The Furious Way by Aaron Philip Clark

The Furious WayThe Furious Way by Aaron Philip Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Respect is something that you haven't had much of in your life"
                "Not this shit again. Look, I had a fucked-up life. Okay? Get over it. I have."
                "You haven't! You got used to getting treated like shit. But with these dogs, either they respect you or they don't. But you've got to earn that kind of respect. I need to see that you've earned theirs'. You need to see it. Now get down."
 
I bought this one when it came out and just never got round to reading it at the time. Lo, I decided to check out the rating and reviews on Goodreads and was stunned to find only 1 rating, which immediately sent it to the top of the reading pile. This is the first Clark book I have read with his others sitting on devices awaiting my eyes, but I have heard him speak on Writer Types and the bastard title and was really drawn to him and his work.
 
In The Furious Way, we are introduced to Lucy Ramos, a reclusive online investigator, who has sought out Tito Garza, an aging, seemingly retired mob hitman to help her enact a plan of revenge against her mother's killer. Octogenarian Garza is taciturn and cantankerous with his young charge and takes some convincing to take on the role of murderous mentor. The book initially builds upon this relationship in which little is said between the characters, but they understand the nature of what they are doing. What elevates things beyond a simply pulpy tale of vengeance is the almost philiosophical way in whick Clark weaves his characters pasts and the way in which they use this to motivate themselves while simultaneously questioning where they are heading.
 
There is also a sub-plot/theme regarding the gentrification of poor, migrant neighbourhoods in L.A. and specifically the area in which Tito lives. this seems to be something Clark has views on and I particularly enjoyed this passage:
 
The LA Times called it gentrification - the opposite of 'white flight'. Garza now understood - it meant brown folks pushed further south, maybe into Long Beach or north, into Harbor City. He feared one-day San Pedro wouldn't have a brown face in sight
 
This is a wonderful poetic pulp novel filled with fully sketched characters and relationships that I highly recommend. Most of the characters here are of LatinX descent and I suspect the Paul Little books are more of a take on the black man in US society. They will be getting read really soon based on this one.

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