On the surface, Richard Price's latest crime novel, Lush Life , is the relatively straightforward story of a murder and its ensuing investigation. Two things move this story beyond the ordinary plotline of every other prime time TV show to an entertaining read: dialogue and setting. Indeed, "story" here seems like a mere framework for Price to work this magic.
35 year-old bar/restaurant manager Eric Cash and two acquaintances are mugged at gunpoint, at 4 a.m., while drunkenly returning from a night of partying. When one of the victims gets mouthy, declaring "Not tonight, my man!" the nervous young robber shoots and kills him. Eric immediately becomes the main suspect and the rest of the novel details the prolonged, frustrating investigation.
Setting As Character
Peopled with a dozen well-rounded characters, Price introduces us to bartenders and detectives, drug-dealers and grieving parents, immigrants and old timers, and yet it is the neighborhood, Manhattan's Lower East Side, that must be called the main character of Lush Life. Upon turning the last page of this book, the reader could well give a tour of the neighborhood.
Price's description of the odd mixture of buildings, old and new, shows us a neighborhood "in transition", and mirrors the inevitable cultural clashes (like the one that drives the storyline). There are synagogues next to upscale nightclubs, and housing projects across the street from world corporate headquarters. It is a confusing, frustrating environment, and the author renders it well.
Dialogue Drives the Story
Stronger even than his descriptive powers, though, is the author's ear for and use of dialogue. Mainly cop talk and street slang, conversation takes up at least half of the 400+ pages of text, yet rarely does it feel over-used or out of context. Indeed, the dialogue serves to propel an otherwise slow story forward, just when it's needed. Just as importantly, the dialogue's variety and realism is what renders the characters well-rounded and makes the Lower East Side palpable for the reader. Richard Price is clearly a master of dialogue, perhaps not surprising for an award-winning screenwriter for both the large and small screens.
A typical exchange between a cop and a kid he's arresting (both humorous & telling):
"So you never answered my question" Lugo says, skull-steering him into the rear of the cruiser. "You ever been locked up before?"
The kid turns his head away, murmurs something.
It's OK, you can tell me."
"I said 'Yes.' "
"For?"
The kid shrugs, embarrassed, says "This."
"Yeah? Around here?"
"Uh-huh."
"How long back?"
"On Christmas Eve."
"On Christmas Eve for this?" Lugo winces. "That is cold. Who the hell would...You remember who collared you?"
"Uh-huh," the kid mutters, then looks Lugo in the face. "You."
Overall, Richard Price's Lush Life is a solid crime novel that is greatly enhanced by strong dialogue and the rich description of Manhattan's Lower East Side. Taking a fairly basic story and making it interesting, the author proves that it is not necessarily the story but how it is written that makes a great novel.
Price, Richard. Lush Life. 2008 Farrar,Straus,Giroux (isbn: 139780374299255)
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
Join the Conversation