Review of Semiautomatic: A Novel (Hardcover)

I picked up this short crime novel 'cause I was in a rush and it had a nice blurb on the cover from George Pelecanos (one of my favorite writers). Well, haste definitely made waste for me, and I'm sad to report that Pelecanos gave me a bum steer. This story about a murder trial in Brooklyn is an utterly tepid and uninteresting piece of work. Part of the problem is that a lot of the backstory to the protagonist Giobberti, a 40-year-old homicide prosecutor for the District Attorney's office, resides in Reuland's debut, Hollowpoint. Apparently in that book Giobberti screwed up so badly that he was exiled in disgrace to the backwater of the Appeals Bureau. He also either then or subsequently lost his daughter in a traffic accident and his wife walked out on him. Now, some 18 months later, he is unexpectedly told to take over a routine case involving a teenager who killed a bodega owner in a stickup.

Already on the case is inexperienced junior prosecutor Laurel Ashfield, who's never tried a homicide. Most of the book revolves around Giobberti and her getting a feel for each other and the case. Almost immediately, Giobberti (and the reader) realizes there's something not quite right about the case, and it takes an awfully long time for the specifics to be revealed. Once revealed, the specifics end up being woefully uninteresting, revolving around the completely unshocking reality of cops and DAs playing fast and loose with the truth in order to put away bad guys in order to score political points. The theme of corrupt a corrupt legal system and bent cops has been exhaustively explored in film and fiction for over a century, and Reuland brings nothing new to the table here.

The author was himself a lawyer for the Brooklyn DA's Homicide Bureau, so the book does benefit from a certain authenticity of detail. Reuland is particularly strong in describing places and creating vivid mental images of the courtroom, apartments, bathrooms, offices, and so on. Unfortunately, the people moving through these spaces don't talk or think the way real people do. The dialogue tends to be so clipped and elliptical that one wonders if the author is trying to parody of pulp films. At one point Giobberti actually addresses Ashfield as "sister" and another character laughably tells Giobberti to "take your meathooks off me!" Worst of all, there's no suspense and no dramatic tension to be found anywhere in this entirely skippable book.



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Review of The Coldest Winter Ever (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Coldest Winter Ever," by Sister Souljah is a gritty street fable with a lesson to be told.Sister Souljah deserves a lot of recognition for making a point in the vein of Malcom X and Richard Wright's "Native Son."To break the cycle of negative consequence, it takes some tough choices; choices seemingly unglamorous but in the interest of greater humanity necessary.

To tip my hand, reading this book was a stretch for me.I was recommended this book by a young African-American single Mom colleague as one of the best books she has read.Myself, being a middle-aged boring married Caucasian guy recommended to her "Catch 22."What speaks to you is a reflection of where you come from...your experiences.So, she read Catch 22 and I read "The Coldest Winter Ever."I'm not sure how much she got out of her reading assignment but Souljah's book was a mind-broadening experience.

The tale of Winter Santiago, daughter of a successful gang lord drug dealer, is one of a young adult, street-wise beyond her years moving from having her known world at her fingers to one of survival and destitution is a cautionary tale of the choices we make and the consequences we learn to live with.Winter, though a sympathetic character, makes cold choices that in her mind will lead to things in life she considers important...money, clothes, control, possessions.Sister Souljah has a way of weaving the reader into the tale without being heavy-handed with the message she speaks to.

Usually the aspect of literature that draws me in is the writing, and I believe with this book Souljah was still trying to find her voice as a writer.Some of the language comes off as hackneyed and still yearns to be peppered with originality.All is forgiven though as Souljah displays other strengths in a writer's bag of tricks such as characterization and plot.

Recommend "The Coldest Winter Ever," to a young adult struggling with difficult choices in life on the streets.It is just the vehicle to hold and grab their attention, while delivering a message of caution.In the end, Winter can't find it within herself to pass on her tough lessons learned, but Souljah has found a way to speak that much needed voice.
--MMW



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