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What do Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Jackie Collins, Joseph Heller, Bob Dylan, and Willie Nelson have in common? They're all Kinky Friedman fans, of course. These notables, along with a posse of critics, discovered the Kinkster some time ago, and immediately began heaping praise and other assorted objects on him: The world's funniest, bawdiest, and most politically incorrect country music singer turned mystery writer . . . a classic. . . . The humor gleams as bright as Kinky's show more brontosaurusforeskin cowboy boots. -- The New York Times Book Review Kinky is the best whodunit writer to come along since Dashiell what's-his-name. -- Willie Nelson The Kinkster is a catcher, not in the rye, but in the sagebrush, and that's what is truly appealing about him and his work. -- Los Angeles Times Kinky, Mozart, Shakespeare -- with what could I equal them? -- Joseph Heller Well, if you don't know what these folks are so excited about, then read The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover and you'll soon find out. Filled with adventure, passion, excitement, and a fair amount of talk about cats and puppet heads, this latest installment in the on-going saga of man's inhumanity to the English language find New York's most cosmic private detective launched once again on an investigation that leads him far afield of both the law and the lower Manhattan loft he calls home. In The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover, Kinky Friedman, the author, has Kinky Friedman, the detective (in real life, the two are not related), rush to the aid of a lovely young woman, only to find that he is up to his shin splints in trouble of a disconcerting kind. Soonafter Polly Price hires him to find her missing husband, Kinky smells a rat. But it's not until he's been shot by the D.C. police and locked in a burning limousine by a Chicago chauffeur that he realizes he may be the one with his tail in a trap. Then, when Michael McGovern, longtime friend and loyal member of the Village Irregulars, complains first of being watched by mysterious men, then of getting threatening phone calls from a dead gangster named Leaning Jesus, and finally disappears -- and along with him, the lovely Polly -- Kinky comes to the only conclusion the conceivably could link these disparate events: the FBI is after him As The Washington Post Book World said, Nothing is sacred in a Kinky Friedman book. Friedman and his characters will take on any subject and have at it. Therein lies his charm. Well, in The Love Song of J. Edger Hoover, readers will find the ever-insouciant Kinky at his charming best. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Plot? What plot? Who cares! I don't read him for the plots. His style, his humor are simply marvelous - a contagious guilty pleasure like watching Miss America in your crappiest clothes while eating junk food, drinking beer and making fun of the contestants. That's Friedman's appeal. He doesn't take himself or anyone else all that seriously.
There once was a time when I thought that too much Kinky Friedman was never enough. Then they started to seem repetitive and the plots, never the strongest part of Friedman’s repertoire, became ever more insubstantial. And that’s where The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover comes in.
If you have read any Kinky Friedman you know what you’re in for; Al Capone’s chef Leaning Jesus, plenty of references to bodily functions, lots of cigar smoking and whiskey drinking and philosophising as Kinky heads to Washington DC and almost gets killed a few times.
If you have read any Kinky Friedman you know what you’re in for; Al Capone’s chef Leaning Jesus, plenty of references to bodily functions, lots of cigar smoking and whiskey drinking and philosophising as Kinky heads to Washington DC and almost gets killed a few times.
If you've gotten this far in the series, then you must be fan of Kinky Friedman's escapades, which can charitably be characterized as not politically correct. I find Kinky and his companions a fun free-for-all reading, sort of a flash! there's the plot, flash! there's the complication, and flash! it all ended. Friedman's songs, politics, and books are not for everyone, but they are an interesting bit of Americana.
If you like infantile, vulgar, cheap-shot, left-wing, sniggering, woman-objectifying, whitetrashculture, adolescent, gay-pushing-the-edge-joking, 60s radical leftover, scatological, cigar chomping, he-male humor from sexagenarian Texan, Jewish country singer (Did I leave anything out?), this book is for you. You get references to schoolboy celebs from the 50s: Big John and Sparky(radio), Captain Midnight(B&W TV); a quick reference to Ann Richards, masturbation, and the texture of cheap, grimy new York apartment living. In his unconscious stream of babble you get a pearl in a pile, every so often. And he solves the mystery after duly (for a detective) getting knocked out, shot and messed with by a femme fatale client. What a book!
Not as good as his last one (Armadillo...) but even a bad Kinky is still ok with me…
Good but Carl Hiaasen is a better writer in this genre.
FBI conspiracy; irreverent humor
9.97
9.97
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ThingScore 25
Die ungewöhnliche Ermittlung ohne übliche Verdächtige, ohne zufällige Ereignisse, die einem wirklich auf die Sprünge helfen, läßt zu viele Fragen unbeantwortet. Friedman schreibt seelenruhig über die Liga der Rotschöpfe, seine Klienten tauschen Kochrezepte aus, und der Leser wird mit Anekdoten und Wortspielen hingehalten. Der für Junggesellen fortgeschrittenen Alters mit einer show more Schwäche für fette Zigarren, starke Drinks und lakonische Katzen typische Humor ließe nicht nur auf Polly Prices hübschem Gesicht allenfalls ein müdes Lächeln entstehen. show less
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Author Information
53+ Works 5,915 Members
Kinky Friedman is the author of twelve novels, including Blast from the Past, Road Kill, The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover, God Bless, John Wayne, Armadillos & Old Lace; and Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola. He lives in a little green trailer in a little green valley deep in the heart of Texas. (Publisher Provided) Author, singer, and songwriter Kinky show more Friedman was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 31, 1944. He grew up on a ranch in central Texas and received a B. A. in Psychology and Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966. After graduation, he severed two years with the Peace Corps in Borneo. In the early 1970's, he formed a country and western band called The Texas Jewboys. His music mixed social commentary with humor and dealt with topics such as racism and anti-Semitism. He reached cult status and was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live in October 1976. After his music career ended in the 1980's, he started writing detective novels featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City. Since April 2001, he has been a regular columnist for Texas Monthly magazine, but stopped in March 2005 due to his campaign bid for governor of Texas. He founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, whose mission is to care for stray, abused, and aging animals. He currenlty lives at Echo Hill Ranch which is located near Kerrville, Texas. In 2012, Kinky Friedman partnered up with Willie Nelson to write Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die: Musings from the Road which became a New York Times Best Seller. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover
- Original title
- The Love Song of J. Edgar Hoover
- Original publication date
- 1996
- Dedication
- FOR NELSON MANDELA
AND THE ESKIMOS
AT THE AIRPORT - First words
- It was New Year's Day. I stood at the kitchen window sipping a hot, bitter espresso and gazing down at the raw, grainy, half-deserted, fog-shrouded countenance of Vandam Street.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)We're going to Disney World! she shouted.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 373
- Popularity
- 83,982
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (3.39)
- Languages
- English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 4
