Country: Scotland
Genre: Noir
Pages: 80/150 Kb
Buy it for a dollar
Not every book can be of an epic length, but not every book needs to be, in order to shine. Of course, readers will remember more fondly a novel they spent weeks with, but a book that owns its length, whatever it is, will be amazing. Even moreso, the shorter it is, the most often the readers will go back to it. GUN is one of those peculiar literary objects. It's not even a hundred pages, but it's airtight, bulletproof storytelling. Ray Banks is one of the writers I've been the most buzz around online and everybody I know that's into crime fiction has read GUN. I went through it last week, in one frenzied sitting of compulsive reading. I know now why Ray Banks is so beloved by his readers and no matter how many people have read GUN already, it's not enough. General Mills should by the non-exclusive rights to it and distribute on USB keys in Cereal Boxes. It's short, darker than a moonless night and it's going to keep you tense like a piano wire for about two hours. That's more than what you average movie can do.
Richie is a troublesome youth who' just out of juvenile detention center and looking for some quick money. He finds the road to Goose's house. The local coked-up, handicapped mobster. He offers Richie something simple enough. Go in the bad part of town to recuperate a gun for him. Sounds like easy money to Richie who's urge of getting money is only overshadowed by his urge of being somebody and purvey to his girlfriend Becka's needs, so she can stop bitching about his lifestyle. But when you cross the line and enter the bad part of town, breathing, walking and wanting something all put you at risk. Richie's about to learn this the hard way.
The fascinating thing about GUN is not its story. It's a fresh spin on a commonly used idea, yes. But it's still another local mob story. What sets it apart from the pack is how Ray Banks built its world. There's nothing overdone here, no useless words. Every step Richie takes, every reactions, every detail is important and it's brought up with such expert pacing that your stomach is going to knot up in a ball at page three and going to get tighter and tighter. It feels a little controlled at times, restrained in you will, but it works. There's no passionate narrative explosions and sometimes the local slang sent me to the dictionary, but really, it's just a short jab and it hits you right on the nose. It's not complex and it's not epic, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be swift and accurate and it succeeds effortlessly.