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The Weight (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)
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Produktbeschreibungen
Pressestimmen
“The hardest-boiled crime fiction this side of Sing Sing.”
—USA Today
“Many writers try to cover the same ground as Vachss. A handful are as good. None are better.”
—People
“Vachss is red hot and as serious as a punctured lung.”
—Playboy
“[Vachss writes] some of the cleanest, meanest, stripped-down-and-sparkling prose ever penned.”
—The Austin Chronicle
“Vachss’s writing is like a dark roller-coaster ride of fear, love, and hate.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
“There’s no way to put a [Vachss book] down once you’ve begun.”
—Detroit Free Press
“Andrew Vachss is a contemporary master.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
—USA Today
“Many writers try to cover the same ground as Vachss. A handful are as good. None are better.”
—People
“Vachss is red hot and as serious as a punctured lung.”
—Playboy
“[Vachss writes] some of the cleanest, meanest, stripped-down-and-sparkling prose ever penned.”
—The Austin Chronicle
“Vachss’s writing is like a dark roller-coaster ride of fear, love, and hate.”
—New Orleans Times-Picayune
“There’s no way to put a [Vachss book] down once you’ve begun.”
—Detroit Free Press
“Andrew Vachss is a contemporary master.”
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kurzbeschreibung
Andrew Vachss returns with a mesmerizing novel about a hard-core thief who’s about to embark on a job that will alter his life forever.
Sugar is that rarest of commodities: an old-school professional thief, tough and loyal as a pit bull, packing 255 pounds of muscle. When he’s picked out of a photo array in a vicious rape case, the cops find his apartment empty. A stakeout catches Sugar when he returns . . . carrying a loaded pistol. The sex-crime cops get nothing from their interrogation, but a streetwise detective figures out why Sugar offers no alibi: at the time of the rape, a holiday-weekend break-in job was being pulled at a jewelry store. The DA offers Sugar two options: give up his partners in the jewelry heist and walk, or plead to the rape he didn’t commit—and he’ll toss in the gun charge. For Sugar, that’s not two options; he takes the weight.
When Sugar finishes his time, his money is waiting for him, held by Solly, the mastermind behind the jewelry heist. But Solly tells Sugar that one of the heist crew was actually sent by another planner—and that planner has just died. In Sugar’s world, all loose threads must be cut. He suspects that there’s more to this job than what Solly is telling him. But nothing he suspects or imagines can prepare him for what he finds . . .
Sugar is that rarest of commodities: an old-school professional thief, tough and loyal as a pit bull, packing 255 pounds of muscle. When he’s picked out of a photo array in a vicious rape case, the cops find his apartment empty. A stakeout catches Sugar when he returns . . . carrying a loaded pistol. The sex-crime cops get nothing from their interrogation, but a streetwise detective figures out why Sugar offers no alibi: at the time of the rape, a holiday-weekend break-in job was being pulled at a jewelry store. The DA offers Sugar two options: give up his partners in the jewelry heist and walk, or plead to the rape he didn’t commit—and he’ll toss in the gun charge. For Sugar, that’s not two options; he takes the weight.
When Sugar finishes his time, his money is waiting for him, held by Solly, the mastermind behind the jewelry heist. But Solly tells Sugar that one of the heist crew was actually sent by another planner—and that planner has just died. In Sugar’s world, all loose threads must be cut. He suspects that there’s more to this job than what Solly is telling him. But nothing he suspects or imagines can prepare him for what he finds . . .
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1 von 1 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
Der in meiner Rezension zu Haiku: A Novel (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original) beschriebene Eindruck setzt sich mit "The Weight" fort. Der Meister schwächelt ein wenig. Zum Plot: Der Berufsverbrecher Sugar gesteht mit Kalkül eine von ihm nicht begangene Vergewaltigung und nimmt eine mehrjährige Haftstrafe in Kauf, um die Aufklärung eines von ihm zusammen mit Kumpanen zur gleichen Zeit tatsächlich begangenen großen Juwelenraubes zu verhindern, dessen Früchte er später noch genießen möchte. Nach der Haftentlassung besucht er seinen Partner Solly, der den Raub seinerzeit plante. Solly gibt sich großzügig und versorgt Sugar mit reichlich Geld und einer neuen Identität. Trotzdem beschleicht Sugar das Gefühl, dass Solly irgendetwas im Schilde führt. Solly überzeugt Sugar, nach Florida zu fahren, dort die Lebensgefährtin seines verstorbenen Partners Albie aufzusuchen und von dieser ein geheimnisvolles Buch aus Albies Nachlass in seinen Besitz zu bringen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit soll Sugar auch gleich noch einen unzuverlässigen Mitwisser des Juwelenraubes ausschalten. In Florida nimmt die Story dann viele überraschende Wendungen, am Ende weiß niemand mehr, wer wem trauen kann.
