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Available
Description
In a modern-day pirate story, ambitious documentary filmmaker Dara Barr and her right-hand man, Xavier LeBo, a seventy-two-year-old African American seafarer, get more than they bargained for on the Horn of Africa.
User reviews
LibraryThing member KLTMD
Elmore Leonard has been around. He has written westerns, crime fiction and more recently television. He has graced the cover of Newsweek and is allegedly adored by the cognoscenti. This book, "Djibouti" is vintage Leonard.
Dara Barr, a thirty-something film maker, cruising about the Horn of Africa
In short a documentary is (was) shot over month on the ground and at sea. That's the easy part. We are never sure what the plot is quite about, not a bad thing or unexpected from Leonard, No sides are taken, only Dara and Xavier brushing up against the gang, most of whom really can't shoot straight.
Leonard always works it out in the end. He does here as well; by then, I didn't care. If you love Elmore, go for it. No one is better at what he does.
Dara Barr, a thirty-something film maker, cruising about the Horn of Africa
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filming Somalian pirates with Xavier LeBo a man mountain of an assistant-protector-factotum. The characters are stock Leonard, not a bad thing. The billionaire, the girl friend, the local Chief of Police, a glancing blow of CIA, and bad guys all of whom play shape shifting roles while the action takes place in both present and past tense. In short a documentary is (was) shot over month on the ground and at sea. That's the easy part. We are never sure what the plot is quite about, not a bad thing or unexpected from Leonard, No sides are taken, only Dara and Xavier brushing up against the gang, most of whom really can't shoot straight.
Leonard always works it out in the end. He does here as well; by then, I didn't care. If you love Elmore, go for it. No one is better at what he does.
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LibraryThing member cfink
There are books recently where I felt Elmore Leonard was mailing it in. Not so Djibouti. This book has the rich, comic-tragic characters that made Rum Punch, Be Cool and Get Shorty, Maximum Bob, and so many other books a treat to read. As the jacket cover reads, no one is who they appear. No one is
Dara Barr and her assistant Xavier go in search of modern day pirates for a documentary. On the way they encounter Idris, a successful pirate with his own justification and moral code. They meet Harry (Ari Ahmed Sheikh Bakar), ostensibly a diplomat helping the west, but with his own shady dealings. Then there's Billy Wynn, imposing his own justice, and his girlfriend Helene, trying to hang around for the big payout. Their documentary turns Hollywood, as Leonard points out the folly of the current state of affairs in Djibouti and the Gulf of Aden.
If you've drifted away from Elmore Leonard recently, give this most recent effort a shot. Very entertaining.
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good or bad. In other words, the characters, although over the top, are true to life.Dara Barr and her assistant Xavier go in search of modern day pirates for a documentary. On the way they encounter Idris, a successful pirate with his own justification and moral code. They meet Harry (Ari Ahmed Sheikh Bakar), ostensibly a diplomat helping the west, but with his own shady dealings. Then there's Billy Wynn, imposing his own justice, and his girlfriend Helene, trying to hang around for the big payout. Their documentary turns Hollywood, as Leonard points out the folly of the current state of affairs in Djibouti and the Gulf of Aden.
If you've drifted away from Elmore Leonard recently, give this most recent effort a shot. Very entertaining.
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LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35
Young, Oscar-winning documentary film-maker Dara Barr and her 70-something assistant / protector Xavier LeBo set out to make a movie about modern day pirates on the Horn of Africa. Dara is fearless and she and Xavier go after the story like war journalists.
They hang out with successful pirates.
The story is told as Dara and Xavier review their footage and because I was listening to a playaway as I was doing other things, I sometimes got lost, not easily following if the plot was being told as a "Hey, remember when this happened and how do we use it in the film?" or if it was a flashback and being told in real time.
Leonard doesn't really make judgments on the people in the book. Everybody is out for self. It all gets tied together in the end, but it's pretty over-the-top unbelievable. I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but it was odd enough that it was worth the read.
They hang out with successful pirates.
