Drive

Description

Set mostly in Arizona and L.A., Drive is about a man who does stunt driving for movies by day and drives for criminals at night. Sallis combines murder, treachery and payback in a sinister plot with resonances of 1940s pulp fiction and film noir. Told through a cinematic narrative that weaves back and forth through time and place, the story explores Driver's near existential moral foundations, intercut with moments of bloody violence.

James Sallis has published sixteen novels, multiple collections of short stories, essays, and poems, books of musicology, a biography of Chester Himes, and a translation of Raymond Queneau's novel Saint Glinglin. He has written about books for the LA Times, New York Times, and Washington Post, and for some years served as a books columnist for the Boston Globe. He has received a lifetime achievement award from Bouchercon, the Hammett Award for literary excellence in crime writing, and the Grand Prix de Litterature policiere.

Sallis creates vivid images in very few words and his taut, pared-down prose is distinctive and powerful. The result is a small masterpiece -- Susanna Yager * Sunday Telegraph * His mysterious background and lack of dialogue really make you fear him, while his actions romanticize his character -- Lee Tudor * Beautiful.Bizarre * One of the most rewarding books you can read in one sitting * Mr Hyde * A bloody postmodern fairy tale, Drive will certainly keep you under its spell -- Eric Storey * Signature Reads * Sallis's lean mystery and flat-voiced prose are refreshing, even startling. A lovely piece of work -- Paul Skenasy * Washington Post Books World - Best Books of 2005 *