Re: RARA-AVIS: The Ice Harvest

From: E.Borgers ( webeurop@yahoo.fr)
Date: 15 Nov 2005


By pure coincidence, when the messages recently appeared on R-A to acclaim THE ICE HARVEST (but acclaims were already given earlier on this list)- the first novel by Scott Phillips- I was still reading it. I finished it yesterday.

I just have to add my own high appreciation to the already existing flattering comments some Avians made about this novel. This rather short novel is really in the HB tradition of the fifties, tightened up and noir tinted, told in a very efficient tone and writing. The central character, soaking in close to trivial details, in the middle of what is a Shakespearian final scene of some duration, is a terrific character construction by Phillips. This guy Charlie, being something like an ordinary man, does not think twice if his survival is in immediate danger, by instinct and with not a single feeling of remorse, but he can be emotionally disturbed if he creates a little discomfort to someone he comes by. The Christmas Evening and Night add a close to surrealistic touch, and certainly black humor, to the whole thing. I really enjoyed this novel and will try to get the next one by Phillips, wherein he tells a kind of sequel to this first story, as well as events of the past. After my reading I was convinced that Phillips has the potential to even do better than THE ICE HARVEST.

E.Borgers Hard-Boiled Mysteries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384

William Denton:

>On 14 November 2005, Craig Larson wrote:
>
>
>
>>Anyway, the book itself is a neat little story that covers several hours
>>on Christmas Eve, as small-time lawyer/bagman to the mob Charlie Arglist
>>prepares to leave Wichita, Kansas, with the money that he and a partner
>>have been skimming for years.
>>
>>
>
>I loved the book, and am looking forward to the movie, which I've heard
>(here?) is very good. You'll like THE WALKAWAY, too, but be prepared for
>much more complexity in what happens when.
>
>I think I also heard that Phillips has another novel finished and
>something will happen with it after the movie's out and, with luck, he's
>widely recognized as a great writer.
>
>Bill
>
>

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