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They meet a billionare who is sailing around the world to test his new girlfriend Helene. Helene is pretending like a champ that she likes sailing so she can marry a rich man. Then there is James Russell, who reinvents himself in a Miami jail to become Jamal Raisuli, al-Queda bomb-thrower when he is released. Somehow all of these characters intersect.The story is told as Dara and Xavier review their footage and because I was listening to a playaway as I was doing other things, I sometimes got lost, not easily following if the plot was being told as a "Hey, remember when this happened and how do we use it in the film?" or if it was a flashback and being told in real time.
Leonard doesn't really make judgments on the people in the book. Everybody is out for self. It all gets tied together in the end, but it's pretty over-the-top unbelievable. I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but it was odd enough that it was worth the read.
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LibraryThing member Kaysee
Not one of his better books. Starts out boring and doesn't really captures the attention. For the most part it reads like a cut rate tv movie. Not really believable.
LibraryThing member andy475uk
Not the best Elmore Leonard I've ever read (and poor in comparison to "Road Dogs") but as usual had a number of wry and witty moments.
LibraryThing member joeltallman
Somali pirates and al Qaeda terrorists don't at first seem to fit into an Elmore Leonard novel, and it takes a while for the feeling of disconnect to wear off. Add to that the weird plot construction of the first 100 pages--involving the two main characters reviewing video on a computer screen
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while they deliver entirely clunky exposition, each telling the other facts of which they're both aware, just for the benefit of the reader--and this book seems to sag at first. Even the biggest fans of Elmore Leonard dialogue will find that the characters--black, white, African, American, male, female, rich, poor, the third-person narrator--all seem to sound the same, all dropping the same pronouns and conjunctions ("The Foreign Legion checking out the passengers, seeing could they tell a terrorist they saw one.") At the halfway point, the book's narration becomes straightforwardly chronological, the death count amps up, and it turns into an Elmore Leonard tale like any other we love. Show Less
LibraryThing member command3r
Djibouti is the story of a female documentary maker in East Africa, working on her next documentary: a feature on the modern day pirates of Somalia. The novel opens up with Dara, the filmmaker, and her assistant Xavier about to embark on a month long tour of the Gulf of Aden in search of pirates.
As though commiserating with his readers, Elmore relents for the last part of the book and abandons his documentary style literary device to drive a more action oriented storyline that evolves from seemingly nowhere. The first half of the book does nothing to set up the second half except to establish that the cast of characters is in Djibouti, a fact that astute readers deduced from the title. So while it felt as a relief to move forward out of the docu-style, readers would find a hard time caring about the characters for the lack of motive and development. In fact, when the climax occurs through an act that revealed to be the goal of both the protagonists and antagonist, the question arises: What was the point?
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What starts out as an interesting premise then falls flat when the story cuts to a month later upon the duo's return to Djibouti. The tale of what happens during their month at sea is told through Dara's editing process, as she and Xavier discuss the footage she shot and the story behind it. While the idea of a story about the shooting of a documentary being read documentary style may be an intriguing literary device, it is a poor story telling device. In pursuing this device Leonard sacrifices both character and plot development. A third of the way through the book the reader still has yet to discover the plot. In fact, the lack of a cohesive plot is a recurring theme in the novel. As though commiserating with his readers, Elmore relents for the last part of the book and abandons his documentary style literary device to drive a more action oriented storyline that evolves from seemingly nowhere. The first half of the book does nothing to set up the second half except to establish that the cast of characters is in Djibouti, a fact that astute readers deduced from the title. So while it felt as a relief to move forward out of the docu-style, readers would find a hard time caring about the characters for the lack of motive and development. In fact, when the climax occurs through an act that revealed to be the goal of both the protagonists and antagonist, the question arises: What was the point?
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LibraryThing member jastbrown
This book had nothing that I was interested in.. no empathy with any of the characters or their shenanigans, a plot revolving around stories that I'm tired of reading about in the news.. nothing that I could or wanted to personally connect with, and yet I enjoyed it. Which shows me that even an
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Elmore Leonard book in which I had no personal interest or empathy with is better than 90% of what other authors are publishing! Show Less
LibraryThing member Capybara_99
"Djibouti" has its pleasures and its oddities. The book has a full, or full-enough, quotient of Leonard's strengths: colorful characters; a tale of people of all stripes on the make, in one way or the other; catchy, rhythmic colloquial dialogue; a strong sense of place.
