Lush Life

A Novel

By: Richard Price

Narrated by: Bobby Cannavale

"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).

©2008 Richard Price; (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

A wonderful listen

I read the review in the Times, which described the book as having terrific dialog. It seemed to me that such a book would be particularly good to listen to. For those of you that are withdrawing from The Wire -- this book will do it. It is gritty and realistic, and the narration is wonderful.

Rock solid dialogue

Would you listen to Lush Life again? Why?

The genius of Price's story is not the plot so much as the dialogue and sense of place. It works as an audiobook largely because of Cannavale's exceptional reading with convincing dialogue, no matter the background of the character. When reading from the narrator's POV, he strikes just the right tone. I rarely, if ever, got the feeling I was listening to somebody doing a character. A good book but an even better performance.

What did you like best about this story?

Its sense of place.

Which character – as performed by Bobby Cannavale – was your favorite?

Matty Clark

Excellent Book Read by Great Narrator!

This would be a great book under any circumstances but the reader really brought out both the drama of the story and the sense of place the story deserved. Great accents, great pacing--truly one of my audible favorites and highly recommended to anyone who loves New York.

Starts off great, loses steam

For the first 100 pp. I was enraptured. Richard Price is a master who paints a vivid picture of a New York neighborhood and its characters. Aided by a great performance by Bobby Cannavale, whose NYC stuffy-nosed accent is just right, you can really see and hear the scenes and conversations he creates.

For all that I felt my interest flagging a bit by p. 300 or so. The story is very episodic, so after a while you're just ready for it to wrap up.

Excellent Novel, Great Narrator

An excellent listen. Price's writing style and ability to tell a good story along with Bobby Cannevale's wonderful narrating skills make this a must listen. Highly recommended!