Rating: 
Summary: Elmore Leonard spoofing Elmore Leonard?!?
Review: 'Get Shorty' is certainly a most unusual novel from Elmore Leonard. Sure there is the quirky criminal characterizations Leonard is famous for, complete with some very funny moments. But it seems that the author tried something a bit tricky by doing a Hollywood 'spin' on an Elmore Leonard novel and, well, the results are decidedly mixed.In 'Get Shorty' we have the usual south Florida loan shark nasties out to get someone who does not want to pay. This fellow lands a bundle on an insurance scam and runs to Hollywood. One of the nasties (well, I guess he is reformed nasty) chases him down and gets involved with Hollywood luvvies (actors, writers, producers). He then, ... here's the gimmick..., finds his adventures to be of more interest to film makers than another script originally being peddled to producers. Anyway, it gets all a bit complicated and just a wee bit contrived. Big disappoint to Leonard fans: the crime element to 'Get Shorty' is not the highlight of the book. Bottom line: an unusual Elmore Leonard book which will probably not please his fans. However its humour and digs at the Hollywood establishment make it a worthy read ... just.
Rating: 
Summary: Dead Boring
Review: Chili Palmer is a laconic tough guy who, caught up in the madcaps of the mob, becomes endearing because, unlike other mobsters, Chili has a certain humility and wisdom shining beneath his stoic persona. Because the plot is so well known through the famous film version, I will focus on the prose style. Leonard makes the prose look easy but it's not. It's really a sort of jazz riff and in an interview, if I remember correctly, Leonard says jazz fuels his writing tempo. You can see the musical quality in his playful, clean, clear prose. I've also heard that many aspiring writers try to imitate Leonard's prose style yet no one can do it. For a clinic on character study through witty syntax, Get Shorty remains one of my favorite crime novels of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Elmore Leonard's Finest Novels
Review: Elmore Leonard may be America's foremost writer for fast-paced spellbinding dialogue and plots. With "Get Shorty" Leonard has produced a modern crime novel classic; a spellbinding, yet hilarious, update of Chandler with some sly, thoughtful commentary on the Hollywood film business. Those unfamiliar with Leonard's prose will be in for a treat. Leonard has crafted some of the best streetwise prose I've come across since reading some of William Gibson's early novels. Leonard has superbly brought to life such interesting characters as mobster Chili Palmer and "B" movie film producer Harry Zim. Regrettably, I haven't seen the film adaptation of "Get Shorty", but judging from other Amazon.com reviews, it is undoubtedly well worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: better then the movie
Review: I actually read get shorty after seeing the movie. The movie I though was good but it isn't as good as the book. The book does a far better job of telling the story and getting behind the motives of the characters. It's an interesting story about how the whole Hollywood system works.
Rating:
Summary: Dead Boring
Review: I agree with all the one star reviews that this book lacks everything. I've read quite a few E. Leonard books and enjoyed most of them. This was his worst so far.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Good Book.
Review: I've read 3 Elmore Leonard books. Out of Sight,Rum Punch,and this. Every novel by Elmore Leonard i've read i'd seen the movie.This is no exception. I loved the movie so I thought,
why not read the book.The book is a little bit different from the movie but not incredibly so. The story is about Chili Palmer. Chili is a loan shark from Miami who goes to LA to collect a debt from a guy who scammed an airline and also from campy horror movie producer Harry Zimm. While talking to Harry,
Chili pitches a script idea (which Harry loves) and begins to get the low down on the movie business. Now Chili is trying to be a movie producer,and trying to convince superstar Michael Weir to be in a movie Harry wants to make called "Mr.Lovejoy".
Weir is also the ex-husband of the "love interest" of Chili,
Karen Flores.Ex-horror movie scream queen. Overall the book can drag at times and I don't really like the character of Bo Catlett but other than that this is a good book.B+.
Rating:
Summary: Corrupted...saw the movie first...
Review: The movie "Get Shorty" has always been one of my fave's since it came out. I finally decided to read the book. It's great, well worth reading to get more at the motives, but I was disappointed because some of my favorite scenes were "missing" (rather the movie added them.) Maybe I would have been mad at the movie if I'd read the book first. I feel like Chili Palmer myself, having watched the movie first and having liked it better. But here's my review: The characters in this story are great. Chili - the too-cool-for-anyone-but-nice-guy ex-mobster, Leo - the pathetic loser dry-cleaner, Karen - the hot, smart, cynical actress, Bo Catlett - the mean, delusional, drug-dealing Hollywood-player-wanna-be. You have no idea what is going to happen next in Leonard's books and the characters really become alive as a result. The book can help bug fans of the movie get more out of the "visual fabric" of the story. The interactions between Chili and Bo are more developed in the book than the movie, which I appreciated, as well as more insights and discussions about what the movie "Mr. Lovejoy" is actually about. The meeting between Nikki and Chili is hilarious in the book. And the book focuses on Karen's personality more. My advice is to read it and see it.
Rating:
Summary: INCOMPLETE
Review: This book was a fast read, too fast as far as I'm concerned. The way it ends it didn't seem that anything had really been solved. Chili seems a little put off by actors and Hollywood at the end, but I wasn't completely sure what he was going to do after the last climactic studio meeting. This is a good book, but there needed to be more to it. I was expecting more of a Hollywood spoof, but this seemed primarily concerned with the conflict between Chili and Bo Catlett and their various illegal activities. I think it would have been funny to actually see Chili and Bo working on a movie, just to see how they'd react to certain situations and what kind of movie they could put out. I'll have to see the movie to see if it's any better, but the book was decent. I really liked the character of Chili Palmer, though I was lukewarm on most of the others. Given the shortness of the book and its overall lighthearted tone, I'd recommend this book for some light reading on a long trip.
Rating: 
Summary: One Case Where the Film was Probably Better
Review: This is a product of the lazy, latter-day Leonard who knows he's a great writer who can just sit back and let it flow. The onetime master of concision now takes a hundred-odd pages just to set things up.
Even his ear for dialogue has started to fade on him. Now everybody like, y'know, talks like, uhh, some kinda boob, get what I'm sayin'? The line of self-parody is lying a little too close in these pages.
He still has a hand with the quirky minor characters, though they can't carry an entire 350-page plus novel. But this one did make it clear to me why Leonard is so popular with the pomo crowd: his characters inhabit an utterly amoral universe, one with no values or standards whatsoever. Here, e.g., the protagonist is that well-known figure drawn from life, the friendly, easygoing loan shark. In your traditional crime novel--Chandler or either MacDonald can serve as examples--the action occurs against a hard-edged moral framework that is at least given lip service. Now I won't demand that every piece of fiction act as a morality play. But this was a case where I finished the thing, and kind of enjoyed the ride, but didn't like myself for it. In Leonard's recent novels, all that matters is who gets to take home the candy. And when you get right down to it, that just ain't enough.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad note in the bunch
Review: This musical novel doesn't have one sour note in it. This is Leonard's best with "Tishomingo Blues" following up behind and "Mr. Paradise" right behind that. The best thing about "Get Shorty" is that Leonard manages to get you to like even the bad guys--something most other writers can't manage. G.S. is a great crime novel and by far Mr. Leonard's best. Also try "Fight Club" "Bark of the Dogwood," and "Tishomingo Blues."
| 
