Lush Life: A Novel by Richard Price Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lush Life: A Novel
Book Review: A brilliant novel of New York City
Summary: 5 Stars
Often, in my own personal grading system, a novel about crime and punishment that isn't by Dostoevsky, nearly always loses a point for that reason. Whether I bought the book in an airport may or may not, but usually does lose another star. "Lush Life" is not Dostoevsky, but it is a great and humane novel about a crime that is committed at the beginning of the book, is the story of the police investigation into the murder, and is told largely from the point of view of at least one of the characters most intimately involved in the case. "Crime and Punishment" is told mostly through the killer's point of view and "Lush Life" is told mainly through one police detective's POV. Forays into the interior monologues of other characters are upstaged by our anguished detective's - this may not be entirely intentional by the author - and his moral crisis (all novels about cops must be about moral crisis of one kind or another). Other similarities invite the comparison. And even though it is not a great Russian novel, "Lush Life" is a novel about place - New York City - that approaches greatness in its pitch-perfect portrayal of the interior life of people in and of that city.
But since it is literature, and even great literature can seem tedious at times, a potential reader might be wary that he/she would have to bring too much energy to reading the novel. Don't worry about that. This book is immediately engaging on many levels. Full of suspense and uncertainty - a novel told from the head of a NYPD detective could hardly avoid that - "Lush Life" is, among other things, a nail-biter story that passionately and primarily describes a police investigation into a murder that occurred in the lower east side of Manhattan, without sentimentality, but with the tenderest possible empathy for nearly all the characters, good guys and bad guys alike. The prose is diamond-sharp and satisfying without being self-conscious as so many works of "literary fiction" are. And it's realistic to the tiniest detail. In fact, I've never read or seen any books, films, television shows, etc., that even come close to describing the way things are actually done.
Although it would be misleading to call this "genre" fiction, If you are interested in the genre fiction about crimes, that also happens to be (great?) literature, this is the book for you. Although the story follows a familiar - but not quite formulaic - trajectory, it is not a cookie-cutter airport book, even if you buy it in an airport. The accomplished craft with which the novel is made makes "Lush Life" satisfying in a way most books of this genre cannot approach.
Book Review: A common instrument played by a master
Summary: 5 Stars
Book Review: A little too dense neighborhood NY... too street smart
Summary: 4 Stars
Book Review: A little too much style, a little too little substance
Summary: 3 Stars
Book Review: A slice of life
Summary: 4 Stars