Rate this book

Others Of My Kind (2013)

by James Sallis(Favorite Author)

3.14 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1620402092 (ISBN13: 9781620402092)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Bloomsbury USA

review 1: My only experience with Sallis' work to date was the cinematic adaptation of Driver, which I didn't like. But this book was just slender enough of a noncommitment to give the author another try and I'm so glad I did. If Sallis' writing is noir, then maybe I like noir more than I thought I did. It is bleak, very bleak, and a drama not a mystery as most noirs seem to be, but the quality of narrative is so good, so comfortably (if that's the right word) paced, sparse yet very moving and compelling study of human condition. In no small way this is all because of Jenny Rowan, the book's heroine, the ultimate survivor, the ultimate observer. This was a great read, very quick, very impressive, excellent introduction to a potentially excellent (pending further reading) author. Rec... moreommended.
review 2: I initially gravitated to James Sallis after reading that the great crime writer Ken Bruen was a big fan. While Bruen's novels are up front and in your face, Sallis' work is much more haunted and enigmatic. In this novel, Jenny Rowan, was kidnapped as a young child and was held hostage in a box under her kidnapper's bed before escaping and living in a shopping mall for two years giving birth to the story of "The Mall Girl." Against the odds, Jenny pulls herself together, graduated from college and works as a video editor in the news department of a TV station. When another girl escapes after years of captivity, the police ask Jenny to help her cope, and reluctantly she agrees. Against the backdrop of this story is the realization that this story takes place in an alternate America, where the female vice president's son has been kidnapped and terroristic attacks by groups foreign and domestic are commonplace. As Jenny drifts through her life she tries to with the notoriety she is subjected to as a result of her story becomes known. Sallis' books are very thought provoking and challenging. His narrative arc has gaps and twists, and his deep empathy for his characters make his stories consistently fascinating. less

Download links for: Others of My Kind

Advertising