On January 1, 2012, my friend Felecia sent me a text message.

It wasn’t “Happy New Year!!!” like several others that day, but rather a very specific instruction: “Read ‘Lush Life’ by Richard Price!”

I keep a .txt file on my computer with the names of books I want to check out, either because they were recommended by friends or just something I happened to come across that looked interesting.  When I don’t have a specific next read in mind, I go to the list and pick one.

Two years after Felecia’s message, I can delete “Lush Life” from the list.

At first much of the dialogue made me feel very un-cool, whether it was the plethora of copspeak or teenage kids from the projects in New York.  After a while though, I really appreciated how immersive and distinctive it made the story, which follows the run-up to a random murder and what happens to all of the parties involved afterward.

Example:

“What the fuck is a dolgier?”
“A dolgier? A do-anything soldier.”

I’m going to start dropping “dolgier” into conversations now.  Get ready.

Price does an amazing job of taking the reader through the experiences of the shooter, a key witness, and especially the detectives trying to solve the case.  It’s not a murder mystery since you know up front who did it, but rather an exploration of how people handle stress, the pressure/fallout of making a name for themselves, and how “doing the right thing” can mean different things to different people involved and at different times.

It’s impressive how he jumps from one person to the next as the story unfolds, almost as if he’s listening when you’re thinking, “I wonder how the investigation is going,” and then flips a switch to take you there.  He also brings up a lot of social issues, especially those of class/racial disparities and how those affect the investigation and how each of the major players interacts not only with each other, but with the city.  Highly recommend this one.