Elmore Leonard, concurrent with the publication of TISHOMINGO BLUES, his latest novel, succinctly describes what he does: "[I] gather an odd assortment of characters, build a story as they bump heads, and see what happens." This, of course, is a simplification, along the lines of gas meets engine and you get from Point A to Point B. Leonard's alchemy is much more than formula, but it is a good starting point for an analysis of what he does. It is not, however, an explanation of how, after 50 years, he continues to be so absolutely, breathtakingly masterful at it.
TISHOMINGO BLUES focuses on Dennis Lenahan, an itinerant stunt diver who drives his 80 foot ladder and water tank across the South from place to place for (hopefully) extended engagements, where he exhibits his prowess at double flips and the like before plunging, straight and true, into the water (it is noteworthy that Lenahan's ability is somewhat similar to Leonard's, in that they both take the exceedingly difficult and make it appear to be easy, when in fact, we, the audience, know it is not). Lenahan has barely arrived in Tunica, Mississippi, "The Casino Capital of the South," for a three week engagement at the Tishomingo Hotel and Casino, when he attracts the unwelcome attentions of a diverse group of individuals, all of whom are working at cross-purposes to each other.
Lenahan's dilemma begins when he witnesses an execution performed at the behest of Arlen Novis, an ex-law enforcement officer, who controls the area's narcotics traffic through Walter Kirkbride, whose mobile home construction business somewhat unwillingly cloaks Novis's illegal activities. Another witness to the execution is Robert Taylor, an affable Detroit con man who is in Tunica for purposes that run far deeper than pulling off a brilliant, if somewhat transparent, extortion sting.
Lenahan's involvement with the individuals is less unwitting and more unwilling, yet he is attracted to them, drawn further into their dance of deceit in spite of himself. It is Taylor, perhaps, who understands Lenahan best, knowing that any man who does what Lenahan does on a daily, repetitive basis has some self-assuredness and cool --- qualities that can be utilized if properly channeled. Matters come to a head, as they will, during a rather metaphoric Civil War reenactment that tackles old issues and new, with a morally ambivalent resolution. The good guys here are few and far between; Taylor, for all of his likability, is really no better than Novis. Such is the way of the world, the custom of the country. And it is precisely this quality that illustrates why Leonard's tales have something about them that have made the man a genre unto himself.
A reader comes to a book --- any book --- with certain expectations, wrought to some extent from formula. Let's examine one of them. Boy meets girl, boy almost loses girl, boy wins girl (or vice versa). Life doesn't follow this parallel, and it certainly doesn't in TISHOMINGO BLUES. Lenahan becomes interested and involved with a number of different women in TISHOMINGO BLUES, but it is impossible --- and I mean impossible --- to accurately predict with which one he will ultimately end up. The reader's initial reaction might be, "That would never happen." In the real world, it happens all the time. One simply does not expect it in the context of a novel. Similarly, while the novel's denouement is ultimately predictable, the way in which it occurs is a total surprise. Yet, it shouldn't be. Results, in the real world, often turn on seemingly unrelated factors. Such factors drive TISHOMINGO BLUES from beginning to end.
Leonard, now into his sixth decade of writing, continues to surprise, to delight, to entrance. TISHOMINGO BLUES demonstrates that Leonard's canny eye for observation and analysis of the human character, and human characters, remains as sharp as ever.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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