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Out of the Past

Customer Rating:

I've been a huge Pelecanos fan since I discovered his books in the early '90s, so every new one from him is something to be savored over a long weekend. I finally got a chance to sit down and read this latest, and am happy to report that it's a return to his usual excellent form after the somewhat disappointing Night Gardener. Fans of out and out crime books may not be so pleased though, because, as is becoming more obvious with every book, Pelecanos is losing his interest in telling crime stories, and is more interested in telling human stories. Here, he returns to a classic noir theme, the inescapability of the past. The book opens in 1972, where we meet three teenage white boys living in Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. We also meet three teenage black boys, who live in a nearby black enclave (named Heathrow Heights in the book and Ken-Gar in real life). It's obvious that the two groups of boys come from very similar backgrounds and have very similar interests, and that race is more or less all that separates them. So, when the white kids ill-advisedly cruise into black neighborhood and shout the n-word at the black kids, the resulting violence is both inevitable and tragic. Fast-forward some thirty-five years, and those teenage boys are now middle-aged men trying to get on with their lives. Alex Pappas is literally scarred from that encounter, and is the embodiment of the hard-working, blue-collar, Greek character that pops up in many of Pelecanos' work. Like Pelecanos himself, Alex is the son of a diner owner who is one forced to take over the family business as a teenager when his WWII vet father gets ill. Unlike Pelecanos, Alex is trapped by his role as family provider, and can only dream of a different life. Raymond Monroe has stumbled a few times over the years, but is holding it together as a physical therapist at Walter Reed Medical Center (the country's premier rehab facility for soldiers) and has a nice girlfriend and surrogate son. When Alex and Raymond run into each other one day, they realize that they've never been able to fully escape the tragedy from their childhood. What follows is a story of redemption and hope for Alex, Raymond, and Raymond's older brother (who went to jail for a long time for what happened in 1972). There is a significant plotline involving a cunning career criminal who attempts to blackmail Alex and the other surviving white kid, and while it does provide necessary drama and tension, it almost feels like something from another book. And to a certain extent, it embodies the thematic tension within Pelecanos's more recent work -- he loves the crime genre, but with fifteen books now, one gets the sense he's more than ready to move beyond it. In his last few books, the best parts have been the domestic scenes, problems, and characters, and although his next book is still crime-centric, it wouldn't be surprising if book #17 is completely crime-free. If the book has a flaw, it might be that it's a little too, well, hopeful, at the end. Things get resolved rather more conveniently than in most of Pelecanos' books, and again, it's not hard to imagine that as he gets older as a writer and father, he need to find some measure of hope in the world, for both his characters and his own kids.

Author's Political Agenda	Customer Rating:
Another blank slate for the author to give us a view of his politics. Tell me about it on the cover so I don't waste my money.

Redemption

Customer Rating:

The streets and sounds of the nation's Capitol always play a central role in a Pelecanos novel and "Turnaround" is no exception. The plot covers three decades in the lives of six men, three white and the others black. In 1972, they were teenagers living in separate worlds but one event joined them at the hip forever. Foolishly, the three white boys drove into a black neighborhood, tossed a pie at one of the black youths and hurled a derogatory epithet. As a result all their lives were changed. One white boy was shot dead, another maimed for life. Two of the black youngsters went to jail. The novel follows the lives of the remaining men toward a socially redeeming conclusion. As well-written and challenging as any of this author's previous books, this novel is suspenseful and intriguing. The ending is unexpected and totally satisfying. Highly recommended.

Reminds me of The Wire	Customer Rating:
This is written by the same author who does The Wire episodes. It holds your interest but like The Wire it is fragmented and the dialogue at times mystifies me. It shows how the English language changes with each generation.

Story of redemption - not a "whodunnit".

Customer Rating:

George Pelecanos strikes true with everything he has ever written. Whether it is a tale of true crime, a drama about racial conflict or screenplay for film or TV. "The Turnaround" falls into the area of redemption and racial conflict. Three white youths, in the mid-1970's Washington D.C. area, drive into a predominantly black neighborhood to "raise some hell". What ends up happening is their being caught in a dead end 'turnaround' street that forces them to face the small group of black youths they verbally defamed (in addition to throwing a piece of pie in one of their faces). The end result is one of the white boys being shot to death and another permanently disfigured with a serious eye injury. The story than jumps to present day. The injured youth now runs his family Greek Diner. Three of the black youths have taken different paths - one works as an Occupational Therapist for injured veterans; his brother spent 20 years in prison for the shooting and now works at a neighborhood auto shop, the third is a lifetime criminal in and out of trouble and still up to no good. The white man, Alex, runs into Raymond, the Occupational Therapist, and they work towards repairing old wounds. There is a meeting between Alex, Raymond and his brother, James the auto mechanic. The third person in the latter group, Charles, has gone his own way and this includes the prospect of black-mailing Alex and the other living white youth from the incident, Peter, by requesting 50K from each of them. Needless to say, all is does not end well for Charles. Pelecanos handles race relations and the multi-ethnic areas of Washington D.C. with style and precision and really puts the reader there. If you've read all of his previous work you will pick up on many references to characters and locations from prior novels. The second part of the book is not nearly as interesting as the first part dealing with life in the 1970's. A fast and gritty read.