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Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard
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Tishomingo Blues (original 2002; edition 2003)

by Elmore Leonard

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1,3872313,313 (3.53)13
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:

"Leonard delivers a certifiable masterpiece of such twisted ingenuity that he transcends even his own bad self....Tishomingo Blues is that good."

ā??Baltimore Sun

Crime fiction Grand Master Elmore Leonard heads to the Deep South for a bracing dose of Tishomingo Bluesā??a wild, Leonard-esque ride featuring gamblers, mobsters, murderers, high divers, and Civil War re-enactors that the New York Times Book Review calls, "Leonard's best work since Get Shorty." Sparkling with trademark "Dutch" Leonard dialogue so sharp it could cut you, Tishomingo Blues is classic mystery, mayhem, and gritty noir fun from "the coolest, hottest thriller writer in America" (Chicago Tribune)… (more)

Member:telsemore
Title:Tishomingo Blues
Authors:Elmore Leonard
Info:HarperTorch (2003), Mass Market Paperback, 400 pages
Collections:Your library
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Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard (2002)

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» See also 13 mentions

English (20)  Swedish (2)  Spanish (1)  All languages (23)
Showing 1-5 of 20 (next | show all)
Reminded me of a cross between a Carl Hiaasen and Jim Thompson. A pretty decent read. ( )
  btbell_lt | Aug 1, 2022 |
very shaggy story ( )
  austinburns | Dec 16, 2021 |
Enjoyable, easy-to-read novel, featuring some wacky characters along with the sane ones.

Star of the story is Dennis Lenahan, high-dive performer. He likes to climb to 80 feet and dive into a small tank. Usually does it at fairs but got tired of it, so he talked the owner of the Tishomingo Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, into letting him set up there. While preparing for his first test dive, Dennis is on top of his ladder when he manages to witness something he wishes he hadn't.

It soon becomes clear that others wish he hadn't seen anything also, and convince him that it is best for his health to remain ignorant.

But then he meets Robert, who casually mentions that he was watching out the window when Dennis finally did that test dive. Did he see more? What does he want? The mystery of Robert becomes deeper every day, but one thing is clear: he is an expert at diverting. Dennis listens to Robert with a grain of salt but clearly is interested. He is also interested in various women who happen his way, some of whom are simply drawn to the daredevil in him.

Dennis gets to know a whole slew of interesting folks, many of whom are civil war re-enactors. A new re-enactment is planned and Dennis is pulled into it. It is here that things come to a head.

I found it entertaining and easy to get through. Nice travel book. ( )
  slojudy | Sep 8, 2020 |
Leonard's writing style is conducive to enjoyment in audiobook form, I've found. A remarkably consistent writer. In the dozen or so novels I've read, there is a nice variety of content, without much variation in style. He found his voice and stuck with it, I guess.

The two main thrusts of the plot of Tishomingo Blues are the high diver and the company of war reenactment enthusiasts. The two forms of circus-like performance intersect in a sort of contrived crime-boss scenario. The insertion of crime and corruption is almost a given, considering the purview of our author. Carried along by well-realized characters and pervasive humor, this is one of the better Leonard's I've listened to.

Not much re-readability, but it is memorable. When you examine Elmore Leonard's writing critically, it is difficult to find fault. Very few writers have the sort of talent he possessed. The dialogue is pitch perfect most of the time, the plot always ready-made for a film adaptation or a very cinematic reading experience. Even the characters are enjoyable, despite their built-in flaws. Occasionally crude or forced, he is almost always a blast to read. ( )
  LSPopovich | Apr 8, 2020 |


"Let us attempt to narrow it down. Elmore Leonard is a literary genius who writes re-readable thrillers. Mr. Leonard possess gifts - of ear and eye, of timing and phrasing - that even the most snobbish masters of the mainstream must vigorously covet. And the question is: how does he allow these gifts play, in his efficient, unpretentious and (delightfully) similar yarns about semiliterate hustlers, mobsters, go-go dancers, cocktail waitresses, loan sharks, bounty hunters, blackmailers and syndicate executioners? My answer may sound reductive, but here goes: the essence of Elmore is to be found in his use of the present participle."

