All Involved
A Novel
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4.2 • 30 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A propulsive and ambitious novel as electrifying as The Wire, from a writer hailed as the West Coast's Richard Price—a mesmerizing epic of crime and opportunity, race, revenge, and loyalty, set in the chaotic streets of South Central L.A. in the wake of one of the most notorious and incendiary trials of the 1990s
At 3:15 p.m. on April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted three white Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with using excessive force to subdue a black man named Rodney King, and failed to reach a verdict on the same charges involving a fourth officer. Less than two hours later, the city exploded in violence that lasted six days. In nearly 121 hours, fifty-three lives were lost. But there were even more deaths unaccounted for: violence that occurred outside of active rioting sites by those who used the chaos to viciously settle old scores.
A gritty and cinematic work of fiction, All Involved vividly re-creates this turbulent and terrifying time, set in a sliver of Los Angeles largely ignored by the media during the riots. Ryan Gattis tells seventeen interconnected first-person narratives that paint a portrait of modern America itself—laying bare our history, our prejudices, and our complexities. With characters that capture the voices of gang members, firefighters, graffiti kids, and nurses caught up in these extraordinary circumstances, All Involved is a literary tour de force that catapults this edgy writer into the ranks of such legendary talents as Dennis Lehane and George V. Higgins.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Two years' worth of interviews with gang members, nurses, firefighters, and other Los Angeles residents went into the writing of this hard-hitting novel, which captures the chaos and anguish that engulfed the city in the spring of 1992. After Rodney King’s assailants were acquitted, the world bore witness to televised reports of the ensuing riots. But writer Ryan Gattis chooses to train his vision on the violence that erupted outside of the public eye, in the vacuum created by the mass mobilization of the city’s police force. Forceful as a fist and glinting with hard truths, All Involved fictionalizes a shameful side of urban American life that remains all too relevant today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in South Central Los Angeles in 1992, during the six days of rioting sparked by the Rodney King verdict, this violent, visceral novel from Gattis (Kung Fu High School) chronicles the intersecting lives of a diverse cast of characters caught up in the chaos, from business owners and nurses to drug dealers and gang members, the last of whom use the anarchy as an opportunity to take vengeance on those who have done them wrong. The narrative is replete with disturbing imagery like a firefighter getting his face crushed by a cinder block but the emotionally detached tone lessens the impact. In the end, this isn't a story about the events of the L.A. riots or even the people involved it's about the city and its ability to rise from the ashes and re-create itself into "something broken and pretty and new." Like the historical events it's based on, this page-turner is horrific, heartrending, and maybe just a bit hopeful.
Customer Reviews
All Involved by Ryan Gattis
An incredibly compelling read! It got a little slow for me in the part about the graffiti artist, but I think that could just be me. I really vibed off all the other sections. It is an excellent ground-level view of the LA Riots told from different, but unexpectedly interconnected viewpoints. You will enjoy this exciting book!