Das Buch zerfällt stilistisch in zwei Teile, man könnte fast den Eindruck gewinnen, Vachss hätte sie mit größerem zeitlichen Abstand verfasst. Der erste Teil reicht bis zur Fahrt nach Florida in etwas der Mitte des Buches. Dieser Teil ist durch Sugars Selbstreflexionen über seine Gefängniszeit sowie lange Dialoge mit Solly geprägt. Diese Dialoge sind anstrengend zu lesen, da sie aus seitenlangem "con speak" bestehen, in dem ähnlich dem "gangsta slang" der Burke-Romane alle nur in Bildern und vagen Andeutungen reden, ohne klipp und klar zu sagen, worum es eigentlich geht. Anschließend sinnieren die Beteiligten tagelang darüber nach, was der Andere mit seinen geheimnisvollen Andeutungen wohl gemeint haben könnte. Es mag ja sein, dass die New Yorker Unterwelt einen etwas eigenwilligen Kommunikationsstil pflegt, wenn es jedoch so dick aufgetragen wird wie bei Vachss, wäre das organisierte Verbrechen wahrscheinlich längst an Ineffektivität zugrunde gegangen. Spannung kommt im diesem Teil des Buches kaum auf. Das ändert sich schlagartig mit der Fahrt nach Florida. Dann kann man das Buch kaum noch aus der Hand legen. Wie auch bei anderen Vachss-Büchern (am extremsten wahrscheinlich in Two Trains Running: A Novel) bleibt der Showdown am Ende etwas undurchsichtig und der Leser wird nicht wirklich aufgeklärt, was hinter den Kulissen tatsächlich passiert ist. So wurde Albie zu Lebzeiten regelmäßig von furchteinflößenden, sog. "hard men" besucht, bei denen es sich nicht um seine üblichen Verbrecherkollegen handelte. Die Flucht vor den "hard men", die ebenfalls auf Albies Nachlass scharf sind, ist dann das zentrale, die Handlung im zweiten Teil vorantreibende Moment. Bis zuletzt wird nicht erklärt, wer die "hard men" eigentlich sind, man erfährt nur, dass es sich um Juden handelt (sprechen mit Albie Jiddish, auch Albie und Solly sind Juden) und dass Sugar solchen kalten Typen mehrfach auf dem Gefängnishof begegnete. Erst von einem amerikanischen Leser erfuhr ich, dass es sich bei den "hard men" um eine Anspielung auf eine früher in New York agierende, auch als "Kosher Nostra" bekannte Judenmafia handelte, bekannt vor allem durch den Gangsterboss Meyer Lansky.
Fazit: Wenn man sich auf den ersten 100 Seiten nicht entmutigen lässt, entwickelt das Buch im zweiten Teil durchaus Potenzial und ist zumindest eine Empfehlung für Vachss-Fans.
Das Buch zerfällt stilistisch in zwei Teile, man könnte fast den Eindruck gewinnen, Vachss hätte sie mit größerem zeitlichen Abstand verfasst. Der erste Teil reicht bis zur Fahrt nach Florida in etwas der Mitte des Buches. Dieser Teil ist durch Sugars Selbstreflexionen über seine Gefängniszeit sowie lange Dialoge mit Solly geprägt. Diese Dialoge sind anstrengend zu lesen, da sie aus seitenlangem "con speak" bestehen, in dem ähnlich dem "gangsta slang" der Burke-Romane alle nur in Bildern und vagen Andeutungen reden, ohne klipp und klar zu sagen, worum es eigentlich geht. Anschließend sinnieren die Beteiligten tagelang darüber nach, was der Andere mit seinen geheimnisvollen Andeutungen wohl gemeint haben könnte. Es mag ja sein, dass die New Yorker Unterwelt einen etwas eigenwilligen Kommunikationsstil pflegt, wenn es jedoch so dick aufgetragen wird wie bei Vachss, wäre das organisierte Verbrechen wahrscheinlich längst an Ineffektivität zugrunde gegangen. Spannung kommt im diesem Teil des Buches kaum auf. Das ändert sich schlagartig mit der Fahrt nach Florida. Dann kann man das Buch kaum noch aus der Hand legen. Wie auch bei anderen Vachss-Büchern (am extremsten wahrscheinlich in Two Trains Running: A Novel) bleibt der Showdown am Ende etwas undurchsichtig und der Leser wird nicht wirklich aufgeklärt, was hinter den Kulissen tatsächlich passiert ist. So wurde Albie zu Lebzeiten regelmäßig von furchteinflößenden, sog. "hard men" besucht, bei denen es sich nicht um seine üblichen Verbrecherkollegen handelte. Die Flucht vor den "hard men", die ebenfalls auf Albies Nachlass scharf sind, ist dann das zentrale, die Handlung im zweiten Teil vorantreibende Moment. Bis zuletzt wird nicht erklärt, wer die "hard men" eigentlich sind, man erfährt nur, dass es sich um Juden handelt (sprechen mit Albie Jiddish, auch Albie und Solly sind Juden) und dass Sugar solchen kalten Typen mehrfach auf dem Gefängnishof begegnete. Erst von einem amerikanischen Leser erfuhr ich, dass es sich bei den "hard men" um eine Anspielung auf eine früher in New York agierende, auch als "Kosher Nostra" bekannte Judenmafia handelte, bekannt vor allem durch den Gangsterboss Meyer Lansky.
