12/23/07 Street of No Return - David Goodis

For years I've been shuffling a pair of David Goodis' books closer and closer to the top of the stack that I hit when I can't think of anything else to read.

In 2007 Millipede Press (of Colorado) reissued a couple of Goodis titles and when I found a copy of one, 'Street Of No Return', on clearance for a stinking 1.00! I knew i had to crack it open before it, too, got buried.

millipede press



"Once upon a time Whitey was a crooner with a million-dollar voice and a standing invitation from any woman who heard him use it. Until he had the bad luck to fall for Celia. And then nothing would ever be the same"

The chapters of the book that introduce Whitey as one of a trio of Skid Row alkies read like standard hard-boiled fiction. But when it becomes clear that he is not just an outcast from society but also an outsider on Skid Row who seems to have landed there just as much by choice as by hard luck, Goodis' characterizations get more intriguing.

"I bet you're full of secrets"

"Who ain't?" - Whitey

After discovering how Whitey carried himself through a 24 hr long bad patch that included confrontations (okay, beatings) from both the police and a Puerto Rican gang during the midst of a race riot in urban Philadelphia; what appeared at first to be simple stubborness or personal weakness seemed more like an arbitrary persistence bordering on craziness. Leading to justice (if not a happy ending. In the traditional sense, at least.)

No happy endings for the cops either in this story (remember, this IS 'Street of No Return') but Portney, the outsider cop who's accused of being a "freak", also takes a stand.

"You're a freak, Portney. You hear what I'm saying? You're just a freak"

"Really, is that what they call it"?

"You hear that? He ain't even ashamed."

"In the final analysis, we're all in the same boat. We're all ashamed of something"

"That's right, get witty again. Cover it up with a gag"

"No gag... it's fundamental truth".

All in all, not a bad story and I dig the soft spot that Goodis has for characters of all social classes who are strong enough to endure their compulsions and maintain a sense of dignity and decency.

I'm a little leary of what might be a Goodis tendency to sanctify those who 'play to lose' but I'll resolve that one after reading 'Cassidy's Girl' and 'Nightfall', both of which have again found their way to the top of the stacks.