Rating: 
Summary: A Brief Psych into Why They Are the Way They Area
Review: I'd have to agree with a lot of what I've heard, while this is not Mosley at his best, this short novel gives us insight into why Rawlins is so faithful to Mouse, and why Mouse is so faithful to his gun.An easy read, it may be wise to reader's who haven't read any of the Rawlins stories, to start with this one first.
Rating: 
Summary: Too short, but worthwhile--especially if you are a Mouse fan
Review: If you have read any of the other Easy Rawlins mysteries you already know what is going to happen with Mouse and his stepfather. If not, you can pretty much guess. However the surprises along the way are still powerful and valid. In all other books, the character of Mouse is the most memorable secondary character. He may be only on about 20-30 pages of a 200 page book, but those are the 20-30 most important pages in the book. In this book he dominates, and his evil ways are not as recognizable as in later books when Easy is certain that Mouse could kill him and anyone else in a moment. The most interesting portion comes at the last page after the entire book has unfolded, when we realize that Easy is writing this memoir shortly before Devil in a Blue Dress. Here is where he speculates that Mouse has probably been killed or tamed by Etta Mae. I don't know if this was written in the original draft, or after the Mosley knew that this book would be published, but it is one of the most ironic things I've read in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: So that's how they got to be that way!
Review: If you love Easy Rawlins, you'll want to read this 'prequel' of the series. In this one he and Mouse, best buddies since forever, are barely twenty. Lots of action, lots of local color (Houston and rural east Texas).
Rating:
Summary: A Great Summer Read!
Review: If you're looking for a true summer adventure--and you happen to be a fan of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series--don't miss this one. "Gone Fishin'" is a prequel to the other novels--it begins in Houston in the late 1930's where Easy and his murderous pal Mouse are two young black men looking for fortune in a white man's world. That leads them on trip into the dark recesses of the East Texas Piney Woods, where the city boys discover there's plenty of sex, black magic and killing out under the trees. Mosley wonderfully captures the dialect of that region from that era--to me, it had a familiar ring. To others, it may require a bit of concentration, but it's worth the effort. With "Gone Fishin'", Mosley has created a grownup "Huck Finn" style adventure that reads like a movie. If you're like me, after Denzel Washington's portrayal of Easy in "Devil In A Blue Dress", you see Denzel in your head whenever you're reading about Easy Rawlins. Imagine him as a youngster--not yet the cool sleuth he'll become later in LA--and you've got the character Mosley creates for "Gone Fishin'". The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I was finished with it before I wanted to be.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Summer Read!
Review: If you're looking for a true summer adventure--and you happen to be a fan of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series--don't miss this one. "Gone Fishin'" is a prequel to the other novels--it begins in Houston in the late 1930's where Easy and his murderous pal Mouse are two young black men looking for fortune in a white man's world. That leads them on trip into the dark recesses of the East Texas Piney Woods, where the city boys discover there's plenty of sex, black magic and killing out under the trees. Mosley wonderfully captures the dialect of that region from that era--to me, it had a familiar ring. To others, it may require a bit of concentration, but it's worth the effort. With "Gone Fishin'", Mosley has created a grownup "Huck Finn" style adventure that reads like a movie. If you're like me, after Denzel Washington's portrayal of Easy in "Devil In A Blue Dress", you see Denzel in your head whenever you're reading about Easy Rawlins. Imagine him as a youngster--not yet the cool sleuth he'll become later in LA--and you've got the character Mosley creates for "Gone Fishin'". The only bad thing I can say about this book is that I was finished with it before I wanted to be.
Rating:
Summary: So-So Prequel to the Easy Rawlins Series
Review: If you've read the Easy Rawlins series, this prequel novella may come as a bit of a surprise. Set in 1939, when Easy is a naive and somewhat innocent 19, it's the story of him and Mouse taking a little road trip from Houston to the bayou country of Pariah, Texas. Mouse is planning to visit his fearsome stepfather to try and get some money out of him to finance his wedding to Etta-Mae. Easy is enlisted as driver on this enterprise, and the tone turns dark right away, when they pick up a hitchhiking young couple. The man is on the run for having possibly beaten another man to death in a bar fight, and his girl is a sexy little flirt who seems to enjoy having men argue over her. Mouse convinces them to let him help, and you know the only thing that will come of it is sex and violence. Mouse leads them all deep into the back country to stay with a strange old witch-like woman, who mixes them potions and weaves a different kind of magic on Easy. Instead of the straightforward realistic crime story readers of the series might expect, this is an atmospheric and sometimes surreal gothic tale. Even in such a brief story, Mosley manages to cram in a lot of characters with their own stories, but it all boils down to Mouse's quest for a portion of his mother's dowry. Of course, everything climaxes in violence, and this so unsettles Easy that he is spurred to leave Houston and join the Army. It's not so much a coming of age story as a loss of innocence one.
Rating: 
Summary: A soul searching look at the early life of Easy Rawlins
Review: Mosley, Walter. Gone Fishin'.
Black Classics. Jan. 1997. 244pages. ISBN 1-57478-025-5. $22. There can be no better way to start off the year than with Easy Rawlins. Fans already needing a fix after Mosley's recent "A Little Yellow Dog" get happy, Easy and Mouse are back in this "prequel" to the series. This latest novel is actually Mosley's original Easy/Mouse story written in the late 80s but never released. Gone Fishin' follows the classic search for father motif-literally for Mouse and figuratively for the 19-year-old Rawlins who finds himself a very un-Easy rider on a road trip to Pariah, TX, to strong-arm Mouse's step daddyReese for money. Easy quickly lands up to here in trouble that includes witchcraft, fevered sex, a fleeing killer, and a few dead bodies. While Mouse is facing down his wicked stepfather, Easy must exorcise the demons of his own past in order to achieve a coming of age that's steeped in blood, guilt, and forgiveness. Not a straight mystery like earlier volumes in the series, Gone Fishin' is a more spiritual novel that reaches into the characters' pasts to reveal their souls. Mosley delivers the goods every time and Easy fans are going to eat this up. Highly recommended.-Michael Rogers,
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Mr.Mosley has a touch about him that comes off in this book really well through out.alots of twists&turns here keeps your full attention.worth checking into.after i saw Devil in a blue dress i had to check out his work.his Books have more juice than the film.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book
Review: Mr.Mosley has a touch about him that comes off in this book really well through out.alots of twists&turns here keeps your full attention.worth checking into.after i saw Devil in a blue dress i had to check out his work.his Books have more juice than the film.
Rating:
Summary: A good look ino the beginnings of Easy and Mouse
Review: Not the best of the Easy Rawlins series-- but another taste of the livesof the characters we all love
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