The above quote is from Martin Amis and, trust me gang, he is absolutely dead-on center here. Even though Tishomingo Blues is written in the historical present rather than the present participle, that is, ā€œVernice saidā€ or ā€œRobert saidā€ rather than ā€œVernice sayingā€ or ā€œRobert saying,ā€ itā€™s the same motor of urgent talk that drives action, the same creamy, boozy dialogue that enables Elmore Leonard to glide effortlessly into the mindstream of his characters.

The British man of letters also hits the bulls-eye when he notes how Leonard's characters have junk souls stuffed with sitcoms, ad jingles, talk shows and celebrity gossip. If you can't personally relate to the author's cast if sleazeballs, count your blessings - even when these mobsters, cocktail waitresses, drug dealers, whores and hit men possess quick wits or material wealth, scratch the surface and you come away with a garbage can of psychic trash.

So, why would I rate Tishomingo Blues among the best of Leonardā€™s fifty novels? For me, itā€™s all in the contrast: injected into the mix of vintage Elmore sordid lowlife is main character Dennis Lenahan, world class high diving dare devil. We are in Tunica, Mississippi where Dennis talks an owner of a new casino hotel into hiring him to set up his mini pool and diving tower as a special summer event to draw the crowds. Approaching age forty Dennis has been a professional stunt diver for over twenty years, from the cliffs of Acapulco to the amusement park circuit, a ton and a half of amusement parks, enough merry-go-rounds and roller coasters to prod Dennis into thinking heā€™s had just about enough and maybe its time to consider over venues or even a second career.

Similar to his other novels, Elmore Leonard did his research: all the rigging, wiring and various technicalities Dennis must deal with setting up his show are presented in such color and detail, the world of Tishomingo Blues comes completely alive to snap, crackle, pop and rock us from the first few pages. Iā€™ve read the novel three times and I share Martin Amis' pleasure: kicking back and rereading Elmore is wicked and irresistible, sheer post-modern decadent bliss.

Preparing for his opening day performance, Dennis is up on his eighty-foot perch practicing diving. Meanwhile, the professional rigger hired to assist Dennis with the set-up, a local by the name of Floyd Showers, is by the pool securing the last wires. Dennis looks down as two men, one slick-haired and the other tall and wearing a cowboy hat, come outside to exchange words with Floyd. Suddenly the slick-haired one draws a pistol out from under his sportshirt and takes Floyd under the scaffolding. Dennis hears a series of pops. Evidently they both figured great place to pull off a murder since there's no witnesses. However, they misjudged; those two dudes look up and see Dennis. They know he saw them kill Floyd. Just at that moment lights come on and a beer gut bubba named Charlie Hoke, a former major leaguer who runs a pitching cage next to the hotel, comes strolling across the lawn.

Thus we have the framework for unfolding events. I wouldn't want to say anything further regarding plot since one fan of the author reports she never ever reads a review of a new Elmore Leonard before reading the book. She wants to discover the twists of the story for herself. I can't blame her - there are so many whammies and curveballs in his novels that turning the pages becomes an intense pleasure; the deeper you get into the story, the more you want to read.

Did I mention Charlie Hoke pitched for the ā€™84 Tigers in the World Series? Actually, Charlie lets everyone within earshot know how he dedicated over twenty years of his life to professional baseball and then will launch into a pitch by pitch of how he struck out such star sluggers as Al Oliver, Mike Schmidt, Willie MccGee and Wade Boggs.

Besides Charlie, thereā€™s a batch of Ole Miss crackers with names like Arlen, Newton and Eugene, all nasty and violent, rednecks who arenā€™t shy in holding back on threats and a torrent of racial slurs, particularly if they encounter a member of the Negro race. Also on hand are the beautiful babes, including the slim dark eyed, dark haired Anne who is married to Detroit gangster Germano Mularoni, a stunning blonde TV reporter and Loretta caught in the act of making Naughty Child pie.

But the novelā€™s second main character is not from Dixie but from Detriot, a good looking, cool, razor sharp, fast-talking, affable black man going by the name of Robert Taylor who drives a Jaguar and packs a pistol. Robert has a long list of accomplishments requiring super smarts going back to when he was a twelve-year old city kid organizing a network of drug runs. And as a hotel guest occupying a first-rate suite Robert was standing at the window and witnessed Dennis being a witness to the Floyd Showers murder. Oh, what a connection this will turn out to be. Robert admires Dennis, the way he risks his neck every single day by doing all those flips and twists from way up there on his perch down into that little bitty nine-foot pool of water. My main man, Dennis!