Fazit: Wenn man sich auf den ersten 100 Seiten nicht entmutigen lässt, entwickelt das Buch im zweiten Teil durchaus Potenzial und ist zumindest eine Empfehlung für Vachss-Fans.
Die hilfreichsten Kundenrezensionen auf Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
26 Rezensionen
21 von 23 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
THE WEIGHT by Andrew Vachss
9. November 2010
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
This latest novel by Andrew Vachss is as much a character study and, ultimately, a love story as it is a crime thriller or mystery. There nevertheless are mystery elements here and crimes certainly do take place in the course of the story. As usual, Vachss's distinct prose style propels the plot and demands the reader to keep turning pages. His deft characterizations are spot-on, and the intricacies of criminal life that he portrays are nothing short of fascinating.
The central character and narrator of THE WEIGHT is Tim "Sugar" Caine, an old-school professional thief who follows a strict set of rules that include doing only jobs arranged through his "planner", Solly. But even the most careful plans can go unexpectedly awry. When Sugar is wrongly charged for a vicious rape and picked out of a line-up by the victim herself, his only chance to beat the charge and avoid prison time is to alibi himself by admitting to a big-money jewel heist he was participating in at the time of the rape and try to make a deal by naming the others who were in on the job with him. But that goes against the rules Sugar lives by. He refuses to deal and does the prison time --- i.e. takes the weight, rather than give up any other members of the heist crew.
How he handles his prison time, his reflections while inside on previous incarceration and the events and people who have shaped his life up to this point start to give the reader deeper insight into Sugar. The title also plays off this pivotal period in the story --- the weight of the rules Sugar so rigidly adheres to, the weight he takes for the jewel heist, the weight he lifts regularly in the prison yard (and elsewhere) to maintain his impressive physical strength ... and the one weight he has trouble accepting: The weight of being falsely branded a rapist, a sex offender.
After he's served his time and is released from prison, Sugar meets with Solly to collect his share from the long-past jewel heist only to discover there is a further complication ... the kind of loose end that no professional can leave unattended. How Sugar tracks down this loose thread --- facing danger, duplicity, and double-crosses yet in the process also learning how to trust and love --- brings the novel to an exciting, satisfactory conclusion.
Vachss's power as a writer never fails to impress. Don't wait for THE WEIGHT a minute longer than you have to --- grab it, read it, enjoy it.
The central character and narrator of THE WEIGHT is Tim "Sugar" Caine, an old-school professional thief who follows a strict set of rules that include doing only jobs arranged through his "planner", Solly. But even the most careful plans can go unexpectedly awry. When Sugar is wrongly charged for a vicious rape and picked out of a line-up by the victim herself, his only chance to beat the charge and avoid prison time is to alibi himself by admitting to a big-money jewel heist he was participating in at the time of the rape and try to make a deal by naming the others who were in on the job with him. But that goes against the rules Sugar lives by. He refuses to deal and does the prison time --- i.e. takes the weight, rather than give up any other members of the heist crew.
How he handles his prison time, his reflections while inside on previous incarceration and the events and people who have shaped his life up to this point start to give the reader deeper insight into Sugar. The title also plays off this pivotal period in the story --- the weight of the rules Sugar so rigidly adheres to, the weight he takes for the jewel heist, the weight he lifts regularly in the prison yard (and elsewhere) to maintain his impressive physical strength ... and the one weight he has trouble accepting: The weight of being falsely branded a rapist, a sex offender.
After he's served his time and is released from prison, Sugar meets with Solly to collect his share from the long-past jewel heist only to discover there is a further complication ... the kind of loose end that no professional can leave unattended. How Sugar tracks down this loose thread --- facing danger, duplicity, and double-crosses yet in the process also learning how to trust and love --- brings the novel to an exciting, satisfactory conclusion.
Vachss's power as a writer never fails to impress. Don't wait for THE WEIGHT a minute longer than you have to --- grab it, read it, enjoy it.
