Category Archives: Books
THE WHITES (Novel, 2015) – Review
My original plan for Priced Out was that I would review everything Richard Price had written prior to the release of his new novel The Whites and then stop, rather than continuing to review his new stuff as it came … Continue reading
THE WHITES (Novel, 2015)/Epilogue
“I’m a novelist. I’m a good novelist and I’ll get better. I’ve found my calling and if I have my way I’ll be turning out books for the next half-century, books that will blow people away.” –Richard Price, 1976 The … Continue reading
LUSH LIFE (Novel, 2008)
Gentrification is a popular topic in American pop culture, but one that’s mainly addressed through cliched caricatures of skinny-jeaned, PBR-swilling hipsters displacing thuggish urban gangstas. So it’s to our benefit that Richard Price, who’s been taking urban America’s pulse since Clockers, … Continue reading
SAMARITAN (Novel, 2003)
Back in my review of Richard Price’s 1978 novel Ladies’ Man I noted that his books can be divided into three phases–one focused on working-class teens coming of age in the Bronx (The Wanderers and Bloodbrothers), one consisting of first-person … Continue reading
FREEDOMLAND (Novel, 1998)
Freedomland, Richard Price’s 1998 novel of racial strife packaged as a kidnapping mystery-thriller, seems destined to age into the reputation of being “just as relevant now as it was the day it was published.” When it first came out it … Continue reading
CLOCKERS (Novel, 1992)
If Richard Price had retired in 1992 he would have already been leaving behind an impressive body of work: Four critically acclaimed novels, an Oscar nomination for his screenwriting, a #1 box office hit, even a credit on a Michael … Continue reading
THE BREAKS (Novel, 1983)
The Breaks, Richard Price’s fourth novel, is a long, meandering book about a directionless college grad trying to find himself. It doesn’t have much of a discernible structure and ends without reaching much of a narrative conclusion. Price himself has called it “[t]he … Continue reading
LADIES’ MAN (Novel, 1978)
Richard Price’s novels can be roughly divided into three phases. The first phase includes 1974’s The Wanderers and 1976’s Bloodbrothers, semi-autobiographical tales of teenage Italians growing up in the Bronx. The most recent phase, made up of 1992’s Clockers and everything he’s put … Continue reading
BLOODBROTHERS (Novel, 1976)
Bloodbrothers, Richard Price’s sophomore novel, might be the most painful reading experience he’s produced (with the possible exception of Freedomland), not because it’s bad–it’s well-written, gripping, feels true to life–but because it’s so God damn sad. That’s a weird thing to point out about … Continue reading
THE WANDERERS (Novel, 1974)
Although it launched his career and, in some ways, permanently defined what people expect from his writing, The Wanderers is remarkably different from most of Richard Price’s later works. He’s now come to be known for his vivid, true-to-life realism, a style which to some extent … Continue reading
Priced Out 