- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Serpent's Tail; Reprint edition (8 Dec 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1852424494
- ISBN-13: 978-1852424497
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 1.4 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 662,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
First published in 1953, The Moon in the Gutter was David Goodis's 10th novel, part of the loose trilogy including Black Friday and Down There. A prolific writer of hardboiled crime, Goodis's success was modest (he died in 1967). In his Introduction to Serpent Tail's reissuing of the book (alongside The Blonde on the Street Corner), Adrian Wootton stakes a claim for the intrinsic interest of Goodis's fiction--"he is, undoubtedly, a damn fine writer; a unique and distinctive talent"--as well as his influence on this generic world of solitary but passionate masculinity; of uptown girls longing for downtown men; of alleyways and tenements and damaged minds.
The stereotypical elements of that world are there in The Moon in the Gutter and its terse simplicity has earned its reputation as "cinematic" pulp trash. Less passionate, or gripping, is the plot: it hooks the reader through the protagonist William Kerrigan, obssessed by his sister's suicide, or not at all. Similarly, the pervasive atmosphere of film noir--a number of Goodis's books, including this one, have been made into films--is one of the most memorable aspects of this novel. A pulp classic, certainly, republished in the hope of finding a new audience of cult readers.--Vicky Lebeau
Product Description
In a back street in the rough end of Philadelphia, docker William Kerrigan obsesses over the mysterious suicide of his sister. Into a dive bar walks Loretta Channing the beautiful, enigmatic socialite and sister of Newton the drunk. For Kerrigan, Loretta's the impossible dream, the escape route from out of his hellhole existence, away from the crowded tenements, the shacks, the dark alleys. But Loretta may also hold the key to finding out what prompted his sister's death, the reason he can never break free. The Moon in the Gutter is a fierce and heated tale of desire and revenge. Made into a film starring Gerard Depardieu and Nastassia Kinski, it remains an enthralling classic of American noir fiction.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
At the edge of the alleyway facing Vernon Street, a gray cat waited for a large rat to emerge from its hiding place. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
At the edge of the alleyway facing Vernon Street, a gray cat waited for a large rat to emerge from its hiding place. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Hamsun Noir
12 Oct 1999
Format:Paperback
This guy is the Knut Hamsun of Noir. Grit, realism served up filthy-delphia style. His characters speak in the harsh dialect of wasted lives, guts, soul and all other essentials of the True Predecessor of Bukow, Selby, Fante, and Leonard Gardner...the beauty of ugliness is the religion of Goodis and his brash honesty and no-holds barred grappling prose style make him one of the greats.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
gritty story, but what about that ending?!?
30 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
David Goodis is the champion of the down-and-outs, druggies, boozers and misfits. In 'The Moon in the Gutter' we have an interesting story about a stevedore (dock worker) and his utterly miserable existence. He has difficulty in coming to grips with the grisly death of his sister, his home life is a disaster, and his future looks bleak. But then he meets a blonde from the other side of the tracks and ....
While I won't give any spoilers here let me just say I felt very let down by the ending of this novel. David Goodis brings the reader into the life of this poor soul and shows us his world without compassion. Towards the end the tension builds (..again no spoilers) but the author fails miserably in tying it all together at the end. Very disappointing.
Bottom line: a missed opportunity by Goodis. Intriguing, but best left to Goodis fans only.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Goodis is a really good mystery writer
31 Dec 1998
Format:Paperback
Seven months ago, Bill Kerrigan's beloved sister committed suicide rather than lives with the memory of the assault on her body by an unknown assailant. Bill remains in shock, visiting the alley off of Philadelphia's Vernon Street where his sibling died.
After spending some time in the alley, for some reason known only to him, Bill decides he needs a beer so he goes to the nearby Dugan's Den bar. At the dive, Bill meets Newton Channing, a slumming wealthy uptowner. When Newton's classy sister Loretta comes to take him home, an immediate bond forms between her and Bill. However, he is a stevedore, residing in the slums while she is class personified. Even if Bill can put aside his ghastly obsession of finding the culprit behind his sister's death, this couple has no chance of making it.
THE MOON IN THE GUTTER is a reprint of a great urban Noir. The characterization is deep and very intriguing because of David Goodis' insight into the Vernon Street dwellers. The story line is haunting as its serves up to prove that the author was exceptionally good at his craft. Readers who give this novel a chance will search the second hhandbook stores for more works by Mr. Goodis.
Harriet Klausner
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
