Love Is a Racket - Hardcover

Ridley, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375401423 ISBN 13: 9780375401428

Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 1998

Synopsis

An alcoholic street hustler and failed screenwriter with a loan shark on his back, Jeffty Kittridge stumbles upon a beautiful, young homeless woman and cooks up the scheme of a lifetime, only to fall prey to love. 50,000 first printing. Tour.

About this title

Review

Love is a Racket begins with the sound of a man's fingers being broken--a clear indication that, in this story, compassion is presumed dead. Fortified by a staunch lack of compromise, John Ridley's second novel is an exceptional example of LA noir: a ferocious look at the murky lives blighted by insincerity and shallowness. Jeffty Kittridge is a failed scriptwriter, con man, gambler and regular stroller down the boulevard of broken dreams. He owes $15,000 to a loan shark and when he isn't drinking his sorrows away, he moves from one failed plan to the next. Such relentless bad luck morphs again with the arrival of Nellis, his junkie friend and master of a supposed 'can't-lose-poker-scheme.' However, circumstance goes awry again--but Jeffty finds salvation in a beautiful homeless woman, Mona, and a con that hinges on a legendary Hollywood love triangle. There is a compelling narrative voice in Jeffty that transcends his low-life status and imbues his plight with poignant honesty. Love is a Racket is testament to Ridley's mastery of humour; it's full of sharp lines that will routinely make you laugh out loud: "My good luck was that LA's a great place to work. Except for the smog and the gang violence, the brushfires in summer, the rain and floods in winter--it's great." Danny Graydon

From the Back Cover

Everything's a racket for Jeffty Kittridge, ex-wannabe scriptwriter living on the skids in LA: the two-bit cons he pulls to try and make ends meet, the way he convinces himself he's not drinking, how he tries to persuade the local shark that he can pay back that 15K. Trouble is he's not very good at it: he's seen jail twice, he's got the early morning DTs and he's just received a payment-due reminder of broken fingers. In fact Jeffty is what some might call a big-time loser, and he's getting bigger all the time.

But then he stumbles across Mona, the street-smart homeless girl whose exquisite looks inspire lust, love - and the ultimate scam. Mona is Jeffty's dream come true, his one-way ticket out of there, his future. Could Lady Luck have dealt him a decent hand at last?

If only. For as Jeffty is propelled towards what he believes will be a redemptive moment of blissed-out consummation, he's about to discover that love can be the biggest racket of them all.

Furiously paced, caustically funny and possessing the ultimate twist, Love is a Racket is the dazzling new noir novel from one of Hollywood's hottest talents.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0375401423
• ISBN 13: 9780375401428
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 295