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Lush Life: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 6,829 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
"So, what do you do?" Whenever people asked him, Eric Cash used to have a dozen answers. Artist, actor, screenwriter...But now he's thirty-five years old and he's still living on the Lower East Side, still in the restaurant business, still serving the people he always wanted to be. What does Eric do? He manages. Not like Ike Marcus. Ike was young, good-looking, people liked him. Ask him what he did, he wouldn't say tending bar. He was going places—until two street kids stepped up to him and Eric on Eldridge Street one night and pulled a gun. At least, that's Eric's version.
In Lush Life, Richard Price tears the shiny veneer off the "new" New York to show us the hidden cracks, the underground networks of control and violence beneath the glamour. Lush Life is an X-ray of the street in the age of no broken windows and "quality of life" squads, from a writer whose "tough, gritty brand of social realism...reads like a movie in prose" (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times).
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"Whoadamn this was good. One of the few works of crime-fiction in which both sides of the story (both criminal & police POV) were told in a way that was so engaging, the necessary threads slightly left to pull together for the end of the story didn't seem like predictable/frayed tails. "
— April (5 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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A 2008 Time Magazine Top 10 Book for Fiction
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A New York Times bestseller
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One of the 2008 New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books for Fiction
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Among longlisted titles for NYT Outstanding Books of the Year, 2008
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Among longlisted titles for Washington Post Best Books of the Year, 2008
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Among shortlisted titles for L.A. Times Book Prize - Finalist, 2008
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Among longlisted titles for Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year, 2008
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Among shortlisted titles for PEN Literary Award - Finalist, 2008
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Among shortlisted titles for Audie Award Finalist, 2009
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Among longlisted titles for Audible.com Best of the Year, 2008
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Among longlisted titles for AudioFile Best Audiobooks, 2008
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Winner of Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards: Best Audios of the Year, 2008
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Winner of iTunes Best Audiobooks, 2008
Lush Life Listener Reviews
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" I joined a book club and this is our first book. "
— Ellen, 2/19/2014 -
" When I first read this book, I didn't think much of it but it keep coming back to me. Every time I'm in the East Village, I think of scenes from this book that I didn't even know that I remembered. Now, I couldn't forget this book if I wanted to. "
— Trevor, 2/17/2014 -
" Entirely forgettable, well written, kind of a word candy book, fun to read but no substance. "
— Ej, 2/2/2014 -
" An at times frustrating mashup of the overly familiar ("Law & Order" episode plotting, gruff burnout cops who really care) and the oft-dazzling way Price has with dialogue, most of which is masterly here. A cut above most police procedurals, but never transcends the genre (and if any genre writer could do that, it's Price). "
— Jeff, 1/29/2014 -
" The best book I have read in a long time. "
— Diane, 1/28/2014 -
" Ok - Watching 'The Wire' is better... "
— Marta, 1/24/2014 -
" Im a big Price fan but this one fell flat for me. Price is working so hard to build a masterpiece about a neighborhood in transition that in the process sketches in charachters that don't move or grow. "
— Nick, 12/25/2013 -
" Pretty good, once I got into it. It reminded me of a gritty Law & Order. "
— Allison, 12/25/2013 -
" CP = Criminal Possession "
— M, 12/10/2013 -
" The dialogue is crackling, but i didn't think there was enough going on in this to warrant its 500+ pages. I finished it, but about 1/3 of the way through, I started thinking that there wasn't enough to the story. "
— Howard, 12/1/2013 -
" Well written, too long, wait for the movie.... "
— Patrick, 11/25/2013 -
" I liked this at first. It kind of reminded me of the Wire (I think the author was one of the show's writers). However it really started to drag and became very repetitive. "
— Camille, 10/24/2013 -
" Gritty crime novel. Like Law and Order without the FCC. "
— Nathan, 10/11/2013 -
" Started to read this book and eentually gave up. Not terrible as far as books go but it kind of reads like true crime which really is not my thing. "
— Anne, 5/19/2013 -
" Reminded me in parts of The Wire (the awesome HBO series). "
— Anna, 5/2/2013 -
" Great. Total page turner and very cinematic. Would not be surprised to see this as a movie. "
— Deborah, 4/14/2012 -
" I think this is only entertaining if you live in or know the Lower East Side. He writes his characters well and they are memorable but overall the story and everything falls a bit flat. Still, I liked it though. "
— Heidi, 2/2/2012 -
" After a good beginning, the book gets hung up about halfway through, and limps on to the end. I like Richard Price and I kept reading, thinking it would get better, but I was wrong. "
— Nancy, 1/7/2012 -
" Price is a terrific writer ranking right up there with Dennis Lehane when it comes to looking at the underbelly of American life. Price, who also has written for the great TV series THE WIRE, really shows his chops here. "
— Pip, 5/19/2011 -
" Like reading a movie. Evaporates quickly from the mind <br/> "
— Ctb, 5/7/2011 -
" A murder on the Lower East Side "
— Dan, 4/27/2011 -
" Good read. Really captures the LES at the turn of the millennium. "
— Jay, 4/15/2011 -
" I struggled a bit getting into this book - but really liked it once I got into it. Just the first chapter or so was a bit rough for me. "
— Melissa, 4/13/2011 -
" I loved the dialog and enjoyed reading "Lush Life" but it didn't get as far into the characters as I wanted. "
— doug, 4/3/2011 -
" Reading this book is like watching a season of the Wire and I loved the show. Having watched the complete series of the show may have skewed my reading experience, nonetheless it's still a great read. "
— Jason, 4/1/2011 -
" One of my favorite reads in years. Maybe because I live in New York, maybe because I met the author who was a writer on HBO's The Wire, maybe because it taught me about the lower east side and the downside of gentrification.. I don't know, I just really enjoyed it. "
— KIRAN, 3/21/2011 -
" I love a good crime/detective thriller. Plus, LES. "
— Jennifer, 3/12/2011
About Richard Price
Richard Price is the author of six previous novels, including the national bestsellers Freedomland and Clockers, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 1999 he received a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His fiction, articles, and essays have appeared in Best American Essays 2002, New York Times, New York Times Book Review, New Yorker, Esquire, Village Voice, and Rolling Stone. He has also written numerous screenplays, including Sea of Love, Ransom, and The Color of Money. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughters.
About Bobby Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale is a film, stage, and television actor. He has appeared in numerous television shows and films, but he is perhaps best known for his role as a reincarnated matchmaker on ABC's Cupid. He won an Emmy for his guest appearance on the hit show Will & Grace.