Editorial Review
So, what do you do?” Whenever people asked him, Eric Cash used to have a dozen answers. Artist, actor, screenwriter . . . But now he’s thirty-five years old and he’s still living on the Lower East Side, still in the restaurant business, still serving the people he wanted to be. What does Eric do? He manages. Not like Ike Marcus. Ike was young, good-looking, people liked him. Ask him what he did, he wouldn’t say tending bar. He was going places—until two street kids stepped up to him and Eric one night and pulled a gun. At least, that’s Eric’s version.
In Lush Life, Richard Price tears the shiny veneer off the “new” New York to show us the hidden cracks, the underground networks of control and violence beneath the glamour. Lush Life is an Xray of the street in the age of no broken windows and “quality of life” squads, from a writer whose “tough, gritty brand of social realism . . . reads like a movie in prose” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).
Cached date: AWS Called=true
Customer Reviews
The Ugly of the City 
2008-12-29
The author of "Clockers" and "Samaritan" has hit the ugly, dirty, life-filled streets of New York again with a murder to solve and all the skeletons in the closet of a cast of characters, from the murder victim's father to the head detectives, Yolonda and Matty. The street jargon, street food, and street life put the surbanite into neighborhoods they'd never see except on television or the big screen. Price's dialogue never wavers; his characters exist on many levels. This is a fast-paced police procedural with heart.
Not easy to set aside 2008-12-20
When I hear "police procedural", I think "mystery". This book is suspenseful but it is not truly a mystery, at least not in the way we usually mean. The puzzles in this book are those that most readers want in all good books, the ones that keep the pages turning. I wanted to know what the book's characters would say and do. I wanted to know who would come to a bad end and who would fare well. For me, the suspense was in these questions rather than who committed what crime. Besides, there were plenty of culpable people around.
The main characters in the novel are the accused, the detective who lands the case, the father of the slain. There are parallels in each of these, though more easily seen in the detective and the father of the dead son. Each grapples with his failure as a father. The accused deals with a different type of failure. All come across as searching for answers to the meaning of their lives. I cared about each one.
Other characters include a scrappy female detective from the projects; a group of young thugs whose fates do not seem in question; and, the step-mother of the victim. The book is populated with characters who have less stage time but who are essential to the book's complexity. Price finely draws all of them.
I will keep this book as one to study for its dialogue. Dialogue made it a pleasure to read; however, other than this and the book's characters, I liked its subtle mounting dread. A minor flaw was that it felt too long by about 100 pages. Even so, that did not slow me down. I looked forward to picking back up this story about Matty, Eric, and Ike Marcus's father whenever I had to put down the book.
Disappointing, shallow, mean-spirited, and a waste of time 
2008-12-19
This is an overblown, contrived and thin satire masquerading as social realism. I had high expectations, but I found the book predictable and self-important. Price seems to think he's wiser and more street-smart than any of his characters, but to me the book just showed how limited his vision is, whether he's looking at cops, criminals, poor young Hispanics, hipsters.... He has a good ear for voices but to make a great novel, you also need sympathetic characters and a compelling plot. This is one of those books where I felt really cheated of the time and money I had spent on it.
Another keeper! 2008-11-30
Yes, this is a crime novel and the principal murder is shattering but it's also just one ingredient in a tragic stew of cops, thugs, and other walking wounded. The chief investigators find themselves hopelessly entangled in the lives of the victimized. A theme this author likes to explore. Price colors his characters with rich detail and creates dialogue that sings like urban poetry. This is like a literary version of the great HBO series "The Wire". He is one of the best novelists working today and I highly recommended it!
Worthwhile Read Despite Loss of Story/Plot Momentum 
2008-11-20
I have always been impressed with Richard Price's novels and his ability to wow both literary critics and fans of crime fiction. _Lush Life_ starts out as strong as anything I have ever read by Price. As in the past, Price demonstrates himself as a master of dialogue and detail that have made him such a respected author in a often neglected genre. He had me hooked up until the middle of the book, all of which I read in one sitting way past when I should have gone to sleep. However, once a certain conflict is resolved (anyone who reads the book will know what I am talking about), the story seems to lose speed rapidly and devolve into a mere recitation of events rather than a well told tale.
Even though the plot seems to slow down midway through, Price is still able to use the characters and their actions as an examination of the people and history that make up life in a modern American city--or in this case a small area of a city. So, despite this not being Price's best novel, I still found it thoroughly enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading an intelligent crime novel that is more than just a well paced page-turner.
