As cool as they come., July 28, 2000
Reviewer: Ed Hawkins (Sydney, Australia)
'Glitz' is the work of a novelist who knows exactly what he's doing. The plotting is strong without ever seeming contrived; the characters, with the possible exception of Vincent Mora, who's a little too good to be believable, are all arrestingly real; and the backdrops -- Puerto Rico, Atlantic City, Miami -- are vividly painted in. The plot here is a little knottier than in some of Leonard's later books, but is none the worse for that; his comedy, too, is more subtle. All crime fiction is really a guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean there's not room within the genre for originality and craftsmanship. Leonard isn't Tolstoy, and doesn't have any illusions about his stature, but on his own turf he is a master, and worth ten novelists who've buried their heads in Derrida and Lacan. Like his protagonist, Leonard knows all the angles. You'll finish this novel with a broad smile on your face, and a desire to read all of Leonard's work.
Reviewer: Ed Hawkins (Sydney, Australia)
'Glitz' is the work of a novelist who knows exactly what he's doing. The plotting is strong without ever seeming contrived; the characters, with the possible exception of Vincent Mora, who's a little too good to be believable, are all arrestingly real; and the backdrops -- Puerto Rico, Atlantic City, Miami -- are vividly painted in. The plot here is a little knottier than in some of Leonard's later books, but is none the worse for that; his comedy, too, is more subtle. All crime fiction is really a guilty pleasure, but that doesn't mean there's not room within the genre for originality and craftsmanship. Leonard isn't Tolstoy, and doesn't have any illusions about his stature, but on his own turf he is a master, and worth ten novelists who've buried their heads in Derrida and Lacan. Like his protagonist, Leonard knows all the angles. You'll finish this novel with a broad smile on your face, and a desire to read all of Leonard's work.
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