The plot isn't terribly
That said, I found the book pleasant enough. I would not start here, if I didn't know Leonard, but if I were advising someone who is a fan of late Leonard, I'd say, "go ahead." Sitting back afterwards, there is much that is amusing about it, and the greatest accomplishment of the book, in my opinion, is that it convinces me the Djibouti probably really is populated with the same set of half-competant hucksters, swindlers and bad guys familiar from Leonard's American cities.
The plot isn't terribly
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gripping; even when it kicks into gear in the second half, there is a lazy sense of Sunday afternoon torpor to the whole thing, which seems sort of odd given that it is set among pirates, terrorists, amateur intelligence agents, and documentary filmmakers in the horn of Africa. But of the toropr is due to the decision to narrator a great deal of the book as dialogue, usually between two people, in retrospect, about things that have just happened -- casting much of the book as awkward exposition between people who both know what already happened. Sometimes literally, and sometimes figuratively, the book is situated as two people reviewing raw footage they've just shot, deciding what movie to make out of it. I think it is an interesting conceit, but not interesting enough to make up for the problems it introduces.That said, I found the book pleasant enough. I would not start here, if I didn't know Leonard, but if I were advising someone who is a fan of late Leonard, I'd say, "go ahead." Sitting back afterwards, there is much that is amusing about it, and the greatest accomplishment of the book, in my opinion, is that it convinces me the Djibouti probably really is populated with the same set of half-competant hucksters, swindlers and bad guys familiar from Leonard's American cities.
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LibraryThing member glendalea
I usually enjoy Elmore Leonard's works, but his latest, Djibouti, did not meet my expectations. It wasn't until page 130 or so (out of 279) that things started to pick up a little, only to slow down again. I don't know whether it was the lack of character development, the constant change of point
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of view (both character- and time-wise), or simply the subject matter, all I can say is that I sincerely hope this is not the best that Leonard has left to offer. Show Less
LibraryThing member Larxol
Despite the rusting factories and soup kitchens, Detroit still has one thriving industry, namely crime writer Elmore Leonard. America’s Living National Treasure takes a break from his usual petty hoodlums to have fun with an international terrorism thriller-chaser set in Djibouti. Leonard sends
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his main characters to the Horn of Africa to film a documentary on the pirates operating from the coast. Events go in unexpected directions when the pirates hijack an LNG tanker for which Al Qaeda has other plans. There are lots of characters, all with motives working at cross-purposes, which keeps the pace thumping along. Most of the folks don’t survive until the end. But 85-year-old Leonard lets the guy over 70 get the girl – probably time to invest in your local distributor for Horny Goat Weed. Show Less
LibraryThing member sprocto
I haven't read Elmore Leonard in a while so was excited to get this as a member review book. I enjoyed parts and yet not the whole. The subject was interesting - Somali pirates - and the characters were in the vein of Get Shorty in their absurdity. But to me it seemed the flow of the story was
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jerky and none of the myriad subplots were completely realized. I wish I could say I liked it more. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamSattler
Will the real Elmore Leonard please stand up?
"Djibouti," Mr. Leonard’s latest offering, reads as if it has been written by two separate authors. The first 130 pages of the novel are some of the dullest I have read this year, bar none; the last 150 comprise one of the most interesting thrillers I
The premise of the book is a good one. Award-winning documentary maker Dara Barr has come to Djibouti with her trusted cameraman to film Somalian pirates in the act of hijacking western ships and holding them for ransom. Xavier, her 72-year-old cameraman, secures a boat and the two set out on the open sea in search of a few pirates they can call their own. Dara believes, rightly, as it turns out, that even Somalian pirates want to be in the movies, and she is confident that she and Xavier can talk their way out of any trouble they might find themselves in.
But here comes the problem. Rather than show all of this lead-in action in real time, Leonard chooses to have Dara and Xavier discuss it as they think about how they will edit all the raw film footage they have accumulated. The resulting pages make for some excruciatingly dull reading - surprisingly, even to the dialogue between the two main characters. I say “surprisingly” because, as he reminds the reader in the second half of the book, well written dialogue is consistently one of the best things about an Elmore Leonard novel.
