Post by pimpinainteasy on Oct 2, 2019 5:16:04 GMT
Pagan Babies by Elmore Leonard
Pagan Babies is like a puzzle. After I finished the book, I wondered to myself "what did I just read?" I reread sections of the novel to understand what really happened. Not only is this a tall tale, it is a pretty complex coming of age story, which you might miss because it is also an awesome crime thriller.
The plot, in brief - Father Terry Dunn, a whiskey drinking priest from Detroit, is stationed in Rwanda and witnesses the genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by the rival Hutus. After murdering a few Hutu gangsters as revenge, Terry returns to Detroit, where he hooks up with Debbie Dewey, an aspiring stand-up comedian, who wants to take revenge on Randy, the man who ripped her off and landed her in jail. But there are gangsters and lawmen on Terry's trail because he was a cigarette smuggler before he went to Rwanda as a priest.
The puzzle that is Terry Dunn, unravels slowly, in bits and pieces. We are given glimpses through other people’s conversations about Terry and his own confessions to Debbie. Debbie Dewey – who seems to have no luck with men. But will her experiences with Randy and Terry make her a better stand-up comic? The idea of a stand-up comic in prisoner uniform is a great one and somebody might steal it in real life. I felt like the novel was basically a coming of age tale of Terry and Debbie.
The first section of the book with Terry in Rwanda, reminded me of Graham Greene novels. Leonard is pretty descriptive about the sights, sounds and smells of Rwanda. But in typical Leonard style, it is described through direct conversations, phone calls and letters. It is amazing how Leonard is able to paint a vivid picture of Rwanda, mostly through dialog.
There are other interesting characters too. Mutt – the dumb redneck hitman, a familiar trope in Leonard novels. The sub-plot with him carrying out hits on behalf of the mob were outrageously funny. I was rooting for him to escape. I will never get tired of Leonard’s dumb gangsters like Louis Gara (Jackie Brown) and Armand Degas (Killshot). Randy – another conman like Terry who assumes multiple identities and might have finally found his footing in the restaurant business. Tony Amilia – the ageing mob boss, who has a soft corner for Debbie.
Elmore Leonard ties all of this – Rwanda, cigarette smuggling, restaurant business, stand-up comedy, lawyers, Italian mob, coming of age together very effortlessly. Another great one from Elmore.
(10/10)
Pagan Babies is like a puzzle. After I finished the book, I wondered to myself "what did I just read?" I reread sections of the novel to understand what really happened. Not only is this a tall tale, it is a pretty complex coming of age story, which you might miss because it is also an awesome crime thriller.
The plot, in brief - Father Terry Dunn, a whiskey drinking priest from Detroit, is stationed in Rwanda and witnesses the genocide in which 800,000 Tutsis were murdered by the rival Hutus. After murdering a few Hutu gangsters as revenge, Terry returns to Detroit, where he hooks up with Debbie Dewey, an aspiring stand-up comedian, who wants to take revenge on Randy, the man who ripped her off and landed her in jail. But there are gangsters and lawmen on Terry's trail because he was a cigarette smuggler before he went to Rwanda as a priest.
The puzzle that is Terry Dunn, unravels slowly, in bits and pieces. We are given glimpses through other people’s conversations about Terry and his own confessions to Debbie. Debbie Dewey – who seems to have no luck with men. But will her experiences with Randy and Terry make her a better stand-up comic? The idea of a stand-up comic in prisoner uniform is a great one and somebody might steal it in real life. I felt like the novel was basically a coming of age tale of Terry and Debbie.
The first section of the book with Terry in Rwanda, reminded me of Graham Greene novels. Leonard is pretty descriptive about the sights, sounds and smells of Rwanda. But in typical Leonard style, it is described through direct conversations, phone calls and letters. It is amazing how Leonard is able to paint a vivid picture of Rwanda, mostly through dialog.
There are other interesting characters too. Mutt – the dumb redneck hitman, a familiar trope in Leonard novels. The sub-plot with him carrying out hits on behalf of the mob were outrageously funny. I was rooting for him to escape. I will never get tired of Leonard’s dumb gangsters like Louis Gara (Jackie Brown) and Armand Degas (Killshot). Randy – another conman like Terry who assumes multiple identities and might have finally found his footing in the restaurant business. Tony Amilia – the ageing mob boss, who has a soft corner for Debbie.
Elmore Leonard ties all of this – Rwanda, cigarette smuggling, restaurant business, stand-up comedy, lawyers, Italian mob, coming of age together very effortlessly. Another great one from Elmore.
(10/10)
