Elmore Leonard has long been one of the blind spots of my reading life, and that's something I'm trying to work on lately. And what better way than by easing in with properties I'm already a little familiar with? Last year I checked out Raylan, which was Leonard's version of a season of Justified, and now comes Rum Punch, which was adapted by Quentin Tarantino into the masterful Jackie Brown (still one of QT's best films to date). Yes, Jackie Brown is a joy, and yes, the plot here is largely the same as in Tarantino's film. But none of that detracted from just how rich, well-written, funny, and engaging Rum Punch was as a read.
The plot is both complex (in terms of all of its moving parts) and remarkably simple (in terms of how easy it is to follow, thanks to Leonard's craft). There's Ordell Robbie, a would-be crime lord and gun runner; there's his old cellmate and "friend" Louis Gara, trying to make it in the world outside of prison; there's flight stewardess Jackie Burke (white and blonde here, representing one of the biggest - and maybe best - changes Tarantino made), who's picked up by the feds running some material for Robbie; and there's Max Cherry, a bondsman who ends up entangled in all of this through a number of factors. That's enough to cause any amount of problem, and as everyone tries to work every given situation in their own best interest, bodies pile up, inevitable betrayals happen, and scams within cons within bluffs all unfold, giving you a great crime story about very petty people.
So, yes, there's a great plot to Rum Punch. But you won't come away remembering the complexities, or the deaths, or the shootouts (although the shopping mall rendezvous sequences are a joy to behold). No, the pleasure in reading Leonard comes from the way his characters talk and interact, and the way their dialogue says so much about them. There's the way Robbie always wants to be the smartest guy in the room, and talks in a way that's designed to get people to let him talk more; the way that Louis's reticence hides his own anxieties (and maybe stupidity); the way that Max's conversations with his ex-wife paper over years of baggage and fighting; or the way that Jackie's dialogue so often crackles with flirtation both real and fake as she works the men around her.
And if that's not enough, there's the richness of Rum Punch's unspoken theme, which finds all of the characters closing out an act in their lives and wondering if this is all that there is. It's a subtext that Tarantino brought out expertly, especially by choosing people like Pam Grier and Robert Forster for roles, but it's a treat to find out how much it's baked into Leonard's book as it stands. Whether because of lives behind bars or insecurities, divorce or federal busts, just about every character in Rum Punch is forced into a reckoning where they have to choose between the empty life they've been living or taking a chance on something more - a choice that Leonard nicely links into the middle age of almost every one of his cast of characters. All of it gives Rum Punch a richness that it barely needs, as entertaining as it is, but it's welcome nonetheless.
In short, Rum Punch finds me loving Leonard as much as everyone always told me I would - savoring his flavorful dialogue, enjoying his Rube Goldberg plots, and loving every rich character he brings to the table. And hey, with plenty more books to go, that just means I have a lot of greatness ahead of me, right?
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Inspiration for "Jackie Brown"
I won't reveal any of the main plot points, but this novel was the basis for the movie "Jackie Brown." The author, Elmore "Dutch" Leonard, deceased a few years ago, was a master at creating strong, sassy female characters, and deeply flawed but fascinating protagonists. Leonard wan't afraid to break the rules, either. Sometimes you'll be reading one of his novels and discover he kills off the hero halfway through the book. This is an entertaining read, full of twists and double-crosses. I enjoyed Leonard stopping in the middle of a scene to change to a different character's point of view. The reader thinks one thing is happening, but then discovers it's something else entirely. A fun read.
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Marcos
Influência nos diálogos de Quentin Tarantino
Reviewed in Brazil on April 7, 2023