When the pair of filmmakers stumbles onto an al-Qaeda plot to blow up a huge liquid natural gas tanker at an LNG terminal in the U.S., and Leonard finally shifts to a real-time narrative, the book takes off and becomes the thriller I expected it would be. As he so often does, Leonard surrounds his main characters with others that are so cleverly rendered that they begin to outshine the characters on which the book is centered (Dara and Xavier). Readers will definitely be entertained by this cast of characters: Billy Wynn, a rich Texan who seems to have some unusually close ties to American intelligence agencies; Helene, high fashion model and Billy’s girlfriend who is on an around-the-world cruise with Billy to see if she can qualify as marriage-material; James Russell, a black ex-con from America, and one of al-Qaeda’s finest bombers and assassins; and two rather ineptly comical pirate leaders just trying to make a dishonest buck for themselves before they get shot by someone.
The second half of "Djibouti" makes its first half worth the effort. I did come very close to missing it, but I am happy that I did not give up on the book too soon to get there.
"Djibouti," Mr. Leonard’s latest offering, reads as if it has been written by two separate authors. The first 130 pages of the novel are some of the dullest I have read this year, bar none; the last 150 comprise one of the most interesting thrillers I
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have come across in 2010. The premise of the book is a good one. Award-winning documentary maker Dara Barr has come to Djibouti with her trusted cameraman to film Somalian pirates in the act of hijacking western ships and holding them for ransom. Xavier, her 72-year-old cameraman, secures a boat and the two set out on the open sea in search of a few pirates they can call their own. Dara believes, rightly, as it turns out, that even Somalian pirates want to be in the movies, and she is confident that she and Xavier can talk their way out of any trouble they might find themselves in.
But here comes the problem. Rather than show all of this lead-in action in real time, Leonard chooses to have Dara and Xavier discuss it as they think about how they will edit all the raw film footage they have accumulated. The resulting pages make for some excruciatingly dull reading - surprisingly, even to the dialogue between the two main characters. I say “surprisingly” because, as he reminds the reader in the second half of the book, well written dialogue is consistently one of the best things about an Elmore Leonard novel.
When the pair of filmmakers stumbles onto an al-Qaeda plot to blow up a huge liquid natural gas tanker at an LNG terminal in the U.S., and Leonard finally shifts to a real-time narrative, the book takes off and becomes the thriller I expected it would be. As he so often does, Leonard surrounds his main characters with others that are so cleverly rendered that they begin to outshine the characters on which the book is centered (Dara and Xavier). Readers will definitely be entertained by this cast of characters: Billy Wynn, a rich Texan who seems to have some unusually close ties to American intelligence agencies; Helene, high fashion model and Billy’s girlfriend who is on an around-the-world cruise with Billy to see if she can qualify as marriage-material; James Russell, a black ex-con from America, and one of al-Qaeda’s finest bombers and assassins; and two rather ineptly comical pirate leaders just trying to make a dishonest buck for themselves before they get shot by someone.
The second half of "Djibouti" makes its first half worth the effort. I did come very close to missing it, but I am happy that I did not give up on the book too soon to get there.
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LibraryThing member CraigStepp
Djibouti is on the Horn of Africa and the Gateway to the Red Sea. Dara Barr is a documentary filmmaker in Djibouti to make a film about Somali pirates. Dara and her cameraman, Xavier get more than they bargained for.
Somali pirates with RPG's and brown wingtips, al Queda terrorists, billionaire
Can you say Hollywood movie.
Somali pirates with RPG's and brown wingtips, al Queda terrorists, billionaire
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Americans with supermodel girlfriends, gentleman gun runners, a charming pirate leader and a trail of dead. Can Dara get her film and make it out alive? Can you say Hollywood movie.
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LibraryThing member dmclane
Frankly, this was the first book in a long time that was a struggle to read. I'm told the disjointed prose, flat characters, and subjects are vintage Leonard. Well, if we all liked the same thing there would be trouble; so Elmore Leonard fans, rest easy, I'll not compete for available copies.
