Galveston - Nic Pizzolatto

Galveston by Nic Pizzolatto

Our story opens on Ray "Big Country" Cady, a bagman and enforcer for a New Orleans mobster, having a drink at a bar. He has just been informed by his doctor that he has terminal lung cancer. To add insult to injury, unbeknownst to Ray, later this very evening his boss has him all set up to be executed. Things don't go as planned, and because of a little unprofessional behavior on the part of his would-be assassins, they wind up dead, and Ray winds up on the run with a beautiful young prostitute in tow.
Cady is sort of a thinking man's thug, and like anyone who has just been informed that they have an expiration date, his mind wanders over the different chapters of his life. He came from a wretched childhood and made himself into a man to be feared. He has lived his life as someone who does what is necessary, and then pushes his own moral objections back into a small dark place in his mind. In light of his health, and the fact that he is being hunted by killers as cold blooded as himself, it seems that Cady has to try to come to terms with some of that past, and maybe even attempt to balance the books before he checks out for good. The story is told in an intentionally disjointed fashion with flashbacks, future events, and present tense events all working together to tug the story to it's conclusion at a run down beachfront motel in Galveston.
All in all a spectacular piece of work for the Noir/crime genre. Nic Pizzolatto's writing is darkly beautiful. His Gulf Coast world is sadly believable, and peopled with a cast of tragically comical characters : fringe motel dwellers, dealers, weirdos, crooks, addicts, and a general assortment of the downtrodden and depleted. Fans of True Detective will not be disappointed. Pizzolatto expertly builds tension into each scene. Cady and the rest are complex and interesting characters with hearts and souls, and even though they seem doomed from the start, you will want to root for them anyway.

7 1/2 stars out of 10.

That's good to read. I enjoyed True Detective (with some minor reservations) and was planning to read Pizzolatto's fiction. Galveston sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the review.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ladderandbucket

That's good to read. I enjoyed True Detective (with some minor reservations) and was planning to read Pizzolatto's fiction. Galveston sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for the review.

---

I felt the same about True Detective. What a great show (with a few reservations) :)
I am always curious to see what people didn't like about that show.
Anyhow, Pizzolatto is a talented writer. I read recently that this was his first full length book, and that makes this story even more impressive.

I also read Galveston because of my immense love and admiration for True Detective. I wasn't disappointed. It's both a compelling, gritty serie noir worthy of Jim Thompson, and an elegant manipulation of temporal narratives (almost) worthy of Faulkner. I actually found Big Country more emotionally compelling than Rust Cohle and Marty Hart because he seemed less archetypal than they, even though he had qualities of the archetypal noir hero. So, I'm looking forward to the second season of True Detective, the film of Galveston, and Pizzolatto's next novel.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pike Bishop

I also read Galveston because of my immense love and admiration for True Detective. I wasn't disappointed. It's both a compelling, gritty serie noir worthy of Jim Thompson, and an elegant manipulation of temporal narratives (almost) worthy of Faulkner. I actually found Big Country more emotionally compelling than Rust Cohle and Marty Hart because he seemed less archetypal than they, even though he had qualities of the archetypal noir hero. So, I'm looking forward to the second season of True Detective, the film of Galveston, and Pizzolatto's next novel.

---

What do you think about the casting for the new season of True Detective? At first I was like "Vince Vaughn? Really??" Then I thought about it and I wouldn't have pegged Woody Harrelson for the performance he gave either. So maybe Vince will be great. We'll see.......

I love the casting. Pizzolato seems to have a keen eye for sound unorthodox choices. Casting both Harrelson and McConaughey somewhat against type last year was proof of it. Vaughn looks great for his villain role, and he's always been good at playing p---ks anyway; so, he should be excellent. Farrell also looks wonderfully out of shape, and I'm a big fan of McAdams and Kitsch as well. So, I'm pretty psyched.

What do you think about the casting of Mattheus Schoenarts for Big Country in Galveston? I think he's perfect. It will be interesting to see who they cast for the girl. She'll have to be believably tough and look jailbaity enough to make the two of them together look a bit sketchy, but not so much that it's creepy. I'm really looking forward to that film.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Pike Bishop

I love the casting. Pizzolato seems to have a keen eye for sound unorthodox choices. Casting both Harrelson and McConaughey somewhat against type last year was proof of it. Vaughn looks great for his villain role, and he's always been good at playing p---ks anyway; so, he should be excellent. Farrell also looks wonderfully out of shape, and I'm a big fan of McAdams and Kitsch as well. So, I'm pretty psyched.

What do you think about the casting of Mattheus Schoenarts for Big Country in Galveston? I think he's perfect. It will be interesting to see who they cast for the girl. She'll have to be believably tough and look jailbaity enough to make the two of them together look a bit sketchy, but not so much that it's creepy. I'm really looking forward to that film.

---

I honestly think Schoenarts is too good looking to play Big Country. Lol. I pictured someone big, ugly, and intimidating when I was reading the book. I think the casting for the girl will make or break it. Have you heard who the director is?

I never saw Big Country as ugly. I didn't think he was pretty in any way, but he was big, with longish hair, and Carmen and the girl both found him attractive. Schoenarts is obviously a good looking guy, but he's far from Paul Walker. The director is Janusz Metz Pedersen, a documentary director who directed and episode of season 2 of True Detective. So, he should be cool. I think the actress who played Woody Harrelson's troubled older daughter in True Detective would be perfect for the girl, but she may be too old by now.