Soul Circus by
George Pelecanos
pbk out January 04
(Orion)
at £5.99
The third Derek Strange/Terry Quinn novel proceeds from the point where
Hell to Pay, the second, left off. Strange is looking for evidence that
will discredit the capital case against Granville Oliver, gang boss in
‘downtown’ Washington. Quinn too is out there, his ex-cop macho reflexes
as usual conflicting with his desire to do the right thing. Meanwhile
Mario "Twigs" Durham, "a slip of nothing in his Hilfigers, hanging like
some sad shit on his narrow ass," needs a gun "to make an impression on
someone", trades some drugs for what he needs and employs the Strange
operation to find that someone. As warring factions jostle for position
post-Oliver, the stage is set for another exploration, perhaps the most
complex yet, of the moral maze that is Pelecanos’s Washington.
I stress the moral nature of the tale because, contrary to those that
put down Pelecanos for what they term his political agenda, it is the
need for high standards of personal responsibility that Pelacanos
continues to emphasise. Politics, after all, has largely abandoned the
Washington that he writes about. Strange may hate the death penalty but
it is only one of the many reasons for his actions in defending Oliver.
And Strange’s key argument for abolition is entirely a practical one:
state determination to extract an eye for an eye legitimises the street
vengeance that is a daily fact of life on the streets he treads. And
when Quinn finally gives in to those macho reflexes, the results are
deadly.
Politics. Morality? Perhaps not what you want to hear about in a crime
review. But rest assured these points arise naturally from a
multi-voiced narrative which shows Pelecanos at his best: a fast but not
furious pace (the fury comes later), crisp, on-the-button
characterisation and dialogue that flows like poetry. Long-term
Pelecanos readers will be delighted at the late but decisive appearance
of Nick Stefanos from the earlier books. But new readers need have no
qualms. This is vital American crime fiction with a feel for the mean
streets that is unsurpassed.
Soul Circus by
George Pelecanos
