Sat 30 Jun 2018
Archived Review: ELMORE LEONARD – The Hot Kid.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[5] Comments
ELMORE LEONARD – The Hot Kid. Carl Webster #1. William Morrow, hardcover, May 2005. HarperTorch, paperback, 2006.
As you very well may know without my telling you, Elmore Leonard’s writing career began with westerns of the classic, traditional variety. While he was more than slightly successful at it (with books turned into movies like Hombre and 3:10 to Yuma) his sales didn’t begin to take off until he switched to contemporary crime novels (with books turned into movies like Mr. Majestyk and Get Shorty).
What The Hot Kid is, is a semi-combination of the two genres, permuted and shuffled around into a smooth, well-blended concoction of the two. Historical gangster fiction, that is, one that takes place in the Old West of the 1920s: the world of Pretty Boy Floyd, Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, and Bonnie and Clyde, all of whom are mentioned, as are Will Rogers and Count Basie, but while Floyd comes close, none of the aforementioned villains and world famous stars actually appear.
It’s a meandering sort of tale, but when it comes down to it, there are only two primary players involved, and they are (as one would expect) on the opposite sides of the law: Carlos (Carl) Webster, a U.S. Marshal, and Jack Belmont, the son of a wealthy businessman, but a gent who is intent on becoming Public Enemy Number One.
And he very nearly succeeds. Carl is better, however, and who knows, he may return in yet another adventure. Here’s a quote from page 57, as true crime reporter Tony Antonelli is trying to convince his editor to allow him to write a piece on Carl:
“He’s good-looking, uh?â€
“Could be a movie star.â€
The resulting story is in turn profane, mundane and jazzy. Sparked every so often with confrontations, holdups and numerous shootouts, it’s vastly entertaining. The problem is that it may be too smooth and too easy-going, not to mention the fact that everyone’s dialogue, while suitably terse and in the vernacular, sounds exactly the same as everyone else’s. That includes the descriptive passages as well, as if a grizzled old-timer back in the 1920s had wound himself up in a place of his own choosing and spieled off a yarn of his own making.
One might have expected a little more jaggedness. Except for a few isolated moments that directly contradict this statement, and I will certainly concede there are, this one’s surprisingly straightforward and calm, in its own sentimental way.
The Carl Webster series —
1. The Hot Kid (2005)
2. Up in Honey’s Room (2006)
3. Comfort To The Enemy (story collection; 2009)
June 30th, 2018 at 4:32 pm
Carl gets another appearance in UP IN HONEY’S ROOM. Have yet to read either but HONEYS ROOM has the strange characters and premise Leonard was famous for.
June 30th, 2018 at 8:36 pm
Thanks for reminding me about the second Carl Webster book, Michael. I knew about it at the time, since I bought a copy. I don’t remember reading it, though, which is probably why it slipped my mind.
What I didn’t know about at all, until just now, is that there is a book of Carl Webster short stories, which came out in 2009, the title of which is COMFORT TO THE ENEMY. I’ll add all this info to the top and bottom of the review.
June 30th, 2018 at 7:08 pm
I enjoyed this for what it was, a slick fast paced mix of action, crime, and nostalgia that seemed to be at least the scenario for a television series. Not top flight Leonard, but fun in a mellow mood.
July 1st, 2018 at 12:05 am
To say that it’s a meandering sort of tale is being kind. I liked the writing in it, for the most part, but the plot jumps around in time so much that it makes almost no sense. Also, like a lot of Leonard’s later books, it doesn’t have a real ending, just sort of peters out. But there are some really good scenes here and there. I liked the sequel a little better. I think I’ve read the volume of short stories but I don’t really remember it.
July 1st, 2018 at 12:39 pm
You’re right, James. This was written toward the end of Leonard’s writing career, and while I remember it as being OK on its own merits, it certainly isn’t as memorable as the books he wrote much earlier on.
Put it this way. Looking backward from this point in time, if you were to list the first five or even ten of Leonard’s books that come to mind, would THE HOT KID be one of them?
It’s a reflection of how many great books Leonard wrote, but no, not to me it wouldn’t.