Book Details
| Title: | Owning Up | |
| Author: | George Pelecanos | |
| Times Read: | 1 | |
| Last Read: | 02.28.24 |
Other Books Read By This Author (18)
- The Big Blowdown
- Buster
- The Cut
- Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go
- Drama City
- A Firing Offense
- Hard Revolution
- King Suckerman
- The Man Who Came Uptown
- The Martini Shot
- Nick's Trip
- The Night Gardener
- Shame the Devil
- Shoedog
- The Sweet Forever
- The Turnaround
- The Way Home
- What it Was
| Date Read | Note |
| 02.28.24 | I'm taking a guess on when I finished this because I guess I never wrote a note for it. I'm not really sure why not, but it's a shame because I also don't remember a ton of details. This is a collection of 4 novellas, each about 60-70 pages, about kind of typical Pelecanos stuff. One was about a couple guys who met in lock-up, one determined but stuck with bad luck and the other aimless and prone to trouble. One is about a Pelecanos stand-in who is the victim of a no-knock warrant that derails his life. One is about... checking the Amazon synopsis now because I don't remember. Oh, right. One is set in the 70s i think during a hostage crisis with a group I can't remember, except that Kareem Abdul Jabbar bought the house. And the final one is a kind of oral history that flashes back to the thirties i think? All were interesting and easy to read in typical Pelecanos fashion, but as often is the case with novellas none of them go anywhere or build up enough to really resonate. I'm generally not a fan of short fiction because of this. I feel like a good short can basically be a twilight zone episode and that's it. I'd much rather read a full novel, but I guess considering how long it's been since Pelecanos has released any written material (he's been busy with TV projects like The Deuce and We Own This City and whatever's coming next) his publishers probably wanted SOMETHING. In fact, the whole reason why I remembered to write this note is that I'm about to start his next release which is another novella from the viewpoint of a dog. It's not like his books are usually epic length but I do wonder why they released this 240-page book of 4 novellas then a standalone 80-page book of one novella like 3 months later. Seems like it could've easily been one 320 page book to me, but we'll see. Looking at his output, What It Was and The Double came out basically together at the end of 2012/beginning of 2013, then The Martini Shot (a collection of shorts with one novella) was 2015, The Man Who Came Uptown was 2018, and then this in 2024. Again, he's been busy with TV stuff so I get it, but I do wish I had a new novel from him. If anything, it shows what a machine Michael Connelly is churning out a new book every year in addition to his tv projects (which I'm sure he's less hands on with considering Pelecanos is a producer with David Simon on their recent projects). Anyway, gripes aside I remember liking this one ok. |
 |