Word: book
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...happens, this scene is also the one that unfolds in the first two chapters of Simon Lelic’s new novel, “A Thousand Cuts.” Lelic has mastered the tropes of the police drama. The book follows an order predictable to any viewer of such programs: exposition followed by introduction of law enforcement officials, whose own battles are then interspersed with testimony. Each witness’s deposition is even separated into a new chapter, much in the same way that “Law and Order” introduces a new witness...
...Basing a book around a police officer and the various testimonies she solicits may be a worn-out trope, but it must have provided an interesting exercise for Lelic. Lelic’s characters come from all walks of life, and he especially relishes in his attempts to mimic their speech. These narratives can be alternatively funny, melodramatic, and occasionally convincing. Other times however, they can be patently ludicrous...
Unfortunately, Lelic attempts to elevate his book beyond a simple description of life as we know it, trying to tackle tough issues like school shootings and sexism in the workplace. When reaching for this, his dialogue takes on a stilted quality, and ultimately the book never rises above the level of the clich?...
...that which could found—profanity excepted—on any crime drama. Lelic starts with a very familiar form, and he fails to make it his own. Instead he bets on riding the coattails of television shows, hoping that their success will be enough to keep his book afloat. It’s a gamble that ultimately fails...
...Terribly Happy” is based on a book by Erling Jepsen, a childhood friend of Genz. “He told me about his new idea for ‘Terribly Happy,’ and I immediately got captured. I thought it was a wonderful idea. He agreed on sending me every chapter he wrote, and I would comment on it while he was writing the book. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out a treatment for the film as he developed the story...