While
One of the great things about the “Early Reviewers” program on Librarything is the opportunity to try a new author’s work. I’ve found several that I have subsequently bought or borrowed and enjoy greatly this way. The best thing about this book is that I did not have to pay for it. I will not be hunting other works by Elmore Leonard to read.
While
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I found the subject, pirates of Somalia, intriguing; and the idea of them as, somehow, an adjunct to, or dupe of, Al Qaeda terrorists more so. There was nothing to support this in the book other than the author’s desire to have a subject, “ripped from the headlines.” Coupled with some of the worst stereo-typical characters I’ve encountered outside of television in a long time, made reading this, for me, a chore. One of the great things about the “Early Reviewers” program on Librarything is the opportunity to try a new author’s work. I’ve found several that I have subsequently bought or borrowed and enjoy greatly this way. The best thing about this book is that I did not have to pay for it. I will not be hunting other works by Elmore Leonard to read.
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LibraryThing member mikedraper
Dara Barr, an award winning filmmaker decides to do a documentary about the Somalia pirates.
She's accompanied by her cameraman and confidante, Xavier LeBo, who stands six-foot-six inches tall and is a vigorous age seventy-two.
They travel to Djibouti, in Northeast Africa, a country bordering
In their search, they meet various people, most of whom are not what them seem to be, at first glance. There is wealthy Texan, Billy Wynn. He lives on his yacht with his companion, Helene. She is a former model who Billy promises to marry if she proves acceptable by not becoming seasick or restless on his yacht. Billy seems like a playboy but has another side to him when dealing with the pirates or al Queda terrorists.
Xavier introduced Dara to her first pirate, a likable man named Idris. Idris is now retired and drives his Mercedes as a status symbol. He tells Dara that he can introduce her to other pirates. One of his friends is Jama, an African American al Queda Muslim who becomes a cold hearted killer and wants to make a statement by blowing up something.
The story is interesting and the characters certainly different. It was bothersome that Dara had such an accepting attitude toward the people who were killing others. She took everything without much emotion as she sipped champagne in her hotel or on her boat.
Xavier is an interesting character and will be someone that the reader remembers.
Readers will enjoy this story that tells a different part of the Somalia philosophy. The pacing was well done and the dialogue masterful.
She's accompanied by her cameraman and confidante, Xavier LeBo, who stands six-foot-six inches tall and is a vigorous age seventy-two.
They travel to Djibouti, in Northeast Africa, a country bordering
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Somalia. Dara views the pirates as the underdogs. The people have little income and high mortaility and malnutrition and yet are brave enough to attempt to stop the massive tankers crossing their waters.In their search, they meet various people, most of whom are not what them seem to be, at first glance. There is wealthy Texan, Billy Wynn. He lives on his yacht with his companion, Helene. She is a former model who Billy promises to marry if she proves acceptable by not becoming seasick or restless on his yacht. Billy seems like a playboy but has another side to him when dealing with the pirates or al Queda terrorists.
Xavier introduced Dara to her first pirate, a likable man named Idris. Idris is now retired and drives his Mercedes as a status symbol. He tells Dara that he can introduce her to other pirates. One of his friends is Jama, an African American al Queda Muslim who becomes a cold hearted killer and wants to make a statement by blowing up something.
The story is interesting and the characters certainly different. It was bothersome that Dara had such an accepting attitude toward the people who were killing others. She took everything without much emotion as she sipped champagne in her hotel or on her boat.
Xavier is an interesting character and will be someone that the reader remembers.
Readers will enjoy this story that tells a different part of the Somalia philosophy. The pacing was well done and the dialogue masterful.
