Lush Life

Lush Life is the highly acclaimed 2008 novel by Richard Price, best known as one of the writers of HBO's The Wire. Set in New York City's Lower East Side, the book works on several different levels. It is, of course a crime novel, and it works especially well as a mystery and a 'police procedural'. But it is also a very insightful study of a community in transition due to the 'land rush' of the last decade. Price very successfully portrays every socio-economic strata of the borough, from the Chinese and Hispanic underclass all the way to the mostly white yuppies, wannabe artists, actors and other strivers who are helping to gentrify the area.

The story has several characters at its center: Eric Cash, a 35 year old would-be actor who is just about to give up his dream; Matty, the detective who tries to solve the crime; and Tristan, the inner city kid who was unwittingly involved. Price displays each perspective with gripping psychological realism and succeeds in generating considerable sympathy for the motivations and difficulties of the criminals, their victims, and the police. Price's characters and dialogue really draw you in, and the plot keeps you hanging to the very end.