other. This "crime noir" is reminiscent of Charlie Huston (Hank Thompson or Joe Pitt Series) or Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction). There is a lot of action, violence and interesting relationships that develop between people who would, if not for the current situation, not be together. There are bad guys (Gambol and his Boss) who you will love to hate and who are even more interesting because they are willing to "eat a man's private parts to make a statement about how very bad they are". There are some normally good guys (like Jimmy) who are "caught up" in some bad circumstances. And then there are characters who are caught in between, who aren't black or white, but nice shades of gray. But at the heart of it all, there is a brilliantly written story of redemption, understanding and forgiveness. And although the main characters, Anita and Jimmy have made several mistakes in their lives, you hope that they will survive and cheer every time they elude what we think their fate will be. "Nobody Move" is a brilliant story that I would recommend to anyone who loves the "crime noir or pulp noir genre", they will love this story!