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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"All life is 9 : 5 against.", 20 July 2005
Jack "Legs" Diamond, a larger than life thief/booklegger/murderer, captured the imagination of the public during Prohibition, the Roaring Twenties, and the beginning of the Great Depression. Living the high life, surrounded by beautiful women, bodyguards, and associates, Diamond, in his early thirties, moved smoothly between speakeasies and sordid backrooms, between murder scenes and rural retreats, always exuding a sense of confidence and glamour. Setting this novel primarily in Albany, New York, in 1930-1931, Kennedy recreates the mystique of Diamond, a much handsomer contemporary of Chicago gangster Al Capone, and New York beer king Dutch Schultz, as he exercises his power, fights off intrusions into "his" territory, corners the market in illegal beverages, buys off politicians and judges, and tries to avoid conviction for his crimes. Telling Diamond's story is Marcus Gorman, a lawyer who gets swept up in the excitement which surrounds Diamond and ends up as his attorney. Marcus, however, always insists that he be paid for his work, up front, and he refuses to be drawn into obviously illegal behavior. This makes him the perfect narrator-someone who admires much about Diamond but also someone whose judgment the reader can trust. Terse dialogue reminiscent of the novels of Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett, fills the novel, but Marcus's musings about what motivates Diamond offer a more thoughtful approach to this shady character and his life than what one usually finds in noir novels. A man with no conscience, Diamond double-crosses and cheats his way to success, often killing his own associates, events described in gory detail. But Diamond's legend grows. Kennedy humanizes him by emphasizing the loyalty of his wife Alice and the crazy love of his girlfriend, showgirl Kiki Roberts. After his two major trials, even the jury celebrates the inevitable acquittals. Other mobsters fear him, however, and know that if they don't get him first that he will get them. Surviving three murder attempts in two years, Diamond absorbs eleven bullets, before his final gun battle. An uncomplicated but well-written novel, _Legs_ illustrates the attraction many feel to celebrity, even a sadistic celebrity such as Diamond. The author's insights into his life and motivations help to explain the roots of this attraction, and his follow-up on the lives of both Alice Diamond and Kiki Roberts brings the themes full circle. Fun to read, this is the first of the novels in the "Albany Cycle," followed by _Billy Phelan's Greatest Game_ and the Pulitzer Prize-winning _Ironweed_. Mary Whipple
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by William Kennedy
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