Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Damon Runyan seemed such a New Yorker in his many stories that it is a shock
to discover that he was born in Kansas and was an adult with considerable writing experience behind him before he reached New York. There he quickly developed his hard-boiled style, dealing primarily with the shady characters he found around Broadway. Was the language he put into their mouths invented? Certainly when it was given to actors, as in Guys and Dolls, it seemed awkward. But how right for the printed page, adding to the crackle and energy of the story. Like all writers, his life seldom achieves the excitement of his imagination, but it is good to have the facts about this maverick of a man." Reviewed by Robert Jackson, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)