The Sucker's Kiss
by Alan Parker
I'm always looking for a great novel with quirky characters, and The Sucker's Kiss is
one of the best I've found. Alan Parker is the renowned British producer/director that
directed Bugsy Malone, Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express, Birdy,
and Angela's Ashes. He is the winner of nineteen British Film Academy awards, ten
Golden Globe Awards and six Oscars. He turned his hand to writing during a strike of the
Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. He came up with a real winner.
Thomas Moran was seven years old in 1906 when the earthquake hit San Francisco. Separated
from his mother and sisters, he had to fend for himself and became an accomplished pick-pocket,
taking the craft to new heights. He grows up traveling from coast to coast in an America
that is devastated by the depression, and crime is on the rise because of Prohibition. He
meets Effie, the great love of his life, and she offers him a chance to change his life
and go straight. Thomas is a funny, gritty, amoral hero that you have to love.
The plot is ready-made by the history of America during those years. The characters are
picturesque Italian and Chinese gangsters, con artists, corrupt clergy and bootleggers.
The resulting highly entertaining story will have you laughing and crying in turn, and reading
all night to reach the unexpected conclusion. I will be looking forward to anything else
written by this very talented storyteller. |
The Book |
Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin's Press |
October 6, 2004 |
Hardcover |
0-312-32975-X |
Fiction/General |
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Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Beverly
J. Rowe |
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