Finished reading: Be Cool by Elmore Leonard. It took me 18 days.
While the prose is energetic and engaging, I kept finding myself not giving a shit about what happens next. A lot of boomer fantasies about the young kids worshiping the same music they did, and in the same way.
Plus, the groan-o-clock trope of women inexplicably throwing themselves at the tough-guy author stand-in protagonist.
Contains the back cover quote gem, segue from real life to reel life.
There’s cringe-y passages that attempt to show off racial awareness while also trying to sound hip—like how the kids talk—which ends up sounding like if a robot’s personality was programmed only with a combination of after school specials and Steven Seagal movies.
Alternate title: “Grandpa Farted A Crime Caper”
But, it kept me reading to the end, so I can’t complain. The prose moves, man.