Allow me to presume that you are one of those mildly perverse people who finds delight in stories that run counter to your usual fuddy-duddy moral judgments offered in public. If so, then we know that there are several sure-fire kinds of narrative that never lose the naughty appeal of slumming with sharpies. Most prominent among them is the story of an elaborately planned heist, where the goal might be some obscenely studded necklace or a precious painting or a hefty bank delivery, and we catch ourselves complicit with the wicked, rooting for their success. Slightly below the heist in its endearing charms is a story about a sting or con-game in which we relish every maneuver in the amoral world of grifters, each doing dirty to each, villainy not only reciprocated but saluted by all concerned.
If the latter category captures your fancy, then don’t miss the novel Dizzy City, a virtual how-to manual in flim-flammery. Its author, This article appears in February 4 2008.
Politics
Faith
Culture
Vatican
Scripture
Podcasts