Galveston

Michael Kramer narrates in a flat, remote tone, a clear decision on his part to emphasize the noirish tone of Pizzolatto's novel about a hard man who unexpectedly finds himself with altruistic feelings toward a troubled young woman. And certainly no one can fault Kramer for that choice--or with anything at all about his intelligent and nuanced performance. The question is really larger than the performance, and that is whether noir has reached the point of clichÄ. That, of course, is a personal choice. If yes, then Kramer's detached air will be immediately grating. If no, then sit back and enjoy a gifted actor. M.O. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 19, 2010
Pizzolatto, author of the story collection Between Here and the Yellow Sea
, takes a hard-edged look at the stormy life of a compassionate criminal in his impressive first novel. On the same day in 1987 he's diagnosed with lung cancer, Roy Cady flees New Orleans, taking along Raquel “Rocky” Arceneaux, a pretty 18-year-old with a lurid past, whom he rescues from some hoods in the wake of a bloodbath. Rocky persuades him to stop in Orange, Tex., to pick up Tiffany, her three-year-old sister, and by the time they reach refuge in a rundown Galveston motel, 40-year-old Roy finds himself an unlikely father figure even as he struggles with a romantic attraction to Rocky. Pizzolatto's insightful portrayal of the heroic Roy, who takes a beating for trying to help the two girls, is rough and tumble real. As Pizzolatto switches smoothly between past and present, he vividly captures Galveston in all its desperate vulnerability as it faces the approach of Hurricane Ike in September 2008.