From the writer of the abysmal 'Drive', this book is much of the same: pseudo-philosophy, no action, boring characterisation. It really stunned me because after I finished 'Drive', I was convinced this writer was clueless. The movie adaptation had very little to do with the book, not surprisingly. But 'Drive' had an excerpt from 'The Killer is Dying' at the back, which I read and thought was a lot better. I was mistaken. Both books seem to thrive on sparse detail, no plot momentum, an overindulgence on crap thoughtfulness, and a general inability for the reader to understand what the hell's going on. With 'The Killer is Dying', there are three separate stories: a hitman, police officers looking for the hitman, and a boy who isn't directly linked, though he may be having dreams related to the hitman's life. I admit, it becomes surreal occasionally reading each chapter without knowing who the author is talking about, but this gimmick becomes annoying - why make it hard to know what's going on? Why not just name the character narrating the chapter sooner rather than later? With this book, I was baffled most of the time, to the point where my fascination with a bad book and a bad writer became frustration. I won't buy another book by this guy, he's only interested in his own cleverness, incorporating snippets of bullshit philosophy and supposedly insightful observations that just end up making you go 'meh'. But at the very least, while some books make your eyes glaze over with excess description, this book has a reasonable pace. It's just, what's the point of this story? I didn't get to know the characters, there's nothing distinct about them, they just make their phoney observations without any real relevance to themselves or the plot, there's no trace of tension or ultraviolence. So frustrating that there's no payoff either. Since the hitman is on the verge of dying from an unknown illness, you would expect the cops and the young boy to come together in the end, just to hammer home some sort of connection between them all. It is honestly one of those disappointing books which leaves very little impact and calls into question the reason why it was written. Thankfully, it's a very short book. I guess it was just interesting for me to see how other writers write, whether I'm having fun or witnessing a carwreck.Enjoyment Factor: 1 starMovie Potential: 1 star Hammett Prize Winner 2011 (literary excellence in crime writing by US or Canada citizen)setting: present day Phoenix3 main characters, men -- hired killer whose mark is taken (poorly) by someone else, burned-out detective with dying wife, young boy abandoned by parents who is having the killer's dreamsshort chaptersliterary, spare poetry prosecharacter-focused, minimal actionalso notable by this author: Drive (made into movie with Ryan Gosling) and Salt River
What do You think about La Agonía Del Asesino (2011)?
Surreal.Questions why are we here,who are we and how long are we here.Sparse but poetic prose.
—Tonja
The writing is superb. Maybe I read a little too fast because I got a tad lost at the end.
—gabi
Read five or six now, and my admiration is undiminished. This guy is the real deal.
—aceblank
Ho-hum. Some of the scenarios are much more interesting to me than the others.
—bigb
