You Were Never Really Here (2013)

by Jonathan Ames

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176	8	154,617	(3.69)	8
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:*Now a major motion picture starring Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here* is a gritty, harrowing story of corruption and one man's violent quest for vengeance.** Joe has witnessed things that cannot be erased. A former FBI agent and Marine, his abusive childhood has left him damaged beyond repair. He has completely withdrawn from the world and earns his living rescuing girls who have been kidnapped into the sex trade. When he's hired to save the daughter of a corrupt New York senator held captive at a Manhattan brothel, he stumbles into a dangerous web of conspiracy, and he pays the price. As Joe's small web of associates are picked off one by one, he realizes that he has no choice but to take the fight to the men who want him dead. Brutal and redemptive in equal measure, You Were Never Really Here is a toxic shot of a thriller, laced with corruption, revenge and the darkest of inner demons.… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)

The movie was pretty good, the book is ok. (

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nicdevera | Oct 1, 2020 |

If this book was longer I'd have given it 5 stars. It is a novella. Like catholic sex, it stops just about the place where you don’t want it to stop and it leaves you gasping for more. I like Joe, he carries a hammer because it frightens people. The writing is like a hammer too, it beats you over the head and around the shoulders relentlessly. Just when you think it could not get any darker in there he whacks you again and you see stars. The writing is so tight I swear the book creaked and groaned from the tension.

This noir at its best and you should try it, it wont take much of your time like a quick knee trembler up a dark alley with a catholic conclusion. (

)

Ken-Me-Old-Mate | Sep 24, 2020 |

Film noir writ large - or small, I should say. A fairly decent book, but just a snack rather than anything substantial, Ames' dark shocker feels like something better suited to the big screen with its reliance on overused tropes and simple, direct storytelling. (

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soylentgreen23 | Sep 3, 2020 |

Solid hardboiled tale in the vein of Drive. (

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ThomasPluck | Apr 27, 2020 |

This was a short, well-written thriller of the gritty and noir variety. The main character is Joe, ex-marine, ex-FBI, who lives off the grid (though with his ageing mother), and who works as investigator for hire. His specialty is recovering young teens who have been sold into pedophilic and prostitute rings. His favourite weapon is a hammer because his father used one to beat both him and his mother with.

You were never really here is a competent thriller novella: you get exactly what you expect. Though I still think the movie was better. (

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Petroglyph | Apr 24, 2019 |

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Non sei mai stato qui by Jonathan Ames

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You Were Never Really Here [2017 Film] by Lynne Ramsay

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Canonical title

Original title

You Were Never Really Here

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

New York, New York, USA

Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Important events

Epigraph

Dedication

For Amy Grace Lloyd

First words

Joe felt something behind him.

Quotations

But as with most sons of powerful men, if you looked closely, there was a weakness to his face and a petty cruelty.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Mr. Hyde

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:Now a major motion picture starring Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here is a gritty, harrowing story of corruption and one man's violent quest for vengeance.
Joe has witnessed things that cannot be erased. A former FBI agent and Marine, his abusive childhood has left him damaged beyond repair. He has completely withdrawn from the world and earns his living rescuing girls who have been kidnapped into the sex trade.
When he's hired to save the daughter of a corrupt New York senator held captive at a Manhattan brothel, he stumbles into a dangerous web of conspiracy, and he pays the price. As Joe's small web of associates are picked off one by one, he realizes that he has no choice but to take the fight to the men who want him dead.
Brutal and redemptive in equal measure, You Were Never Really Here is a toxic shot of a thriller, laced with corruption, revenge and the darkest of inner demons.

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