Sneaky People

Rating:
Summary: An engaging, witty tale that flies off the pages.
Review: A master of sublime plot twists that are more than stirring they jolting, Thomas Berger shows off his storytelling talents in Sneaky People.At the heart of this story is an all-business used car dealer in the years before the Depression who wants his wife dead so he can move in with his favorite prostitute-turned-girlfiend. Buddy is certain his oddball but ever-faithful wife is a insufferable bore. What he's not sure of is if his half-wit mechanic has the brainpower to pull off the hit. One is left wondering what gives Sneaky People its knockout punch. Is it that beneath the surface of its glib, ordinary characters you discover the poetically quirky and deranged? Or is the serenditipous nature that it's unlikely heros get from A to point B?

Rating:
Summary: Humor in the car yard...
Review: Berger is a very acute observer of modern (1930s) American life -from flogging off used cars, to the gun culture, to growing up as a teenage boy... There are quiet laughs throughout the book - and some not so quiet - but guaranteed smiles on every page, as much from the mad situations he describes as from his restrained choice of language. He is a fine writer and I will be seeking out his other works.