George V. Higgins (1939–1999)

Although you can guess how it ends, this novel impresses for the near perfection of its execution. Most of the story is told through conversations, and the reader slowly comes to know the characters through these conversations, some of them pretty funny in a very dark way, rather than a lot of narrative, . Eddie Coyle is a small time crook who is in trouble. He's about to be sentenced and he doesn't want to go to jail. How far will he go to keep out? This is claustrophobic noir fiction in show more the same vein as Hammett's The Glass Key or Sallis's Drive. And if you've ever seen a Tarantino movie, you have to figure this is a book he read and remembered, although unlike much of Tarantino's clever but artificial dialogue, Higgins' characters sound like real people speaking in a real way. show less

If you're looking for a book on how to write, this probably isn't what you're looking for. But if you're looking for perhaps the funniest, most critical book on writing, this is it. Higgins spends much of the time telling you, in a very cynically humorous way, of all the reasons you shouldn't become a writer. His main message is that if you don't feel compelled to write and if you aren't already writing, then you aren't a writer. And my own situation probably proves that--wanting to write show more since I was a boy, but having only written a few short stories, none published, although I did almost get published in Twilight Zone magazine once--a LOOOOOOONG time ago. Higgins take on other writers is also interesting, whether you agree with it or not. He seems to hate Thomas Wolfe and believe that only his editor make his work readable, which I tend to disagree with after reading Wolfe's original version of Look Homeward Angel. He adores Hemingway. And he loves non-fiction for what fiction writers can learn from it. Notably, this book, which isn't too long to begin with, is full of long excerpts from longer works as well as complete shorter pieces. These are basically the instructional part of the book, and Higgins does a great job of telling you why each piece works. The selections include Dickens (whom Higgins rightly calls "prolix", Hemingway (intended as a direct contrast to Dickens), Gay Talese, Ring Lardner, James Thurber, Irwin Shaw, John O'Hara, William Manchester, John Marquand, and Catherine Drinker Bowen. They are all excellent. Higgins says that when writing, he would restrict himself to reading non-fiction so as not to be influenced or unconsciously steal something. Among other non-fiction books he recommends are Capote's "In Cold Blood", which of course, reads like a novel. So, to sum it up, I'm not sure how much this will help anyone get published--and the publishing industry is obviously worlds away from what it was in Higgins' time--if Amazon had existed, he might have "published" the first 14 novels that were rejected multiple times each before he succeeded with "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" in 1972--and Higgins would probably be forgotten already. But for anyone who loves reading, this book is gold. Higgins and his chosen exemplars are great companions for the few hours it takes to read this. show less

The Friends of Eddie Coyle may be one of the most influential neo-noirs of the 20th century. The titular Eddie Coyle is a small time gunrunner and mob affiliate facing a few years of Federal prison time. Aside from his career, he's basically a middle class guy, and he doesn't want to spend a couple years on ice away from his wife and kids. The only way out is to give the cops enough evidence on someone more interesting to get his bootlegging charges dropped. Meanwhile, other small time hoods show more are running their own schemes: selling machine guns to political radicals, robbing banks, and running a bar/mafia answer service, all under the knowledge that any of them might turn rat.

The story unfolds through looping, discursive, incredibly realistic dialog. These are guys with a lot of street smarts and not a lot of wisdom, trying to put together their deals, feel out the other side, and mostly gripe about their lot in life. Nobody including the cops, who are just another set of crime adjacent working stiffs, has anything approaching the whole picture.

Just a gorgeously bleak and cynical book. show less

This 1971 crime novel is probably the most dialogue intense book I have ever read. The story is told through the conversations of a number of characters. Very stylish and very tight storytelling. I can see why this would be quickly adapted to a movie. It isn't a long novel but like a good film I felt like I got to know a few of the characters in the short time we spend with them. None of them are people you'd want to know. None of them are friends despite the title. They are all crime punks show more and someone is going down. These guys have a code, but it is mostly based on fear. Fear of what will happen to you if you give someone a bum deal or rat them out a little. Eddie gets a bum deal. This is good intense stuff and a must read for fans of the genre. I never saw the film but now I want to. I felt sorry for some of these guys, especially Eddie. 3 1/2 - 4 stars show less