Ladies' Man: A Novel

A coming of age story for the almost middle-aged. Laugh out loud funny at times, "Ladies' Man" takes the reader on a week-long journey into the mind of the recently dumped Kenny. A rollercoaster of emotions, desires, and failures, Price explores his familiar themes of loneliness, urban isolation, ego, and lust.Outside of the plot, this book gives a great description of NYC in the late 70s. Price, one again, captures The City at its gritty, seedy, and struggling core with a cast of unlikable characters that beg to be loved.Unlike "The Wanderers" and "Clockers" this brand of Price takes a little getting used to and at times makes the reader as mentally exhausted as the characters. A typical chapter might end something like, "and as he crawled into the cab, tired and red from shame, he couldn't help turning around one last time to see if she was still sitting on the stoop, willing him to come back." The sentence supposedly closes out that scene and the reader expects the next chapter to introduce another. But, noooo, Price doesn't let you get off that easy. We are dragged into a kind of monotonous despondency that it closer to real life. The first line of the next chapter doesn't take us easily into "THE NEXT PIVOTAL MOMENT" such as we expect from novels, but continues right where the character left off. "The cab smelled like plastic and smoke and as he gave the driver his address he couldn't help but noticing the smirk the driver gave him in the rearview mirror."Overall, a good typical Price read that takes us into the scariest place there is: into the recesses of our own pathetic, insecure, yet surprisingly resilient, minds.

I bought the original paperback in 1979. Since then I've read it every other February. Now that I have the Kindle,I'll continue reading it. Can't explain why. There's never been a book quite like this one. The novel grabs you with its uncanny descriptions that stay embedded in your mind long after reading it. The characters are so alive that they seem to jump out at you. Every day of the week is a chapter that threads the story. The best one is SATURDAY.Anyone who is romantic about Saturdays, how the day went, who you saw, where you ended up that night, willbe riveted to what happens with Kenny Becker. From sundown on, his Saturday becomes a inglorious specter of packed movie theaters in Time Square, sex clubs, walk-a-thons under freezing weather with his friend Donny, and a nightmare tour of gay clubs from Hell.Nobody writes like Richard Price.

Another excellent, high-class novel of real life. Kenny, a bum who gets by somehow, refuses to mature and sees his life drifting away. Chance encounters make this memorable tale a fun yet serious story. Richard Price, as entertaining as ever.

I'm reading this book for the 3rd time in a row. Each time it gets better.As opposed to other Richard Price books, where the reader and writer have to juggle about 25 characters at once, this book focuses on just one guy and what he goes through during the week he breaks up with his girlfriend. You really get inside this guy's head. He's funny, smart, a nitwit, and full of himself.The book is a series of actions (e.g., the protagonist comes home and finds his girlfriend using a vibrator) and reactions (he flips out). He has sad sex with a hooker and then thinks about taking her out to dinner. His best friend from high school admits to homosexuality, and the main character struggles to maintain a straight face.I envy Price for writing this book.

It’s okay. Clockers and Lush Life were his best. It’s an alright read.

If you have read just about any of Price's other books, don't bother finding this one. If you have never read any, skip this early effort and read any other of his better books.

Well written as are all Price's books. The plot, however, was disappointing. Took the book on vacation and struggled with it.

The story started out unique and funny but I didn't feel that it ever came to a resolution. I got bored with it, which was disappointing

How the author of the brilliant Samaritan and Clockers could have written Ladies' Man is beyond me. Yes, writers mature and grow more skilled but the difference between this clumsy first person rant of an immature narrator and the beauty and economy of Price's later novels is hard to fathom. Recommended only for dyed-in-the-wool Price fans.