Elmore Leonard is widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of American pulp fiction with many of his films having been adapted into excellent movies such as Jackie Brown and Get Shorty. But up until recently, it's been somewhat difficult to find any of his books here in the UK, either that or I wasn't looking hard enough. But spying up Out of Sight for £3 was an offer too good to miss.
The first thing to say is, as a first foray into Leonard's literature, it's solid. No character is squeaky clean and despite its short page length, he manages to include enough back story to make the principals fully rounded people as opposed to stock characters. The dialogue is also terrific. These guys snap at each other in ways Tarantino can only dream of, streetwise goons that are professionals of their trade.
My only major beef however, is the lack of staying power. Whilst it's welcome that Leonard doesn't feel the need to waffle on like some authors I enjoy (*cough* Stephen King *cough*), Out of Sight almost feels TOO brisk, skimming over elements of the plot that could really benefit from being elaborated on. And just when things get tense, the book ends more abruptly than a bullet in the brain, causing much frustration rather than satisfaction.
These complaints don't mar the experience though as, on the whole, I really enjoyed it. Leonard is the kind of author you can pick up, enjoy, and then move on.
4/5
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