Skip to main content

Jay Loves A Book #6 -- Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets

I don't like non-fiction generally, because it is usually boring.* It's reminiscent of history textbooks, to me, all first this happened, then this happened, blah blah blah, can't something explode already? Jeez!

But, no, it can't explode, because it didn't explode in Real Life, Jay, and this is non-fiction. YAWN.

That said, though, good writing conquers all, because there are some writers who can make me read stuff I would never otherwise read (Atul Gawande's Complications) about subjects I don't even care about (Michael Lewis's Moneyball), and David Simon's Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets is one of those books.

By now, you're probably familiar with David Simon--he's the guy who created infamous HBO series The Wire, which was proclaimed, like, the Savior of All Television, Espcially HBO after The Sopranos went off the air,** but this book is where it all starts.

The book is basically a recount of the entire year of 1988 with the Homicide Division of the Baltimore Police Department. Simon spent that year hanging around with them, watching them put murder cases together. They do so despite a lack of resources that is, frankly, shocking (like the homicide detectives have to work third shift, but the air conditioning goes off at five pm to save the city money, so they have to spend the overnights in 90 degree heat trying to work), and a departmental bureaucracy that is both stunningly complex and stunningly stupid. And they do it. They solve murder cases. They do so in a city that, at the time, was overrun with drug gangs*** and refused to investigate murders that were the result of those drug and turf wars as anything but individual and isolated cases, because anything else took money. They solve crimes and they testify against the murderers and sometimes, sometimes, the murderers actually get punished.

Sometimes.

But this isn't simply a case of "OMG, police are soooo awesome," because if it was, my bleeding liberal heart wouldn't have loved this book so much. While the book is indeed on the side of the Thin Blue Line, Simon doesn't hesitate to point out the flaws of the police officers involved. They drink too much, they swear too much, they separate murder victims into "citizens" (innocent people) and "yos" (drug dealers and associates), they are often racist and they don't exactly love the idea of female cops, either. They have weaknesses and problems, and still they come to work and solve murders.

And the writing! The writing makes you feel like you're actually in the precinct house or on the case with the cops. It's vulgar and foul and full of life. Simon writes one of my favorite parts, about the detectives' use of the Miranda statement to encourage suspects to talk, in the second person, like he's talking to a suspect who has stabbed someone in a bar fight:

As you read, [the homicide detective] leaves the room and returns a moment later with a second detective as a witness. You sign the bottom of the form, as do both detectives.

The first detective looks up from the form, his eyes soaked with innocence. "He came at you, huh?"

"Yeah, he came at me."

Get ready for small rooms, bunk, because you are about to be drop-kicked into the lost land of pretrial detention. Because it's one thing to be a murdering little asshole from South Baltimore, and it's another to be stupid about it, and with five little words, you have just elevated yourself to the ranks of the truly witless.

I mean, come on. That whole scene, and countless other scenes like it in the book, just breathe authenticity. It's so specific and simple, and the dual point of view from the perspective of the suspect and the obviously-a-cop narrator is just gorgeous. This is the book I take with me on long trips, because it's almost 600 pages of this great vibrant writing**** and, once you know the arc of the narrative, you can dive into it anywhere and just get completely immersed in this gritty world. It is, in a word, fantastic.

* To me. Some people love it. Some boring people.

**and there was an award-winning television show (called, simply, Homicide) this book, too. It had Kyle Secor and Andre Braugher in it and was really good.

***I don't know anything about current Baltimore, so I can't tell you whether this is true any longer, and, living in Cleveland, Ohio, which has almost as bad a national rap as Baltimore, but is, in fact, a pretty decent place to live, I hesitate to cast aspersions.

****Also, people in the airport tend to leave you alone when you're carrying a giant black book with HOMICIDE written in red letters on the cover.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Fourth Horseman: Excerpt 6

This is all of chapter 4, in which Suzanne buys a dress and sits in a chair with Anastase.   The other excerpts can be found here: Excerpt 1 Excerpt 2 Excerpt 3 Excerpt 4 Excerpt 5 ***** Chapter Four “I was thinking,” my father said over dinner that night. “Since your mother is on the road to recovery, we could go into town for dinner next Saturday, maybe to that sushi place you like. Maybe bring Gabriel. Interested?” “Sorry, I can’t on Saturday,” I said. “It’s Homecoming.” My father dropped his fork to his plate. “You’re kidding.” “I have to go. Gabriel’s nominated.” “Do you believe this?” my father asked my mother. “Are you hearing this?” My mother shook her head, smiling. “You’ve met Gabriel, right, dear?” “Our daughter. Dating the Homecoming King!” I rolled my eyes. “He hasn’t won. He’s just nominated.” My dad fluttered his eyelashes at us. “I wished for this day, but I never thought it would come true. Will there be a limo? What a

Character Post: Anastase Beryl

NOTE: This post contains spoilers for The Fifth.   Peter Murphy.  ::swoon:: Oh, Anastase, Problem Child Extraordinaire.  At the beginning of The Fifth, Anastase is terrible .  He's selfish, he's rude, he's heartless, and all of that makes him incredibly attractive to Suzanne, who has, sincerely, the worst taste in men. He's one of those guys who you know you should stay away from and yet don't want to. Originally, my conception of Anastase's physical appearance was based on the singer Peter Murphy from Bauhaus, that angular, mysterious, dangerous vibe, that people either love or hate.  A more modern approximation is actor/model Luke Eisner, although he's a little too . . . healthy looking for Anastase.  He needs to drop a little weight -- maybe pick up a teeny coke habit or something -- and then he would be perfect! :) If Luke Eisner loses 20 pounds, he is Ana.   Because he's the First of his Circle, Anastase thinks that means hi

The Fourth Horseman: Excerpt 5

The latest excerpt, still from Chapter 3, in which Suzanne encounters a bully and talks about sex.  Previous excerpts are here: Excerpt 1 Excerpt 2 Excerpt 3 Excerpt 4   ***** The football team had a bye week in anticipation of Homecoming (and the fact that I even knew what a “bye week” was was a testament to how much I liked Gabriel), so Gabriel showed up at my locker after school to join me and Spencer on the walk home. “We’re so happy for you,” Spencer told him, ducking under his arm to hug him. “Are we?” I asked, sliding in under Gabriel’s other arm. “You are a terrible liar,” Gabriel told Spencer, hugging him close. “Fag,” someone muttered behind us. I snapped my head around and saw a couple of kids around Spencer’s age snickering into their hands. I took a step toward them. “What’d you say?” They scowled at me. “Nothing,” one of them answered. “No, really, what’d you say?” Gabriel asked, his voice mild and friendly, his arm still around Spencer’s shoul