Pretty Boy Floyd

Rating:
Summary: PRETTY BOY FLOYD (LARRY MCMURTRY AND DIANA OSSANA
Review: Charley Floyd, had a simple life and had a wife and son. That all changed after he robbed a armord car. Soon he got caught and spent 4 years in the pen. After getting out his wife left him. He then said he would never get caught again. This then sparked his long carrier as a small town bank robber. This novel takes you through the life of a loved gangster that the press named "Pretty boy Floyd" for his boyish lookes and his Manley kindness. All the people that Floyd robbed all said he was always kind and nice to them all. Soon after being put on the top ten most wanted list his life started to change dramaticlly. Then he was put on the number one spot and was being hunted like a wild wolf. Soon he had no freedom and his life that he loved was becoming a black hole.

Rating:
Summary: An great adventure novel with dose of reality
Review: I really liked this book mainly for two reasons: 1) It is based on a true story 2) It was VERY fast-paced

Over the years, I read almost everything by Larry McMurtry and have not yet been disappointed. "Pretty Boy Floyd" is a very enjoyable romp. It approaches every character and situation with light-hearted attitude and excitement but does not allow too much time to pass by before reminding the readers that there are consequences for every action and a certain point after which you can never turn back and make ammends.

Charlie appears to be a larger-than-life character. He is kind and courtuous to everyone he meets, unless he takes immediate dislike to a person or that person is shooting at him, and although he has moments when he's blue or his temper flares up, he is hard not to like. The novel abounds with fun characters; from sensible but vulnerable Ruby, Charlie's wife, prescious Dempsey, Charlie's son, spunky Beluah, Charlie's girlfriend, smart and sassy Ma Ash, Charlie's mentor, George Birdwell, Charlie's partner in crime and a cowboy at heart, Bob Birdwell who is the most original character in the novel and etc. The only problem with the whole novel is that it has too many characters and not enough space devoted to each one. The authors take the time to describe Charlie's victims and random people who cross his path but they spend too little time on them for us to care about or too much time to let us know that they were real people and good too.

I don't think that this novel glorifies Charlie in any way. On the contrary, I think a more apt title for this novel is "Crime does not pay". For all the hoopla surrounding Charlie's life and career, the fact remains that he died at 30 and never could lead the life he truly wanted.

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Summary: Alright for bed-time!
Review: If you want to learn about the gangster/outlaw breed of Pretty Boy, Ma Barker, Baby Face, etc., & understand more about the forces that created them, forget about this book. Any story told in a pure narrative style, like this one, naturally lends itself to embellishments of the truth, wild assumptions & a good few gross exagerations. This one is no exception. The fact that certain characters' feelings & thoughts in their final moments of their death throws, are clinically & vividly described, says it all. Bottom line with Charley Floyd is that he thought himself too good to become a poor farmer & proved himself incapable of success at any other activity, legal or illegal. He was a thieving, violent, adulterous & under-achieving cry-baby, who, as we see from his choice of cranky, miserable & homicidal side-kicks (Birdwell excepted), was also an awful judge of character. The author however, paints him in such tender tones, that when Pretty Boy's tacky, unsuccessful life of crime comes to it's predictible violent close, I am half expecting to read in the book's Epilogue, of his elevation to sainthood. His great gifts were his good looks & his immense charm, especially with women. What a shame he didn't move West to take part in the then burgeoning Hollywood film industry, or even try his hand as a door-to-door saleman. He was an absolute natural for either. Be that as it may, the narrative style is racy & exciting. The chapters are short, making this a very undemanding, entertaining bed-time read. Sadly, the flimsyness of the content is likely to leave you real hungry in the morning!

Rating:
Summary: uninteresting
Review: McMurtry and Ossana have written a novel that is wholly uninteresting. I'm given to believe that Pretty Boy Floyd is something of a legend, and this novel does very little to tell me why he attained that status. Most of the novel focuses on his exploits with various lovers, rather than on his bank-robbing, which would be fine if there were any more depth to the romantic entanglements than there is to the short-shrifted heists. Worst of all, Floyd himself is a blank. We don't understand why the people close to him remain devoted to him, and therefore I have no idea why I should care about him. All in all, this is a boring novel, and a big disappointment given that one of the authors is McMurtry, who is one of the better novelists America has ever produced.

Rating:
Summary: uninteresting
Review: McMurtry and Ossana have written a novel that is wholly uninteresting. I'm given to believe that Pretty Boy Floyd is something of a legend, and this novel does very little to tell me why he attained that status. Most of the novel focuses on his exploits with various lovers, rather than on his bank-robbing, which would be fine if there were any more depth to the romantic entanglements than there is to the short-shrifted heists. Worst of all, Floyd himself is a blank. We don't understand why the people close to him remain devoted to him, and therefore I have no idea why I should care about him. All in all, this is a boring novel, and a big disappointment given that one of the authors is McMurtry, who is one of the better novelists America has ever produced.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story! Entertaining
Review: Pretty Boy Floyd, is somewhat fictionalized account of the true life of Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, the son of Oklahoma farmer and notorious gangster. I listened to the audio version of this book and it was most impressed, despite having reservations about wanting to hear about gangsters. (Not my usual fare). I was, however, most impressed with this audiobook. McMurtry and Ossana do a great job of bringing Pretty Boy Floyd to life. Even the minor characters have great personalities, and McMurtry and Ossana really DO manage to get into Pretty Boy's head.

The Story: Charles, "Pretty Boy" is a small-town boy, with country charm, who is married to a young half-Native American woman named Ruby Hargove. They have a son named Jack Dempsey Floyd. When money becomes scarce, Charles headed north looking for work. After trying various jobs, Pretty Boy tries to make money the easy way- by robbing an armored car. What follows is the tale of Floyd's life. You see him get further and further embroiled into his life as a gangster, have affairs with his girlfriends, and watch as he tries to outwit the law.

Floyd is consistently portrayed as a charming loveable rogue... An'outlaw' with a good heart, a weakness for women, liquor, and a well-cooked meal. (While I doubt many of Floyd's victims found him quite as so charming) the story worked for me. The novel moved at a brisk pace and was overall, greatly entertaining. I would recommend this novel for those interested in Gangsters or the life of Pretty Boy Floyd.

Rating:
Summary: Great Story! Entertaining
Review: Pretty Boy Floyd, is somewhat fictionalized account of the true life of Charles Arthur "Chock" Floyd, the son of Oklahoma farmer and notorious gangster. I listened to the audio version of this book and it was most impressed, despite having reservations about wanting to hear about gangsters. (Not my usual fare). I was, however, most impressed with this audiobook. McMurtry and Ossana do a great job of bringing Pretty Boy Floyd to life. Even the minor characters have great personalities, and McMurtry and Ossana really DO manage to get into Pretty Boy's head.

The Story: Charles, "Pretty Boy" is a small-town boy, with country charm, who is married to a young half-Native American woman named Ruby Hargove. They have a son named Jack Dempsey Floyd. When money becomes scarce, Charles headed north looking for work. After trying various jobs, Pretty Boy tries to make money the easy way- by robbing an armored car. What follows is the tale of Floyd's life. You see him get further and further embroiled into his life as a gangster, have affairs with his girlfriends, and watch as he tries to outwit the law.

Floyd is consistently portrayed as a charming loveable rogue... An'outlaw' with a good heart, a weakness for women, liquor, and a well-cooked meal. (While I doubt many of Floyd's victims found him quite as so charming) the story worked for me. The novel moved at a brisk pace and was overall, greatly entertaining. I would recommend this novel for those interested in Gangsters or the life of Pretty Boy Floyd.