By Russell Atwood,
Ballantine Books. $22.00
Book Review by Gary R. Swartz
The title of Russell Atwood’s first novel refers to that section of downtown Manhattan whose boundaries are Avenues A and D, frequently referred to as Alphabet City. Having been a resident of Avenue A for more years than I care to admit, I approached the book with a certain degree of trepidation. Particularly after noting the dust jacket’s description of the area as "a lair for desperate hustlers, con men and last-chance addicts." Didn’t quite sound like the neighborhood I live in. Obnoxious but harmless yuppies with little black cell phones stuck to their ears are more prevalent these days.
My hesitations were quickly squelched once I got into Atwood’s fast-paced, entertaining tale. Atwood does know the neighborhood and renders it with great wit and tellingly accurate detail. I’m sure I’ve actually met some of his peripheral characters and even spotted a couple of canines I’m acquainted with in a scene set in Tompkins Square Park. But just as importantly, Atwood knows the territory of the hard-boiled detective novel and his narrator, down-at-the-heels private eye Payton Sherwood, is a worthy, likable protagonist in the Chandleresque tradition. (Lest we miss the point, Philip Marlowe is evoked on the book’s very first page.)
In the opening chapter, Sherwood is badly beaten when he comes to the aid of a young girl being menaced by thugs. Insult is quite literally added to injury when the girl rewards his efforts by stealing his gold Rolex. What begins as a personal quest to recover a stolen wristwatch becomes much more serious when he discovers the girl’s murdered ex-boyfriend and the focus shifts from finding his lost watch to protecting the watch’s thief, a homeless teenager named Gloria. Sherwood encounters a realistic assortment of East Village types along the way in a scenario that involves drugs stolen from a trendy nightclub.
EAST OF A never achieves the resonance of character and plot that lifted the best of Chandler or Ross McDonald out of the detective genre into classic literature. But don’t let that deter you. This is a one fun read, complete with witty dialogue, unexpected plot twists and a satisfying resolution. Payton Sherwood is an appealing hero and I look forward to future adventures. It’s nice having my own neighborhood private eye. I just hope he doesn’t become too successful and move uptown.
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