Rating: 
Summary: If you never have
Review: This is the first work that I have read by Mr. Elmore Leonard. Prior to this the movie "Get Shorty" was the limit of my "Leonard" knowledge. The movie had some great dialogue and a menagerie of personalities.There is no doubting the Author has a great ear for dialogue, and he creates unsavory characters that would normally be very difficult to believe, or would result in horrible clichés. Mr. Leonard manages to make his players credible, even when placed in outrageous backdrops/situations. I would certainly read another of his works based upon his reputation if not this particular book. It may be that legitimate Authors in this genre are being hurt by all the imitators, as I found most of the "no one appears to be who they are, or are they" situations, less than surprising. Dark Humor requires an extremely delicate touch. I'm not sure any Author can pull this off with Genocide, even when the Genocide is one that was given little attention for obvious and disheartening reasons. There is a point where using an outrageous human behavior just does not work, some subjects are better left alone. The man can write, I just feel the limits of how far you can push a given event, went beyond a point that any quality of writing could present/manage well. Dark Humor can be funny; can make you laugh while asking yourself why, but this didn't work for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Leonard's best!
Review: This is the perfect example of a good writer taking a serious misstep, but because he is so good the story still occasionally works. I am not going to review the story, that has been done here many times, but I will give my opinion of the novel.
I think the story was forced and contrived, but the humor and sheer ridiculousness of the story keeps the reader reading. Also, the story is so strange but decently written you keep thinking that it will get better eventually. Well, it doesn't. This is not to say that it is a terrible book, not at all, but it is not a great book. Hell, it is barely a good book, but it does have its moments. I would suggest anything else, unless you have read everything else.
Rating:
Summary: learn to write dialogue
Review: Well maybe 5 stars was a little strong, but I think more people should know about and appreciate Elmore Leonard.
(I guess Danny Devito must like him quite a bit because he's made at least two movies, that I know of, from Leonard's books.)
I bought the book mostly because it was on the bargain table at the bookstore, so I was pleasantly surprised at the irreverent humor and snappy, believable dialogue. The story is fun and has some interesting twists throughout the book. My favorite line was when Father Terry dispensed some "penance" to a group of local Hutu guys who smugly thought they were above the law (both moral and earthly ).
A few months after I finished Pagan Babies I read "On Writing" by Stephen King and was gratified that he confirmed my opinion of Leonard's writing. King used exerpts from Leonard's work to illustrate written dialogue at it's finest.
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