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LibraryThing member SandyLee
The Middle East is the setting for the latest Elmore Leonard romp. Dara Barr wants to film a documentary about pirate hijacking. There are a number of colorful characters from a Texas billionaire, a fashion model, terrorists, and Dara Barr’s cameraman, Xavier LeBo. What starts out as a serious
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undertaking ends up as a possible big screen movie and Dara realizes that there are too many delicious things going on for a documentary to be taken seriously. Helene, the model girlfriend of the Texas billionaire, is along for the ride and a lot smarter than people think and much more entertaining. It’s hard to keep track of who’s doing what to whom and whom to trust. Unlike previous Leonard books, Djibouti is long on characters but short on laughs. Helene is about the only one that brings out a few chuckles. Not quite Leonard’s best. Show Less
LibraryThing member iubookgirl
Djibouti follows documentary filmmaker, Dara Barr, and her right-hand man, Xavier LeBo, in a quest to make a documentary about Somali pirates. They travel to Djibouti and spend several weeks at sea gathering footage. The book begins with Dara's arrival in Djibouti, but once they set off on their
I know, this is sounding really complicated and hard to follow. While I may not be explaining it well, this narrative device isn't hard to follow as a reader. It's really an interesting concept and succeeds in conveying the story. At the end, I felt like I'd just read the rough cut of a film. Leonard is extremely clever in his execution.
That being said, I did have trouble getting into Djibouti at first. From the opening page, I found Xavier's dialect jarring. I had to re-read the first page a few times to get the rhythm of his speech, which does not pay much attention, if any, to sentence structure. I kept getting confused by words missing from sentences. I did get used to it after awhile, but never felt completely comfortable with it. My other nit-picky complaint is the lack of a map. I'm not very familiar, okay, not at all familiar, with the geography of the region in which the story takes place. I finally used my smartphone to pull up a map so I could see where the heck Djibouti is (just north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa).
Despite these complaints, I found myself continuing to read. I think I was fascinated by the subject matter and the way in which the story was being told. This is the first book by Elmore Leonard I've ever read, and I'd be willing to read another in future. I've seen some mixed reviews out there, but I think Djibouti is well-executed despites its oddities. If you are a true Leonard fan or are intrigued by the rough cut film narrative device, you should read Djibouti. Otherwise, you can probably move it to the bottom of your TBR pile.
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rented boat, Leonard cuts back to their return to Djibouti. Through the majority of the novel, Dara and Xavier's view points are conveyed through a review of this footage. The reader isn't reading the events firsthand, but reads them through the lenses of Dara and Xavier's hindsight. The reader does, however, get to know what happens outside of the film footage. After hearing from Dara and Xavier, the reader is taken back to the action to see the roles of the other characters play out.I know, this is sounding really complicated and hard to follow. While I may not be explaining it well, this narrative device isn't hard to follow as a reader. It's really an interesting concept and succeeds in conveying the story. At the end, I felt like I'd just read the rough cut of a film. Leonard is extremely clever in his execution.
That being said, I did have trouble getting into Djibouti at first. From the opening page, I found Xavier's dialect jarring. I had to re-read the first page a few times to get the rhythm of his speech, which does not pay much attention, if any, to sentence structure. I kept getting confused by words missing from sentences. I did get used to it after awhile, but never felt completely comfortable with it. My other nit-picky complaint is the lack of a map. I'm not very familiar, okay, not at all familiar, with the geography of the region in which the story takes place. I finally used my smartphone to pull up a map so I could see where the heck Djibouti is (just north of Somalia in the Horn of Africa).
Despite these complaints, I found myself continuing to read. I think I was fascinated by the subject matter and the way in which the story was being told. This is the first book by Elmore Leonard I've ever read, and I'd be willing to read another in future. I've seen some mixed reviews out there, but I think Djibouti is well-executed despites its oddities. If you are a true Leonard fan or are intrigued by the rough cut film narrative device, you should read Djibouti. Otherwise, you can probably move it to the bottom of your TBR pile.
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LibraryThing member lchav52
I like Elmore Leonard. He has a way with dialogue and settings that put me right into his story in a way not quite like any other writer. That's why the beginning of this book threw me for a loop. Everything seemed a bit off. Having read previous Leonard books, though, I cut him more slack than I
Djibouti of the title is the setting, along with the Somali coast, where a bright young documentary maker and her assistant plan to make a film about the Somali pirates, the men and their prizes. To tell this story, they meet with pirates, rent a boat and sail for a month amongst the pirate-held ships, and meet a couple of al Quaeda terrorists, in addition to a curious billionaire who may not be what he seems.
The movie quest soon stands aside for a threat big enough to rival 9/11, and the plot wraps up in typical Leonard fashion.
