The Choirboys

Rating:
Summary: one of the best police books ever
Review: i love this book. it is stark, uncompromising and even made me cry. I also love it for its realism, and have replaced it more times than i can think because people kept nicking it. I'd like to point out i'm british and female and I dont think the crudity was a problem, I think it was realistic and helped with the being made. If you want sanatised views of a cop's life, watch us prime time tv, otherwise read the choirboys

Rating:
Summary: Is this really the pinnacle of the genre?
Review: I will be the first to put my hand up and say that the cop/crime/thriller is not a genre that I usually dip into, so I am no judge of the blurb on my copy that says this is one of the 'classics' of the genre. I do know that I grew up with a (Australian) policeman as a stepfather, and while some say that this is a true- to life description of police life, I must admit I didn't really think so. Perhaps America is very different than anything I have ever known.

The structure of the book is interesting - the denouement is actually stated at the beginning, and all the chapters are little vignettes or episodes of the varied actions the choirboys undergo: both on the job and after hours. This helps fill the reader in on why things ended the way they did, and therefore everything is neatly wrapped up at the end - something a lot of author's don't seem to manage. This book uses a well-worn technique of anti-hero as misunderstood hero. All the choirboys are policemen from the same station, and between them manage to encompass all the stereotypes - hard boiled veteran, soft rookie, [stubborn] caring thinker , the author even manages to include a token Black and Asian (who classes himself as Hispanic) - they're all here. And while the reader is filled in on the background of each individual who you feel the author tries to make as surprising or non-stereotypical as possible, they still come across as stock standard characters.

These choirboys generally misbehave in any manner imaginable. The impression the reader is left with is that the author is trying to make the book 'real' by being as gross and anti-establishment as possible. Instead, I just thought they were all a group of obnoxious, self-righteous men that wouldn't' be worth the time of day, let alone a rather long novel. If delinquent cops who don't seem to do much but belittle the public they are meant to serve, and spend their down time drinking in the park and gang-banging groupies is your idea of a good read, this might be the book for you. Otherwise, I am guessing there are more enjoyable 'classics' in this genre.

Rating:
Summary: Is this really the pinnacle of the genre?
Review: I will be the first to put my hand up and say that the cop/crime/thriller is not a genre that I usually dip into, so I am no judge of the blurb on my copy that says this is one of the `classics' of the genre. I do know that I grew up with a (Australian) policeman as a stepfather, and while some say that this is a true- to life description of police life, I must admit I didn't really think so. Perhaps America is very different than anything I have ever known.

The structure of the book is interesting - the denouement is actually stated at the beginning, and all the chapters are little vignettes or episodes of the varied actions the choirboys undergo: both on the job and after hours. This helps fill the reader in on why things ended the way they did, and therefore everything is neatly wrapped up at the end - something a lot of author's don't seem to manage. This book uses a well-worn technique of anti-hero as misunderstood hero. All the choirboys are policemen from the same station, and between them manage to encompass all the stereotypes - hard boiled veteran, soft rookie, [stubborn] caring thinker , the author even manages to include a token Black and Asian (who classes himself as Hispanic) - they're all here. And while the reader is filled in on the background of each individual who you feel the author tries to make as surprising or non-stereotypical as possible, they still come across as stock standard characters.

These choirboys generally misbehave in any manner imaginable. The impression the reader is left with is that the author is trying to make the book `real' by being as gross and anti-establishment as possible. Instead, I just thought they were all a group of obnoxious, self-righteous men that wouldn't' be worth the time of day, let alone a rather long novel. If delinquent cops who don't seem to do much but belittle the public they are meant to serve, and spend their down time drinking in the park and gang-banging groupies is your idea of a good read, this might be the book for you. Otherwise, I am guessing there are more enjoyable `classics' in this genre.

Rating:
Summary: Even a Brit loved it
Review: I'm not a cop, not even American, but could somehow sense that this book had to be an accurate depiction of policework in LA 25 years ago. The way Wambaugh slowly, but compellingly, builds up the reader's understanding of all the different characters is brilliant. The ending is extremely powerful.
The dangerous side-effect is that the next book you read will probably seem pale, construed and have an "untruthful" feel to it.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Cop Book
Review: OK kids, take it from a cop, although this book is fiction it hits pretty close to home. The strange misadventures of the police, the horsing around and the problems inherent in "the Job", they're all here. Wambaugh does a great job telling a number of chapter-long stories of LA cops and their partners in this book. Some of the stories will cause you to laugh while others will cause you to commiserate with the officers. Wambaugh has written some great books, but "The Choirboys" stands ahead of the rest. If your idea of what us cops do is formed by network television, then read this book and see that NBC has nothing on Joseph Wambaugh.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Cop Book
Review: OK kids, take it from a cop, although this book is fiction it hits pretty close to home. The strange misadventures of the police, the horsing around and the problems inherent in "the Job", they're all here. Wambaugh does a great job telling a number of chapter-long stories of LA cops and their partners in this book. Some of the stories will cause you to laugh while others will cause you to commiserate with the officers. Wambaugh has written some great books, but "The Choirboys" stands ahead of the rest. If your idea of what us cops do is formed by network television, then read this book and see that NBC has nothing on Joseph Wambaugh.

Rating:
Summary: Wambaugh's best book
Review: Stark and realistic, this novel depicts the real life of a working cop and brings the reader so much more than a week in front of the tube watching "COPS." Wambaugh's cops are nasty and gentle, mean and kind, liars and cheats, honest men and women, crude and harsh and sensitive and quiet and in other words, real working folks. The narrative style works for me like being told a mysterious tale from a world I could never be part of, but for a brief moment am allowed to view. There is the usual bit of rollicking and raunchy humor, but there is also a heavy dose of pathos because these cops typify the real COPS. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: Singing In The Choir...
Review: Stark and realistic, this novel depicts the real life of a working cop and brings the reader so much more than a week in front of the tube watching "COPS." Wambaugh's cops are nasty and gentle, mean and kind, liars and cheats, honest men and women, crude and harsh and sensitive and quiet and in other words, real working folks. The narrative style works for me like being told a mysterious tale from a world I could never be part of, but for a brief moment am allowed to view. There is the usual bit of rollicking and raunchy humor, but there is also a heavy dose of pathos because these cops typify the real COPS. Read it.

Rating:
Summary: A Genuine Book For Guys - Period
Review: The Choirboys, the well written story of a group of hard-drinking cops, is a classic guy-novel. A few women may like it, but the overwhelming majority will not (as evidenced by some of the Amazon reviews from women). The plot is a guy plot, the humor is man humor, the primary characters are guys -- you have to accept it, like it or dislike it, and move on. A tale that features often raunchy humor and situations, it's not the type of story that everyone will enjoy. Those who do like it (men, mainly) do so intensely.
Even Whaddayamean Dean.

Rating:
Summary: A Genuine Book For Guys - Period
Review: The Choirboys, the well written story of a group of hard-drinking cops, is a classic guy-novel. A few women may like it, but the overwhelming majority will not (as evidenced by some of the Amazon reviews from women). The plot is a guy plot, the humor is man humor, the primary characters are guys -- you have to accept it, like it or dislike it, and move on. A tale that features often raunchy humor and situations, it's not the type of story that everyone will enjoy. Those who do like it (men, mainly) do so intensely.
Even Whaddayamean Dean.