Forest Gate: A Novel Review

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(More customer reviews)In the old council flats of London, a tragic event ripples through gang and racial warfare. James, a local black British teen from a *successful*crack-dealing family, and his best friend, Ashvin, a poet-loving Somali refugee, jump off a towering building, nooses around their necks, in a suicide pact. Ashvin dies and James survives. Ashvin's sister, Armeina (Meina), hooks up with James in shared grief to forge a tentative but tender friendship. This is their story.
There is a lot of potential in this plaintive novel of redemption. It has heart, and it murmurs. It doesn't quite sing, though. The story is narrated largely through Meina, with a few sections by James and other characters. The primary problem is that the author didn't adequately distinguish the separate voices of James and Meina--they are too similar. Even the cadence is synonymous, which you wouldn't expect from two people from separate countries and disparate backgrounds. Meina was raised in an educated home, by intellectual parents, and witnessed their terrifying, horrifying massacre at the hands of the Ethiopians during civil war strife. James was reared by the horrors and betrayals of his family and neighborhood. The lack of narrative distinction distracted and removed me from the immediacy of the story and conferred an unnatural tenor.
The book was described as tautly constructed, written with a controlled rage. I disagree. Rather, the voices were a bit precious and lacking in the subtext necessary for the reader to register the contained rage. There was restraint, but it was unintentional. The wattage was dimmed by authorial trepidation, as if Akinti was unsure of asserting the fury of his characters. This created a languid tone and lack of muscle in the prose delivery. It felt like he was playing it safe to ensure that we connected with and liked the characters. I would have preferred that he liberate himself from that self-conscious mode and get out of his own way.
Interestingly, his graphic scenes are very well done, crafted with menacing weight. They were not gratuitous. On the contrary, they exploded with tormenting finesse, like a coiled thunder. It permeated the prosaic air with a crackling heat. The violence that the Somalians endured during more than dozen civil wars is heartbreaking. And the devestrating terrors perpetrated on the youth in this London neighborhood are merciless and harrowing.
If this debut novel went through a few more drafts, it could be a dazzling, evocative story, as Akinti's talent is evident. I look forward to seeing how he evolves.

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Jolie Blon's Bounce Review

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(More customer reviews)To categorize this book as a mystery is like clumping Haagen-Daz in the same category as cheap sherbet. Sorry. Not the same thing. These characters are alive and fresh and memorable. The settings resonate with sights and sounds and smells. The beauty of Louisiana juxtapositioned with the evil of the criminal world is a heady mix. As always, I'm impressed by Burke's ability. I feel like I'm repeating myself: James Lee Burke is a master of imagery, be it violent and dark, or moving and poetic. I can't help myself. To read his work is to fall in love with the language. With this in mind, it's true that I tend to overlook his meandering plots and psychological side-trips. For me, they make his books much more real and down to earth than the general formulaic mysteries.
In this particular story, we see Dave Robicheaux dealing with his inner demons, as always--this time in the form of pills. But it's the same white worm eating at him and driving anger to the surface. As usual, his emotions boil over into his job and cause trouble. The difference this time is that Robicheaux is dealing with other demons than his own. He's dealing with Legion, an old man, hard as nails and full of darkness. The supernatural aspects that come into play, particularly at the conclusion were, for me, very satisfying and remarkably well handled. Other reviewers have derided these elements; I found them to be the original touch this series needed. Others complained of sexual situations that were unnecessary; I was moved to tears by Bootsie's tenderness to her man in need of assurance. Robicheaux, behind his tough exterior, is a man of flesh and blood and emotion. Thankfully, James Lee Burke is too. It's the reason I keep reading his stuff. After "Purple Cane Road," I'd rate this near the top of the series.

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Dixie City Jam Review

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(More customer reviews)After reading a bunch of bestseller but lackluster mysteries this summer, it was wonderful to discover an author of some substance-James Lee Burke. Dixie City Jam (the Dave Robicheaux series) reads more like a mystery written by a novelist, and Burke's literary style is unmatched by most mystery writers today.
Dave Robicheaux, a former New Orleans PD policeman, is now a detective with the New Iberia sheriff's office. Robicheaux discovered a Nazi u-boat in Gulf waters, and now a number of people are lining up to find the sub's location. Will Buchalter is a spooky, brutal, neo-Nazi who is willing to stop at nothing to get his hands on the sub, and haunts Robicheaux and his family (leaving dead bodies in his wake). There are also several subplots involving drug deals, prostitution, mobsters, crooked cops, and a vigilante murderer killing drug dealers and cutting out their hearts.
Burke's characters are a colorful bunch, and Robicheaux's former partner and now PI, Cletus Purcel, is probably the best of the bunch. He will have you in stitches as he goes against the mob. New Orleans is also a major player in Dixie City Jam, and the sultry, sensuous, steamy city (the locals call it The Big Sleazy) provides a fitting backdrop.
Burke's writing is top notch, and his dialog between characters reads like Mike Hammer meets Spenser. Robicheaux has a background in literature (something rare in law enforcement) and it's easy to see that Burke is a serious writer who shares a love of literature with his fictional detective. Burke has received a number of deserved literary awards and was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
The only negative about Dixie City Jam is that some of it seemed a bit unbelievable. How Buchalter could have gone on a crime spree lasting decades while eluding detection or capture was a stretch. But this doesn't detract from this otherwise fabulous book. Burke is another writer who I'm now motivated to read everything he's written. I've already started Last Car to Elysian Fields.

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