My problem, interestingly enough, had much to do with the way the dialogue was handled, a sort of broken patois, confusing at times. A fair part of the story was told in retrospect, switching from watching footage of an event to the event itself, and it was a bit jarring for me at times. Still, while I wouldn't call this one of Leonard's best, by far, it turned into an enjoyable read.
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might have for another, and was ultimately rewarded for it.Djibouti of the title is the setting, along with the Somali coast, where a bright young documentary maker and her assistant plan to make a film about the Somali pirates, the men and their prizes. To tell this story, they meet with pirates, rent a boat and sail for a month amongst the pirate-held ships, and meet a couple of al Quaeda terrorists, in addition to a curious billionaire who may not be what he seems.
The movie quest soon stands aside for a threat big enough to rival 9/11, and the plot wraps up in typical Leonard fashion.
My problem, interestingly enough, had much to do with the way the dialogue was handled, a sort of broken patois, confusing at times. A fair part of the story was told in retrospect, switching from watching footage of an event to the event itself, and it was a bit jarring for me at times. Still, while I wouldn't call this one of Leonard's best, by far, it turned into an enjoyable read.
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LibraryThing member repb
I tried not to like this story, filled as it is with pretty low class profanity, but I did anyway. He is just too good a writer.
LibraryThing member mckall08
"Djibouti" has all the element Elmore Leonard is famous for: snappy dialogue, interesting characters, smart tough guys & gals, along with complicated villains. They all display fatal and semi-fatal flaws as well as charms.
Dara Barr is an award winning cinema verite documentarian, not unlike Errol
There is a multi-layered plot. It brings together Dara and Xavier with Billy, a zillionaire would be meglomaniacal anti-terrorist agent-without-portlolio and his girlfriend Helene They are sailing around the coast in Billy's luxury sailboat. Helene, a tough-minded, wise cracking broad who could be played by a your Lauren Bacall, is under Billy's test for a future wife. Can she follow Billy's orders, sail, fire an elephant gun, provide the right kind of sex? There are elements of "Key Largo" here.
I won't go into the intriguing local, police, US Embassy and CIA types or the two Al Qaeda guys bent in blowing up an LNG Tanker.
The point of view switches from real action to Dara & Xavier commenting on the video they have shot.
Leonared artfully but not perfectly pulls these lines together for a conclusion which is satisfying but a little rushed.
I agree with some of the other reviewers, not Elmore Leonard's best, but well worth reading.
Dara Barr is an award winning cinema verite documentarian, not unlike Errol
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Morris. She has linked up with sailor of fortune Xavier DeBo with local smarts, to film the coastal piracy scene along the African Coast. The Republic of Dgibouti is made to be the Casablanca of the piracy world.There is a multi-layered plot. It brings together Dara and Xavier with Billy, a zillionaire would be meglomaniacal anti-terrorist agent-without-portlolio and his girlfriend Helene They are sailing around the coast in Billy's luxury sailboat. Helene, a tough-minded, wise cracking broad who could be played by a your Lauren Bacall, is under Billy's test for a future wife. Can she follow Billy's orders, sail, fire an elephant gun, provide the right kind of sex? There are elements of "Key Largo" here.
I won't go into the intriguing local, police, US Embassy and CIA types or the two Al Qaeda guys bent in blowing up an LNG Tanker.
The point of view switches from real action to Dara & Xavier commenting on the video they have shot.
Leonared artfully but not perfectly pulls these lines together for a conclusion which is satisfying but a little rushed.
I agree with some of the other reviewers, not Elmore Leonard's best, but well worth reading.
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LibraryThing member wilsonknut
I've always heard from respectful writers that Leonard is a master of dialogue. I read Freaky Deaky years ago and thought it was okay. Unfortunately, I had to abandon Djibouti at page 70.
The premise sounded really interesting: modern day pirates in Somalia. The story involves Dara, a documentary
Why drive the narrative by having the protagonist talk about the video she shot as she watches it, instead of following the events firsthand? It just doesn't work. It seems like Leonard had an interesting idea, but he didn't feel like taking the time to flesh it out into a good book. I rarely abandon a book, but I can't justify spending more time on this.
