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Loading... The Neon Jungle (1953)by John D. MacDonald
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  waldhaus1 | Aug 8, 2018 |    ) edlynskey | Jul 24, 2014 | In any case, the story revolves around a market in a not-so-good part of town, where the owner lives with his new, much younger wife, his son and his shrewish wife, his teenage daughter, and the wife, Bonny, of his son who died in the war. They were only married a short time and she was a tramp (that he rescued)! And on top of that there are a couple of ex-cons living there that the friendly parole officer has brought to them. And a butcher who is scared to death of sex. Lurking about is a very tough cop who doesn't think any ex-con can be reformed. In typical MacDonald fashion, the story is told from multiple viewpoints, but not on a chapter-by-chapter basis as in some of his books. He just sort of floats around inhabiting whatever voice should speak next. He doesn't insert long authorial speeches about morals or real estate developers as he tends to do in his later books, but the morals part still comes out loud and clear through the voices of these characters, particularly the parole officer. What sets this book apart from most of the other non-Travis McGee MacDonalds I have read is the grittiness of it all. There is a well done atmosphere of drugs and violence that pervades it all and the threads of the story are well woven to its violent conclusion. I won't consider that a spoiler since the cover of my edition quotes the New York Times: "Culminates in one of the most explosive murder scenes in recent fiction." Like other of his early works (The Damned, Dead Low Tide, End of the Night), this book is more tightly plotted and serious than most of his many later novels. Recommended! (  ) datrappert | Jun 12, 2012 | In any case, the story revolves around a market in a not-so-good part of town, where the owner lives with his new, much younger wife, his son and his shrewish wife, his teenage daughter, and the wife, Bonny, of his son who died in the war. They were only married a short time and she was a tramp (that he rescued)! And on top of that there are a couple of ex-cons living there that the friendly parole officer has brought to them. And a butcher who is scared to death of sex. Lurking about is a very tough cop who doesn't think any ex-con can be reformed and that In typical MacDonald fashion, the story is told from multiple viewpoints, but not on a chapter-by-chapter basis as in some of his books. He just sort of floats around inhabiting whatever voice should speak next. He doesn't insert long authorial speeches about morals or real estate developers as he tends to do in his later books, but the morals part still comes out loud and clear through the voices of these characters, particularly the parole officer. What sets this book apart from most of the other non-Travis McGee MacDonald's I have read is the grittiness of it all. There is a well done atmosphere of drugs and violence that pervades it all and the threads of the story are well woven to its violent conclusion. I won't consider that a spoiler since the cover of my edition quotes the New York Times: "Culminates in one of the most explosive murder scenes in recent fiction." Like other of his early works (The Damned, Dead Low Tide, End of the Night), this book is more tightly plotted and serious than most of his many later novels. Recommended! ( ) datrappert | Jun 12, 2012 | no reviews | add a review
No writer captured the urban blight that befell postwar America in all its grime and commotion as well as noir legend John D. MacDonald. The Neon Jungle depicts a world in which the bright lights belie the turbulent lives of a lost generation. Introduction by Dean Koontz The smell of warm gin hovers over a whole section of town. The threat of violence hangs in the air. And the neighborhood kids know all about drugs, knives, and back-alley beatings long before they're pushed into high school by weary truant officers. This is simply reality for the family that runs Varaki Quality Market. Its patriarch, Gus Varaki, is doing all he can to keep his business afloat after his beloved middle child, Henry, is killed in action. But his oldest son is at a crossroads, his teenage daughter has been seduced by a rough crowd, and one of his employees is running a racket of his own. Only Henry's despondent widow, Bonny, sees the awful truth--and the deadly plot hanging over all of their heads. Praise for John D. MacDonald "John D. MacDonald was the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller."--Stephen King "My favorite novelist of all time . . . No price could be placed on the enormous pleasure that his books have given me."--Dean Koontz "John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best."--Mary Higgins Clark No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.56)
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Wikipedia in English
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The characters are well drawn. It did take me a while to get them straight in my mind.
The Korean war death at the beginning underlines the role of luck and chance. A psychological thriller, the psychology of the fifties. Different anxieties. An interesting array of characters. MacDonald must have gotten them from life and personal experience. Some of the morality must reflect his upbringing, and the characters coming in part from war time experiences.
The title jungle is the survival of the fittest. Hope is in those trying to make something better of their lives. They redeem the jungle. (