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The Long-Legged Fly Audiobook
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(3.92) - 13 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In steamy New Orleans, black private detective Lew Griffin has taken on a seemingly hopeless missing-person case. The trail takes him through the underbelly of the French Quarter with its bar girls, pimps, and tourist attractions. As his search leads to one violent dead end and then another, Griffin is confronted with the prospect that his own life has come to resemble those of the people he is attempting to find.
Waking in a hospital after an alcoholic binge, Griffin finds another chance in a nurse who comes to love him, but again he reverts to his old life in the mean streets among the predators and their prey. When his son vanishes, Griffin searches back through the tangles and tatters of his life, knowing that he must solve his personal mysteries before he can venture after the whereabouts of others.
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"Lew Griffin is an African-American private investigator in New Orleans. In this book (the first in a five book series) we follow him through four inter-connected stories set roughly a decade apart each. In the beginning we see Griffin as something akin to a traditional private eye, complete with shabby office and requisite drinking problem. As the stories progress, things deviate from the traditional detective story. He still acts as a "finder" looking for missing people, but the focus of the book moves away from that pursuit. Sallis states in an interview included in the book that the Lew Griffin books do not have any plots themselves, but instead rely on voice and atmosphere to move them forward. This was confusing to me at first, because I am so used to reading crime fiction that is relentlessly plot driven. In this case, the narrative meanders along like the bayous and swamps that Sallis so evocatively describes. The atmosphere evoked by New Orleans and its history and music and the ennui of Griffin's voice and descriptions make for a melancholy but evocative story."
— Tim (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Not so much a detective story as a story about a detective…but one that exploits the conventions of the genre with quietly distinctive power.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“Not so much a detective story as a story about a detective.”
— Kirkus Reviews
The Long-Legged Fly Listener Reviews
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" Less of a book and more a collection of 4 loosely collected stories. Not quite the decteive/noir novel I was expecting either. Very little actually happens. Mostly the main character stumbles around drunk or is in recovery from being drunk, and muses on race. There is some thoughtfull, well done writing that establishes itself more as prose at times which does improve the book slightly. "
— Matthew, 2/19/2014 -
" Wow! This was a great novel. Look forward to reading Moth next and even more of his books. "
— Michael, 1/18/2014 -
" Fantastic. The way in which the author dipped in and out of Lew Griffin's life echoed the way Lew himself dipped in and out of life. A very clever assemblage of a portrait of a man by means of vignettes. I'm looking for ward to reading the next book featuring Lew. "
— Andrew, 11/19/2013 -
" Written as four novellas spaning four decades, these stories flllow griffin's attempts to find people for a living. This is the first of the lou griffin novels. The later sections are deep and introspective, a preview of sallis's later masterpieces. "
— Chris, 10/17/2013 -
" Loved this! Thanks to my Slightly Demented Aunt for recommending. "
— Deb, 2/5/2013 -
" This is the first of Sallis's Lew Griffin mysteries. A wonderfully realized character written in luminous prose. Sallis is one of our best living writers. "
— Charles, 9/28/2012 -
" IF YOU LIKE THE LOCAL OF N. O. IT IS AN INETERESTING BOOK OTHERWISE. IT'S O,K, "
— Walt, 8/19/2012 -
" Great writing, poor story and a seriously miserable view of life.. "
— Alexandra, 3/27/2011 -
" Lots of things I like here: Louisiana, detectives, dark tales of wrong doing - yeah, it's my kinda story. If it weren't for the fact I found it hard to follow the strands of the story & knit them together (I'm still not entirely sure what they add up to) I've have rated it higher. "
— Andrew, 10/7/2008 -
" Wow! This was a great novel. Look forward to reading Moth next and even more of his books. <br/> <br/> "
— Michael, 9/18/2008 -
" This is the first of Sallis's Lew Griffin mysteries. A wonderfully realized character written in luminous prose. Sallis is one of our best living writers. "
— Charles, 7/18/2008 -
" IF YOU LIKE THE LOCAL OF N. O. IT IS AN INETERESTING BOOK OTHERWISE. IT'S O,K, "
— Walt, 9/28/2007
About James Sallis
James Sallis has published more than a dozen novels; multiple collections of short stories, poems, and essays; the definitive biography of Chester Himes; several books of musicology; and a translation of Raymond Queneau’s novel Saint Glinglin. His works have been shortlisted for the Anthony, Nebula, Edgar, Shamus, and Gold Dagger awards. The film version of his novel Drive won the Best Director Award at the Cannes International Film Festival, and his Lew Griffin books are in development for film. He plays guitar, French horn, mandolin, fiddle, sitar, and Dobro, both solo and with the band Three-Legged Dog.
About G. Valmont Thomas
G. Valmont Thomas, a longtime member of the acting company at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, has also been a faculty member at the Johnny Carson School of Film and Television at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His voice may also be heard in a number of video games and in advertisements for radio and television.