Synopses & Reviews
For Joey Recevo and Pete Karras, two kids from one of Washington's rougher neighborhoods, the easiest work to find after the War is all criminal---providing a little muscle for a local boss. But Karris is soft on his fellow immigrants, and the boss can't let his mob get soft, so one of his boys gives Karras a painful lesson.
Three years later, it's the same mob that figures big Nick Stefanos's grill needs protection---and this decision will once again bring Joey and Pete face-to-face. In this final confrontation, the two of them will find the meaning of friendship, the heart of honor, and the cost of both.
Powerfully told, elegantly wrought, The Big Blowdown is a knockout.
Review
"He is among the finest ten or twelve novelists working in the U.S. today....[A] Balzacian figure so intent upon rendering this nation's whole ramshackle, impossible urban life over the past half-century." James Sallis, from his introduction
Review
"Pelacanos writes hard-boiled prose full of music and pain, like he just might be in charge of saving his characters' souls. The Big Blowdown is his 'Once Upon a Time in D.C.' a big book with drive and savagery, and elegance too." Jonathon Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn
Review
"Pelaconos's books get into your blood like a shot and a beer after a third shift. Definitely my favorite writer working today." Peter Farrelly, author of Outside Providence
Review
"A charged page-turner....With stylistic panache and forceful conviction, Pelecanos delivers a darkly powerful story of the American city." Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
"One of those writers whose books I would never miss." Harlan Ellison, author of Slippage
Synopsis
Powerfully told, elegantly wrought, George P. Pelecanos's The Big Blowdown is a knockout.
Washington DC, 1946. For Joey Recevo and Pete Karras, two kids from one of Washington's rougher neighborhoods, the easiest work to find after the War is all criminal---providing a little muscle for a local boss. But Karris is soft on his fellow immigrants, and the boss can't let his mob get soft, so one of his boys gives Karras a painful lesson.
Three years later, it's the same mob that figures big Nick Stefanos's grill needs protection---and this decision will once again bring Joey and Pete face-to-face. In this final confrontation, the two of them will find the meaning of friendship, the heart of honor, and the cost of both.
About the Author
George P. Pelecanos is the author of eight novels, including Nick's Trip, The Sweet Forever, King Suckerman, and the forthcoming Shame the Devil. He lives in the Washington, D.C. environs.