Rake: A Novel - Hardcover

Phillips, Scott

3.67

137 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 161902151X ISBN 13: 9781619021518

Publisher: Counterpoint, 2013

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The landscape of contemporary Paris, the best restaurants, the trendiest bars and clubs, is usually filled with the wealthy, the famous, and le rake or le rou�, the charming, educated sophisticate with little or no conscience. Into this cushy world bursts Dr. Crandall Taylor” or rather the actor who plays him the star of a dated American soap opera that is now one of the hottest primetime shows in France. And this newfound fame, as enriching as it is unexpected, is not wasted on Crandall, eager to put his dark and often violent American past behind him and enjoy all the fruits and the women that Paris and fame have to offer him.

But TV fame isn’t enough. Randall wants a feature film. Every actor wants a feature film, and so Crandall uses his charm and intellect to draw into his narcissistic web four different women: an executive at the network that runs his show; an American porn star reaching new heights on the internet; a bookish university student with a slightly nasty bent; and the beautiful would-be actress wife of an arms dealer. Against his better judgment, Crandall accepts both the arms dealer’s cash and his beautiful wife’s advances. Soon, Crandall is on the run through the alleys and streets of Paris, trying not only to fund a film but simply to stay alive. But this is no ordinary chase and Crandall is no ordinary mouse and soon his penchant for violence, sex, and megalomania erupts into full blown war.

Rake is the latest noir classic from the author of The Ice Harvest. It features a charming, despicable anti-hero and a funny, satiric take on modern entertainment culture. Phillips turns his gimlet eye on the lush life of an actor who, on his destructive tour through Paris, crosses the line from garden variety narcissism into full-fledged psycopathy.

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About the Author:

Scott Phillips is the author of The Ice Harvest, The Walkaway, Cottonwood, and The Adjustment. He was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, and lived for many years in France.

It’s maybe two or three AM when I awaken to the smell of Esm�e still clinging to the sheets and to the unmistakeable sensation of someone’s presence in the apartment. Esm�e left hours ago, and though the lights are out and I hear nothing but the sound of the air conditioner cycling my instincts tell me I’m right. Sliding off of the bed as quietly as I can, I crouch and try to remember where I put my telescoping baton. All right, got it, my inside sportjacket pocket, but where’s the jacket?
Too late for that anyway. Someone’s standing in the doorway of the bedroom, and I don’t know if he sees me or not.
I’m next to an end table, and as quietly as possible I run my hand over it, trying to remember whether there’s anything on it that might be used as a weapon. My hand clasps something oblong, made of stone and weighing a good two and a half kilos.
I’m creeping toward the figure when a flash goes off, the sound of gunfire mostly muffled by a silencer. A moment later my would-be killer flicks on the light switch and reveals himself: Claude Guiteau has come to do his own dirty work, using his own two hands. I’m almost proud of the old boy as I swing my blunt object down over his head. This all takes place in the split second he stands there puzzling over the fact that there’s no corpse in the bed, just a bullet hole in the pillow.

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