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Steven's Reviews > Pick-Up
Pick-Up
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Wow. Just jaw hanging open, wow. Willeford's description of the wrist slitting suicide attempts must be one of the purest expressions of literary decadence this side of Yukio Mishima's description of seppuku in his story "Patriotism." And that is just one of the many surprises in this novel that was originally published as a pulp in 1955, but one has to wonder if the publisher had any idea what they were publishing. Despite the in your face downward spiral of despair, depression, and alcoholism that is the main focus, Willeford delivers a fully realized literary novel whose moments of caring are a blinding light against the unrelenting darkness portrayed. To read this novel from the perspective of "it is a noir, a pulp novel" would, I think, completely miss the point. And, although I'm not sure on this, it is hard to imagine that the audience reading all those other noir pulps in 1955 would even get through Pick-up. Yes, you eventually get to a crime and it's aftermath, but the unrelenting early focus is depression and drinking and the path to suicide. Willeford's counterpoints to that focus, however, are crushingly brilliant. Wish I'd read this in grad school days; could essay the hell out of this book!
The little trick at the end - that's an essay, too. Don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the book yet. But some thoughts. My first thought was why would Willeford do that? Making a point, right? Look at how Jordan is treated throughout. Most books of this era are full of epithets. So, striking. There are a couple of clues, for those who want to go back and look. Towards the end of the interview with the doctor at the first hospital. And also carefully reread the dialogue with the old stenographer. Overall, though, the ending did not make me reconsider the whole book, and I don't think that is supported by the text. What it does do is make, in the most simple and elegant way, a gigantic point that probably could not be made in any other way. I mean, there have been whole novels written trying to do just that. Makes me curious how it came about. Part of the intent all along? Or added at the end in response to something?
Could write so much more on this novel!
The little trick at the end - that's an essay, too. Don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the book yet. But some thoughts. My first thought was why would Willeford do that? Making a point, right? Look at how Jordan is treated throughout. Most books of this era are full of epithets. So, striking. There are a couple of clues, for those who want to go back and look. Towards the end of the interview with the doctor at the first hospital. And also carefully reread the dialogue with the old stenographer. Overall, though, the ending did not make me reconsider the whole book, and I don't think that is supported by the text. What it does do is make, in the most simple and elegant way, a gigantic point that probably could not be made in any other way. I mean, there have been whole novels written trying to do just that. Makes me curious how it came about. Part of the intent all along? Or added at the end in response to something?
Could write so much more on this novel!
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Pick-Up.
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Reading Progress
February 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 19, 2015
– Shelved
February 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
crime-noir
February 19, 2015
– Shelved as:
novels
March 24, 2015
–
Started Reading
March 27, 2015
–
Finished Reading
September 18, 2016
– Shelved as:
charleswilleford
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Richard
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rated it 5 stars
Aug 05, 2015 09:11AM
Missed this review when you wrote it. Amazing review, it really makes me want to go back and read the book, which I also loved.
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Thanks! It's a unique book and amazing book. Really makes me want to do some research and write about it. And thinking more about the ending, it has a similar affect to the end of The Usual Suspects when Spacey strides out of that limp. But the context is so different.
This might be really stupid of me but why is everyone getting so excited about that end "surprise" - I don't get why the fact that we found that out about him changes anything about the story.
I'm kind of thinking that was the point. He's just a guy and that's how we view him. There are no obvious ways - as there are in many other books of that era - that he is treated different. Although, in classic literary criticism fashion, a case could be made for him being treated different, but it's less obvious and something you have to dig for in the text in a way that most readers don't, and that you'd only think about in light of the ending sentences anyway. The ending sentences are there, however, so it is fair to wonder what Willeford thought readers would do with them. What if they weren't there? No discussion point, right? But I agree that it doesn't change the story and is just porn for grad school mental masturbation.
Haha! Yeah, thanks! I like your answer.
Yea I don't think the ending changes anything but I think it makes a great statement at the time that it was written. Sucking readers in to this story, getting readers to empathize with the character and then showing readers that we're really not all that different.I really like the fact that it doesn't change anything (to me that's the whole point) and that it wasn't presented with fanfare.
You nailed it, Richard.
