Adieu Gloria
Ratings9
Average rating4.1
15
Ratings9
Average rating4.1
Elle a vingt-deux ans, un job minable de comptable dans une boîte de nuit, et rêve d’avoir les jambes de Gloria Denton et de goûter aux plaisirs de l’argent facile. Gloria a deux décennies de plus, porte des tailleurs élégants et conduit des voitures de luxe. Elle contrôle des entreprises criminelles – cercles de jeu et champs de courses – pour le compte de caïds du milieu, et aimerait bien passer la main. La femme fatale va se transformer en pygmalion et former sa « pouliche » pour en faire son héritière. Jusqu’au jour où celle-ci s’entiche d’un bon à rien, joueur flambeur et cynique.A ceux qui penseraient encore que le roman « noir » est une affaire d’hommes, de flics paumés, de malfrats retors et jolies « pépées » potiches, Megan Abbott offre un parfait démenti avec ce roman aux charmes vénéneux. Christine Rousseau, Le Monde des livres.
Reviews with the most likes.
Soft on a scumbag
being played and knowing it
smart, still a sucker.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with noir. I love the feel and pacing of it, and the intrigue and characterization. Part of this is, no doubt, because I grew up reading comic books, and noir literature comes out of the same tradition of pulp fiction that the comics do.
At the same time, though, a lot of classic noir - Spillane, for example - is very much a product of its time, which is a polite way of saying that its full of troubling attitudes regarding sex, politics, and race, and which also means that it can be difficult to read at times.
Queenpin does a great job of encapsulating everything I like about noir, but with a modern sensibility that makes it a lot more enjoyable to read. There's murder, intrigue, double-crosses, and an ending that I didn't quite see coming.
Recommended if you're a fan of modern noir (Sin City, Veronica Mars, etc) or of the classic stuff (Spillane, Hammett, Chandler, etc)
Queenpin is my 1st award book read in Feb (2008 Edgar Award Best PB Original), I've been reading 2 award winning books and 2 classics each month! This is about a young girl learning all the tricks in the rackets business from an older “Moll” who knows all the tricks and angles. Great book, short read, about 225 pages! David N.