Hard to get into 2008-10-28
So, what do you do?” Whenever people asked him, Eric Cash used to have a dozen answers. Artist, actor, screenwriter . . . But now he’s thirty-five years old and he’s still living on the Lower East Side, still in the restaurant business, still serving the people he wanted to be. What does Eric do? He manages. Not like Ike Marcus. Ike was young, good-looking, people liked him. Ask him what he did, he wouldn’t say tending bar. He was going places—until two street kids stepped up to him and Eric one night and pulled a gun. At least, that’s Eric’s version.
In Lush Life, Richard Price tears the shiny veneer off the “new” New York to show us the hidden cracks, the underground networks of control and violence beneath the glamour. Lush Life is an Xray of the street in the age of no broken windows and “quality of life” squads, from a writer whose “tough, gritty brand of social realism . . . reads like a movie in prose” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).
cool talk, not that much to say 
2008-10-04
As a first-time reader of Richard Price, his rippling dialog was certainly the highlight. His story is a vehicle for talk, not for mystery and plot twists. Some scenes are so crisp and brisk, done almost entirely through dialog.
We know who committed the crime early, and the incident isn't much of one on which to hang a story. Instead, we go behind the scenes for police process and for character development of the main detective, the parents of the victim, and assorted others. From a safe perch in suburbia, contemplation of street life in turbulent city neighborhoods can be quite entertaining in the hands of a guy like Mr. Price.
With no real mystery or surprises of any magnitude, the story eventually loses momentum, given that the characters are not that interesting and some relatively superfluous subplots sap some energy. Billy Marcus and Boulware were rather tedious and caused me to skim some sections.
Tristan was a freshly drawn character and perhaps could have been developed further.
TOUCHING THE LOST SOULS 2008-09-24
I knew that Richard Price was a writer of note, but I had not been enticed enough in the past to read his work. Well, once Lush Life arrived, I couldn't put it down. Every chance I got, I'd grab another 5-7 pages. One Saturday, I read Lush Life for 3 hours straight and loved it. You are just sucked into this story.
Price is a master at getting into the 'nitty gritty' of his characters. They're all truly lost souls, but we learn such compassion for them and garner a sense of what makes them tick. Price really writes so well - you can almost smell the air in the room and the adrenaline pumping through the characters' bodies...It's comtemporary; it's heart-wrenching; it's too true. Loved it!
Lush and Lengthy 
2008-09-21
I found myself in the last 125 or so pages skimming the text, just wanting to finish the story, but no longer interested enough in the characters to read carefully. This is not a good sign. Price has a nice sense of the setting but, really, there isn't enough of a story, and what's there isn't interestng enough, to justify the book's 450 pages. The quirky style is a question of taste; I rather like it but I could see it beginning to annoy less patient readers. Other, more genre-oriented writers -- Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Lawrence Block, Walter Mosely -- do this sort of thing better, with more focus and discipline.
The Price is Right 2008-09-12
Richard Price is as good of a dialogue writer as exists today in my mind. "Lush Life" is his latest novel that brilliantly showcases his skills and keen knowledge and insights of city life, particularly NYC life.
Other reviewers have already covered the plot so I won't spend my commentary focusing on that. The novels pace is criticized by some reviewers but I view the pace of the novel from a different perspective. The first third of the book moves at lightning speed -- from Ike Marcus's murder through Eric Cash's interrogation. The action and especially dialogue is sharp and crisp with Price in full control. Where other reviewers felt the book slowed at this point, I think Price did a great job capturing the ebb and flow of the investigation that slows to a crawl and this is reflected in the pace of the book.
Ultimately, Price delivers not only great dialogue but great lead characters. One gets immersed in the psyche of Eric Cash, the aspiring actor and restaurant manager who begins to realize his life is not leading where he'd like; Billy Marcus, the grieving father of Ike, shutting out family and friends and trying to cope with extreme loss; Matty Clark, the NYPD detective whose family life is a wreck but committed to his job and work. While we all have seen these character types before, Price makes them feel fresh and new, weaves them and their stories together seamlessly and adds the additional layer of his brilliant dialogue between the characters. Lastly, Price creates a real sense of place -- the Lower East Side of NYC and the rest of the NY metro area come to life. Being from the area, the city comes alive on the pages of "Lush Life".
All in all, this is one of the better books I've read this year and highly recommend investing the time to read "Lush Life".