Are you into Civil War reenactment? One big part of the novel involves the reenactment of the Battle of Briceā€™s Cross Roads. As to be expected, many of the good ol' Southern boys are into war and weapons as hardliners. Even John Rau, the detective on the Floyd Showers case, participates as Colonel John Rau on the side of the Union, one of his men a Private Dennis Lenahan. And, as there was back in the actual Civil War, thereā€™s a place in the reenactment for an African-American ā€“ Robert Taylor wears Confederacy gray and is very much part of the show.

To underscore how the super-smooth dialogue from the novel could easily be used for a movie, hereā€™s a snatch from Robert Taylor: ā€œYou think Iā€™m the man, huh? Not some local deputy dog, you think I might be a fed, like some nare sniffing around. Hey, come on, Iā€™m not looking into your business, I saw you dive, man. I respect you. Listen, I bet Iā€™ve been in your shoes a few times. You know what Iā€™m saying? I think we both had our nerves rubbed a little. You ask me am I looking for work and I jump on it, ā€˜cause I donā€™t seek employment. Any given time I got my own agenda.ā€

Lastly, it definitely should not be overlooked that this book, similar to Elmore Leonardā€™s other novels, deals in social commentary and the moral choices we make as individuals and as a society. And what does it mean to be a good man or woman and act morally? Are such distinctions clear cut or do they tend to be just a little bit murky? American is not only the land of opportunity but, as Dick Gregory wisely observed, the land of the opportunist. Not to mention the land of scams and con games. Is it morally right to scam the scammers or con the con artists? Is it possible to be a person worthy of respect, even if you mind is nearly full of psychic trash or if you talk like a semi-illiterate or break the law ten times a day? Murky, muddy Mississippi ā€“ for Elmore Leonardā€™s Tishomingo Blues, as much the people as the river.


American author Elmore Leonard, 1925 - 2013 ( )
1 vote Glenn_Russell | Nov 13, 2018 |
Showing 1-5 of 20 (next | show all)
A good deal of any Leonard novelā€”or those of, say, the last twenty yearsā€”consists of deadpan social observation. John le CarrĆ© has maintained that, for the late twentieth century at least, the spy novel is the central fictional form, because it alone tackles the implementation of the hidden agendas thatā€”we suspect, and as the evening news tends to confirmā€”surround us on all sides. Similarly, Elmore Leonard might argueā€”if he were given to argument, which he is notā€”that a novel without some sort of crime or scam in it can hardly claim to be an accurate representation of todayā€™s reality. He might add that this is especially true when that reality is situated in America, home of Enron and of the worldā€™s largest privately held arsenal, where casual murders are so common that most arenā€™t reported, and where the CIA encourages the growing and trading of narcotics to finance its foreign adventures.
added by danielx | editNew York Review of Books, Margaret Atwood (pay site) (May 2, 2002)
 

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Elmore Leonardprimary authorall editionscalculated
Rudd, PaulNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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I'm going to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiled, / I'm gong to Tishomingo to have my ham bone boiled, / These Atlanta women done let my ham bone spoil. - Performed by Peg Leg Howell Atlanta, georgia, November 8, 1926
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Dennis Lenahan the high diver would tell people that if you put a fifty-cent piece on the floor and looked down at it, that's what the tank looked like from the top of that eighty-foot steel ladder.
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Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:

"Leonard delivers a certifiable masterpiece of such twisted ingenuity that he transcends even his own bad self....Tishomingo Blues is that good."

ā??Baltimore Sun

Crime fiction Grand Master Elmore Leonard heads to the Deep South for a bracing dose of Tishomingo Bluesā??a wild, Leonard-esque ride featuring gamblers, mobsters, murderers, high divers, and Civil War re-enactors that the New York Times Book Review calls, "Leonard's best work since Get Shorty." Sparkling with trademark "Dutch" Leonard dialogue so sharp it could cut you, Tishomingo Blues is classic mystery, mayhem, and gritty noir fun from "the coolest, hottest thriller writer in America" (Chicago Tribune)

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