Rating: 
Summary: You Can't Escape Fate
Review: "Shoot the Piano Player" is quintessential American crime noir. The protagonist is Eddie, a piano player in a sleazy Philadelphia bar. He comes from a family of criminals but managed to escape that life. At one time, he was a promising classic pianist, but then he fell from grace. Now, Eddie's brother Turley literally stumbles back into his life, bringing chaos and uncertainty. At the same time, Eddie begins to tentatively woo a waitress at work. The plot is full of twists, although it's a bit of a mess at times.The novel was originally released in 1956 as "Down There," which appropriately reflects the dilemma Eddie faces. Specifically, the book focuses heavily on fate, which seems to be dictating that Eddie return to "down there" from whence he came. The book's name was changed subsequently to reflect the classic 1960 movie it inspired - "Shoot the Piano Player," directed by French auteur Francois Truffaut. As with Truffaut's movie, the book's plot is secondary to character and ambience. Instead, Goodis reflects on small moments, such as Eddie's exhilaration at standing close to the waitress in an alley as they hide from gangsters. Indeed, the characters are well-delineated, and I found myself truly caring about them. If you like Raymond Chadler, Jim Thomson or similar crime noir writers, then you'll probably enjoy this novel. Goodis is a skillful pulp writer. Unfortunately, most of his books have gone out of print - make sure you get this one while it's still available.
Rating:
Summary: You Can't Escape Fate
Review: "Shoot the Piano Player" is quintessential American crime noir. The protagonist is Eddie, a piano player in a sleazy Philadelphia bar. He comes from a family of criminals but managed to escape that life. At one time, he was a promising classic pianist, but then he fell from grace. Now, Eddie's brother Turley literally stumbles back into his life, bringing chaos and uncertainty. At the same time, Eddie begins to tentatively woo a waitress at work. The plot is full of twists, although it's a bit of a mess at times. The novel was originally released in 1956 as "Down There," which appropriately reflects the dilemma Eddie faces. Specifically, the book focuses heavily on fate, which seems to be dictating that Eddie return to "down there" from whence he came. The book's name was changed subsequently to reflect the classic 1960 movie it inspired - "Shoot the Piano Player," directed by French auteur Francois Truffaut. As with Truffaut's movie, the book's plot is secondary to character and ambience. Instead, Goodis reflects on small moments, such as Eddie's exhilaration at standing close to the waitress in an alley as they hide from gangsters. Indeed, the characters are well-delineated, and I found myself truly caring about them. If you like Raymond Chadler, Jim Thomson or similar crime noir writers, then you'll probably enjoy this novel. Goodis is a skillful pulp writer. Unfortunately, most of his books have gone out of print - make sure you get this one while it's still available.
Rating: 
Summary: Existentialism, Noir and the Anti-Hero
Review: A classic in the Black Lizard library. Goodis is as good a writer on angst and mystery as you will ever read. Unfortunately relegated to dimestore paperback status, this work rises above the average mystery tale. Goodis paints a world of loneliness, despair and grimmy realism unmatched in it's starkness. Not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and Poignant
Review: Dark and melancholic? Yes. Oozing with despair? Yes. But also a wonderfully plotted and characterised story that poignantly displays a man who has done the best he could with the lot he was given. Eddie is a bar-room piano player at Harriet's Hut where he has quietly and unobtrusively played for 3 years. One night his criminal brother staggers into the bar, desperate for Eddie's help. He is being chased by a couple of gangster-types and unwillingly, Eddie is drawn into the chase. From that point on, we begin to learn all about this quiet and unassuming man. We soon realise that there is a lot more to him than is first realised and, having endeared him to us, we are snapped back to the present and the trouble that is visited upon him be his brother. There's plenty to like about the story's characters too: from the tough, overweight broad who owns the bar, to her common-law husband, an ex-wrestler who works as the bar's bouncer, and the femme fatale, a brazen waitress who plays a wonderful counterpoint to the introspective Eddie. There really is nothing left to say than to highly recommend this book as a special example of noir fiction. It's certainly well worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Destiny can be deadly.
Review: Eddie is the name of the piano player of the book's title. For the princely sum of thirty dollars a week, Eddie provides background music in a rundown dive. He figures that if he has nothing, nothing can be taken away from him. And if he stays in the background, like so much wallpaper, no one will ever bother him.
