The Drift.by John Ridley Alfred A. Knopf, September 2002 $24.00, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-375-41182-8 Conventional wisdom says that after releasing a feature film and two novels all within six months--a feat accomplished this year by John Ridley--the author isn't likely to turn out another novel soon afterwards. However, John Ridley is a prolific writer. Although similar to his most recent works, Undercover Brother Undercover Brother is a 2002 comedy starring Eddie Griffin and directed by Malcolm D. Lee (cousin of Spike Lee). The screenplay is by Michael McCullers and co-executive producer John Ridley (Three Kings), who created the original internet animation characters. and his novel A Conversation With the Mann (released in June), Ridley charts a new course in his fifth novel, a noir tale called The Drift. Charles Harmon gives up his upper middle-class existence, along with his wife and newborn, because he can't stand the pressure of his upper middle-class existence. He transforms himself into "Brain Nigger Charlie" and ekes out a life as a modern-day hobo on the railroads of America, using drugs as his therapy. Charlie owes a friend a favor, and the man comes to collect. And Charlie must find the 17-year-old niece of the man who taught him how to ride the rails. The search for the missing girl takes place on the "High Line" a bastion of racism along the tracks of the Pacific Northwest. Aided by several unsuspecting do-gooders and his ever-faithful companion of destruction George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. Biography Plimpton was born in New York. He attended St. Bernard's School, Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard University. , Charlie uncovers a not-too-complex web of drugs, deceit, hate, hopelessness and unsolved murders that may cost him his life. As in all Ridley novels, the action and the dialogue are smart, funny and swiftly-paced. The prose is pithy pith·y adj. pith·i·er, pith·i·est 1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment. 2. Consisting of or resembling pith. without being choppy and is always powerful. Even when he teeters on the brink of cliche he manages to resurrect the obvious, in Ridley-esque fashion. The language is riveting and so addictive that by the time you realize the plot plays thin even up to the author's trademark double-cross denouement de·noue·ment also dé·noue·ment n. 1. a. The final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot. b. , it's too late. You've been sucked into The Drift, and like a junkie junkie Popular health A popular term for a person, usually an IV narcotic abusing addict, whose life is disorganized vis-á-vis family and societal structure, whose existence revolves around obtaining–often through theft, prostitution or other illicit , you're anxiously awaiting the next Ridley fix. Which probably will be sooner than you think. --Kwame Alexander is the author of the forthcoming Cube Calendar "Black Humor black humor, in literature, drama, and film, grotesque or morbid humor used to express the absurdity, insensitivity, paradox, and cruelty of the modern world. Ordinary characters or situations are usually exaggerated far beyond the limits of normal satire or irony. : 365 Days of Satire, Comedy and Wit." |
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