Elmore Leonard – Bandits (1987)
Novel – 340 pages – my copy (paperback; 1995) bought from Plymouth Waterstone’s a good many a-year ago
- 2 nods out of 5 –
Many years ago, Elmore Leonard and the Four Eyed Book Worm were good friends. Leonard was a regular in the Worm’s bag, journeying from place to place as the Worm made excuses from his studying commitments to spend some quality time with his pal. Many stories were read during this period, one of which was Bandits. But then the quality time became sparser and sparser, the Worm moved onto new fields, and Leonard was left in boxes, waiting for the day when the seal of cellotape was to be broken, when the pages would be freed and felt by fingers once more.
A re-acquaintance with an old friend is never a bad thing. As such, the Worm decided to re-read Bandits, perhaps a decade after its first sitting. Back then it had left an impression of both thrilling and enlightening. How would its second day in court fare?
The positives: Elmore Leonard is known as a master of dialogue. Bandits, despite being lesser known than his major works (such as Get Shorty and Rum Punch, to name but a few that have been turned into successful Hollywood films) it has that same magic touch of quotation marks. What’s more, in Bandits the complex issue of the Nicaraguan Civil War is brought into focus, well crafted in the ignorance of the central character, Jack Delaney’s prodding questions.
The negatives: perhaps this novel is the reason why crime novelists get such a bad press. A tired plot is made to trundle on until its inevitable climax, with characters added for dramatic padding (the IRA arms trader Boylan for dramatic effect; Cullen for comedic effect). Leonard’s been down this road a million times, and even his characters know it:
‘ “Shit,” Jack said, “you’re right. Okay, I’m gonna get around the curve and then punch it. We’re gonna fly across the bridge and then make a quick right on North Beach and lose his ass.”
That’s what they did.’
Despite this, the Worm strongly recommends that all novel lovers out there become acquainted (or re-acquainted) with Elmore Leonard’s books. He’s a credit to the crime genre and a true master of dialogue; but perhaps leave Bandits until a later read.
