I have a fear that raving about David Simon's Homicide: A
Year on the Killing Streets 'round these parts may be the
equivalent of posting that "I recently read this great book
you may have heard of called The Long Goodbye." But the RA
archives don't have too much on the book, so here goes
nothing.
I approached Homicide with a blank slate. The NBC show aired
on Friday nights throughout my school years and in those
days, I had the good sense to get out of the house on
weekends and have probably seen no more than five episodes.
I've spent the last five years in DC and have been to
Baltimore 50 or so times for baseball games, but I still have
nothing more than a tourist's knowledge of the city. I know
that Simon wrote another non-fiction book called The Corner,
which was adapted for HBO and now works on The Wire for HBO.
I've also read that George Pelecanos works on The Wire, which
alone makes it worth attention. I'm hoping to catch it on DVD
someday. Now back to Homicide.
To research the book, Simon took a year-long leave of absence
from the Baltimore Sun newspaper to live with the homicide
unit of the BPD. The journalistic, chronological approach
makes much of the book read like the best Joseph Wambaugh
book you ever read. It's got it all: insider perspective,
black humor, suspense, moral outrage, great characters,
heartbreaking circumstances. It made me want to re-read all
my favorite police procedurals-particularly Clockers, which I
stumbled across as a 16-year-old-with the new perspectives
provided by Simon's detailed account.
In addition to the chronological account, Simon digresses
often and those sections provide riveting reading. Topics
include the history and unintended consequences of the
Miranda Rights; race relations throughout the BPD's history;
a trip through the crime lab and a look into the lives of
many of the detectives. Many of these sections read almost as
being Delilloesque
(good Delilloesque, not dumb wannabe Delilloesque).
It comes in at just under 600 pages, so reading Homicide
takes a bit of stamina, but it is well worth it. Homicide has
stayed with me since I finished and will alter how I think
about the crime fiction I read from here on out.
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