Eddie's strategy for living works quite well. That is until an untimely visit from his hoodlum brother triggers a cascade of events that threaten his very life.
Shoot the Piano Player is a short allegorical novel that is dark and unapologetically downbeat. Deceptively simple in its construction, there's a lot of truth about life contained within its pages. If you take the time to read this book, you will learn more about what makes human beings tick than you ever would by reading any ten psychology texts put together. An enthusiastic 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Destiny can be deadly.
Review: Eddie is the name of the piano player of the book's title. For the princely sum of thirty dollars a week, Eddie provides background music in a rundown dive. He figures that if he has nothing, nothing can be taken away from him. And if he stays in the background, like so much wallpaper, no one will ever bother him.
Eddie's strategy for living works quite well. That is until an untimely visit from his hoodlum brother triggers a cascade of events that threaten his very life.
Shoot the Piano Player is a short allegorical novel that is dark and unapologetically downbeat. Deceptively simple in its construction, there's a lot of truth about life contained within its pages. If you take the time to read this book, you will learn more about what makes human beings tick than you ever would by reading any ten psychology texts put together. An enthusiastic 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read
Review: For the past 15 years, I've considered Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" the best book I've ever read. Saying that had become a habit. It has slipped to number 2. I picked up Shoot the Piano Player more-or-less at random, and was blown away. Every character in the book is interesting, every event happens naturally, not in any way contrived, and the story is so well placed you can't stop reading it. I don't want to say another word; I wouldn't want to spoil anything. Stop reading the reviews and plot synopsis... just order the damn thing.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book - Much better than the movie!
Review: Maybe one shouldn't compare the movie and book versions of a story. But sometimes that's inevetibable. And sometimes the movie actually improves on the book, ie. "In a Lonely Place." However, in the case of "Shoot the Piano Player," based on the book "Down There," by David Goodis, I can't say this is so. The look of the movie has that gritty noir feel, but all the time one feels as if they're watching the characters in a goldfish bowl ? from a great remove. You don't really get to know the characters or their motivations. In the book, this is much more clear and makes for a much more involving experience. Also, the addition of the character Fido (the piano player's younger brother) adds little to the story. In novel and movie we don't really get a great feel for why the waitress does what she does, but in the novel we get more of a feel for it and that does make a difference. It also makes a difference that we know more of the piano player's background, that he served with Merrill's Marauders in World War II, that, after losing his first wife, he went on a binge of anger and hate and fighting that finally led him to be the "docile" person he is when we meet him. This is little explained in the movie. Some of it's there, but much of it isn't and without it the character just seems a cypher. Read the book, watch the movie and decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Brotherly Love Noir
Review: Moon in the Gutter shows the south philly sewer life and urban hell better and Blonde On the Street Corner is his tour de force. Shoot the Piano Player is more of a straight noir shoot 'em up. Still Goodis gives his main character Eddie more depth than any other mystery writer out there, Chandler included. The key to Goodis is the truth embedded in his simple, declaritive sentances and the sad reality of his circus of pathetic souls. Ex-wrestlers, obese blondes, bold 90 pound whores, and waitresses wielding hatpins dance under goodis direction like bizarre marionettes in the Bigtop Noir of Goodis's distinct and brawling literary world. Goodis is a master...nuff said.
Rating:
Summary: Goodis does good...
Review: Shoot the Piano Player is certainly a depressing yet fascinating read. The story is about, not surprisingly, a piano player. This poor fellow has a most bizarre background, and an equally bizarre family. Nothing works for him, his prospects are bleak. Then in walks (or rather, crawls) his long absent brother who is escaping from some nasty criminals ... and our piano player's world is turned on its head. No happy ending (, or beginning or middle). The story oozes despair and loneliness. Yet this is its strength. David Goodis does an superb job in capturing the emotional turmoil of our piano player. His prose is very good, and the characterizations in general are well-drawn. The story itself, while original enough, is not outstanding. However upon reading the book I felt as if I brought into 1950s Philadelphia, living with our piano player and his low-life "friends" and family. Bottom line: definitely not a dose of sunshine. But wonderful nonetheless.
|