The premise sounded really interesting: modern day pirates in Somalia. The story involves Dara, a documentary
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film-maker who wants to get the pirates' point of view, and her camera man Xavier. Large portions of what I read were Dara and Xavier watching video they shot on a laptop. There is the action and dialogue in the video, which also involves Dara and Xavier, and there is the dialogue and ponderings of Dara and Xavier in the hotel room watching the video. They keep saying things like remember when this happened or when you said this. Dara keeps thinking about how she will narrate the video, which is annoying. It's almost impossible to keep track of what's going on or when Dara and Xavier are talking in the video or when they are talking to each other in the hotel room. The characters are all pretty flat and boring. It's just convoluted and seems to be going nowhere. Why drive the narrative by having the protagonist talk about the video she shot as she watches it, instead of following the events firsthand? It just doesn't work. It seems like Leonard had an interesting idea, but he didn't feel like taking the time to flesh it out into a good book. I rarely abandon a book, but I can't justify spending more time on this.
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LibraryThing member Tasker
I'm a big fan of Elmore Leonard so I always look forward to his new books. I wish I could say that this was a great book but it was just so-so (I can't give one of my favorite authors only two stars). Maybe it was the story location or characters but I found I was easily distracted while reading.
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However, the dialogue makes his books and I would have finished this one whether it was 300 or 800 pages - easy, enjoyable reading but not memorable. Show Less
LibraryThing member Camellia1
While I didn't completely hate this book, I was disappointed in it and had to force myself to finish. Somehow, the author takes what sounds like a really exciting plot (pirates! terrorists! boats that could explode any time!) and makes it really boring. I didn't really like any of the characters,
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and was fairly grossed out when quite a bit of time was spent on the relatively young filmmaker having sex with her much older assistant. It didn't add anything to the story and just creeped me out. While I have enjoyed other Elmore Leonard books, this one just did not do it for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member hardlyhardy
“Djibouti” (2010), written by Elmore Leonard when he was in his mid-80s near the end of a long and productive life (he died in 2013), may not be his most compelling novel, yet it is still a marvel. Leonard always carefully researched his novels, and he seems to know Djibouti as well as he knows
Dara Barr plans to make a film about the pirates preying on merchant ships around the Horn of Africa and holding them for huge ransoms. But to get the footage she needs for her film, she must get close to the action and to the pirates themselves. Yet the pirates seem almost tame in comparison with some of the other characters in the novel.
There's Harry, for instance, a wealthy American auditioning Helene to become his next wife. His objective, other than Helene, heavy drinking and shooting guns, is to blow up a ship laden with liquified natural gas just to see what happens.
Then there's James Russell, an American who changed his name to Jama Raisuli and became a terrorist because he likes killing people. Now he's out to kill anyone who knows his real name, including Dara. Sometimes he tells people his name just to have an excuse to kill them. And he, too, wants to blow up that ship just for the fun of it.
This is wild stuff, sometimes confusing, told by Leonard in brief and vivid scenes. sort of like the cuts in a film.
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Detroit, Miami Beach and Hollywood in so many other books. This story is about a documentary filmmaker in Djibouti, and it has the realism of a good documentary film with the pace and tension of a thriller.Dara Barr plans to make a film about the pirates preying on merchant ships around the Horn of Africa and holding them for huge ransoms. But to get the footage she needs for her film, she must get close to the action and to the pirates themselves. Yet the pirates seem almost tame in comparison with some of the other characters in the novel.
There's Harry, for instance, a wealthy American auditioning Helene to become his next wife. His objective, other than Helene, heavy drinking and shooting guns, is to blow up a ship laden with liquified natural gas just to see what happens.
Then there's James Russell, an American who changed his name to Jama Raisuli and became a terrorist because he likes killing people. Now he's out to kill anyone who knows his real name, including Dara. Sometimes he tells people his name just to have an excuse to kill them. And he, too, wants to blow up that ship just for the fun of it.
This is wild stuff, sometimes confusing, told by Leonard in brief and vivid scenes. sort of like the cuts in a film.
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Awards
Goldsboro Last Laugh Award (Shortlist — 2012)