the good, bad, and dirty dealings of big time sports

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	• The Agent George V. Higgins Harcourt, 1999 - 341 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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Better , but still relatively disappointing.

Looks like everyone's been a fan since "Friends of Eddie Coyle". Problem is, since say,"Cogan's Trade", the dialogue has so far outstripped the narrative that the plots are hard to follow, and, even more importantly, the conclusion is left up in the air. That's a real problem with this effort, too. Narrative returns, but exits shortly thereafter. And it seems like Higgins gets to the last chapter and decides, "I'd better finish this right now." Nevertheless, I always look forward to a new Higgins book. ("Swan Boats at Four" is a definite exception). Maybe it's the Woody Allen phenomenon: I keep hoping Woody will be funny again, and that George will write another "Eddie".

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the good, bad, and dirty dealings of big time sports

His 29th book, The Agent is all Higgins. Master of the literary thriller, he turns his eye for detail and his ear for dialogue to the high powered, high dollar world of sports agenting. If you care to learn this trade, just nod and fasten your seat belt, you're in for a swift education. Located in Boston, the good, bad and dirty dealings of big time sports where one hand pats the back as the other lifts the wallet, the reaching words of sincerity, the glowing warmth of the father figure and the comfy sense of security are all bigger than life when Alexander Drouhin come into yours. Football, baseball, basketball and hockey talent from all walks of life line up to hear what the great man cando with their lives: planning their future, assuring unlimited financial security and creating utopia. Never have so many made so much; greed is the way of life and America is the entertainment capital of the world with sports as the main attraction. Is this the way it works? It sure is. Who is the bad guy; the owner, the general manager, the agent or the client? Who can tell, they are contiually changing before your eyes. How do we sober-up and release from jail the NFL's leading rusher to make his role-model date at the YMCA camp? That's easy. How do we keep a NBA star out of the evening TV news after throwing his wife out the second story window of their home? That's a bit tougher, but can do. And along the way there is a murder to solve. This story is as currant as this morning's sports page. Higgins doesn't allow us to set in one spot very lonl. Good company for a lonesome night.

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Higgons adopts unusual narrative structure

The Agent by George Higgins is a curate's egg. As those of you familiar with Higgins' work will know, his speciality is description through conversation. It is an odd technique that is exemplified in The Friends of Eddie Coyle. The Agent, however, begins in far more standard narrative style. Sports agent Alexander Drouhin is negotiating deals. There is a great deal of description of his business, his house and his lifestyle. Then, at the end of part one, he is murdered (I can tell you this because it is revealed in the blurb). As a result the central character becomes Lt Francis Clay and the book's style changes radically, beyond anything seen in The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Parts two and three are not only almost entirely conversation, as Clay investigates the case, but they are long conversaions. Curiously, this radical departure from conventional narrative structure works. Of course, I'm biased, being a great Higgins fan, although I admit that he has written some dogs.

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reviews: page 1, 2

One of fiction?s keenest observers rips open the world of pro-sports agenting in this brisk tale of murder and mystery. Alexander Drouhin built one of the nation?s premier sports agencies through gritty negotiation and savvy marketing, but when he is found murdered-shot at close range-suspects, including his former clients and employees, abound.

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