ICE

by Jack Gelber ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

The author of the notorious junkie play The Connection has written an honest, commendable first novel about a hipster's coming of age and acceptance of responsibility. Manny Fell, 26, citizen of lower Manhattan, goes out to look for a job and winds up with one of the most unlikely ones available: he becomes a department store ""fink"", which means he turns in thieves. But he never turns one in, and only indulges in some larceny himself. Emotionally, Manny is on ice, particularly when the unwelcome Louise decides to move into his cold-water loft as his mistress. He doesn't like her. But she constantly busies herself, paints the walls, decorates, gets him some suits, and carries on so well that Manny is soon de-iced with domesticity. When he's fired he goes on unemployment, and when the checks run out, he actually gets a respectable uptown job as a photographer for a large house, organ. He also outgrows many of his hipster companions. Gelber's squares in the department store and in a private detective agency are as authentic as his downtown types. There are wild parties, cops, straight loveless sex, and an impressive amount of vital writing without tricks.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964

Categories: FICTION