5 von 5 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
A thoughtful examination of a criminal's integrity
29. November 2010
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe|Von Amazon bestätigter Kauf
Sugar is a professional. He's a thief, he's good at his job, and he's proud of his adherence to the rules of the game. Sugar has just finished a jewelry store heist planned by his friend Solly when he's picked up for a rape. He couldn't have committed the rape but he can't give the cops an alibi without admitting that he was stealing jewels when the rape was committed. Eventually he takes a deal, doing time for a sexual assault but skating on the jewelry store job. When he gets out of prison, Solly gives him his cut but sends him to Florida to tie up some loose ends. The bulk of the novel focuses on Sugar's actions in Florida, his attempt to puzzle out what Solly really wants, and his relationship with the woman Solly sends him to meet.
Getting into the heads of society's outcasts is one of Vachss' greatest strengths. Few writers match his ability to create authentic criminal characters. Sugar is a big guy, bulging with muscle mass acquired from lifting weights -- and weight (or wait) becomes an important metaphor in the novel (hence the title). Sugar learned an early lesson about the life of a thief: it isn't how much weight you can lift, it's how much weight you can take. Sugar has a reputation as a stand-up guy, an exception to the axiom that there's no honor among thieves. He could have saved himself from prison time and sex offender registration by giving up the planner and the rest of the crew on the burglary, but he elects instead to keep his mouth shut and do his time.
Some readers don't like novels unless the hero is morally stalwart or the novel delivers a morally uplifting message. I admired Sugar's integrity -- his refusal to be a rat -- but a thief's integrity (and Sugar's reluctant use of violence to secure his safety) won't appeal to some readers. Those readers might want to avoid The Weight. I give Vachss credit for creating a sympathetic character who plays by the rules, even if the rules that govern his world contravene society's rules. Readers who can appreciate a thoughtful examination of the criminal mind will probably enjoy The Weight as much as I did.
The Weight isn't as tightly plotted as Vachss' best work. Sugar spends a lot of time thinking out loud or engaging in meaningless arguments, particularly with the woman in Florida. He also seems oddly sensitive to perceived slights. The strongest parts of the novel come from Sugar's prison experiences. Vachss writes with an authentic voice; he obviously understands how prisons work and how inmates survive in a dehumanizing environment. The main storyline is unfortunately written with less intensity. Still, the plot works well enough and it comes to a satisfying resolution. It isn't as good as Vachss' best non-Burke novel (the chilling Shella) but it's still a fun read.
Getting into the heads of society's outcasts is one of Vachss' greatest strengths. Few writers match his ability to create authentic criminal characters. Sugar is a big guy, bulging with muscle mass acquired from lifting weights -- and weight (or wait) becomes an important metaphor in the novel (hence the title). Sugar learned an early lesson about the life of a thief: it isn't how much weight you can lift, it's how much weight you can take. Sugar has a reputation as a stand-up guy, an exception to the axiom that there's no honor among thieves. He could have saved himself from prison time and sex offender registration by giving up the planner and the rest of the crew on the burglary, but he elects instead to keep his mouth shut and do his time.
Some readers don't like novels unless the hero is morally stalwart or the novel delivers a morally uplifting message. I admired Sugar's integrity -- his refusal to be a rat -- but a thief's integrity (and Sugar's reluctant use of violence to secure his safety) won't appeal to some readers. Those readers might want to avoid The Weight. I give Vachss credit for creating a sympathetic character who plays by the rules, even if the rules that govern his world contravene society's rules. Readers who can appreciate a thoughtful examination of the criminal mind will probably enjoy The Weight as much as I did.
The Weight isn't as tightly plotted as Vachss' best work. Sugar spends a lot of time thinking out loud or engaging in meaningless arguments, particularly with the woman in Florida. He also seems oddly sensitive to perceived slights. The strongest parts of the novel come from Sugar's prison experiences. Vachss writes with an authentic voice; he obviously understands how prisons work and how inmates survive in a dehumanizing environment. The main storyline is unfortunately written with less intensity. Still, the plot works well enough and it comes to a satisfying resolution. It isn't as good as Vachss' best non-Burke novel (the chilling Shella) but it's still a fun read.
10 von 13 Kunden fanden die folgende Rezension hilfreich
Did the PW reviewer read more than the jacket copy?
9. November 2010
Format:Gebundene Ausgabe
You can argue over good or bad--that's taste. (And, by my taste, this book is great.) But ... to say "Most of the book concerns Caine's efforts to track down another member of the crew who Vizner fears could squeal on everyone else" completely ignores the real story, which is like Tarantino's "True Romance" film done right. This is a hard-boiled romance.
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