Friday, May 8, 2009

Nobody Move - Denis Johnson


A Bookworm's World is happy to welcome a new guest blogger - my good friend Julia, who will hopefully become a regular contributor!

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson releases today from Harper Collins Canada.

Denis Johnson once said, “What I write about is really the dilemma of living in a fallen world, and asking: Why is it like this if there's supposed to be a God?" In Nobody Move Johnson takes the reader on a wild ride in a God-less world with a gambling addict who runs into a beautiful con-artist, is chased by hit men, and crashes at a run-down café frequented by bikers. Along the way guns are fired, people are injured, cars are stolen, and the story behind the beautiful woman, Anita, and $2.3 million only emerges in pieces. Although it sounds like a formula “thriller” novel, Johnson’s dark humour and quirky characters put the book in a different league.

This is a book best read in one sitting. The pace is fast and the action non-stop. You need to keep reading to keep up with Jimmy Lutz and his attempts to stay one step ahead of the hit man, and one step closer to the big payout promised by Anita. It is hard to understand why Jimmy makes the choices he does, but the reader understands that this is someone whose life is out of control. Jimmy makes the decisions he thinks he has to make, on the spur of the moment, and given some pretty bad alternatives.
Truly, Denis Johnson has written a book detailing the dilemma of living in a fallen world. When the choices are “shoot or be killed”, the decisions become easy. There is no God to rescue Jimmy, Anita, or any of the other broken characters in Nobody Move.

Thanks Julia!!

4 comments:

Jeanne said...

This world sounds darker than one that recently amused me in the movie "Then She Found Me." The main character isn't very smart and her relationship with her biological mother is complicated and difficult--so at one point, when she says she no longer believes God cares about her, her mother says something to the effect of why can't you believe in a God whose love might be all complicated and difficult?

Anyway, I like fallen world stories, so I'll check this one out.

bermudaonion said...

I hope Julia becomes a regular contributor too. Great review.

Kaye said...

Sounds great. Happy mother's day, Luanne.

Anna said...

I enjoyed reading this review. Sounds like an interesting book, and the cover sure attracts attention.

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric