Cool Hand Luke

A fine yarn, told by a good story teller who knows of what he writes. Puts you right in the convict’s shoes.

I'm just getting around to reading the book version of Cool Hand Luke, after having watched the movie several times over the years, although only in pieces, and I usually fell asleep while watching it. After reading it, I'll say I love them both but actually prefer the movie version.Donn Pearce, the author, was in prison himself among other activities in life (such as joining the merchant marine), so there's some authenticity to the story. What added some interest for me was the prison in the story is Florida State Prison in Raiford, which I passed by every time I went to Gainesville during my seven years at UF. I'd also read that some of the road work scenes were filmed in Jacksonville, though it must have been the outskirts at the time. They also had the actors help pave an actual section of state road for the movie.So I got a copy of the book and dove in. There are some nit-picky issues with editing that those not in publishing won't really notice, but the book and movie are essentially identical. That's probably because Pearce wrote the screenplay. The book also uses some racial epithets that really don't add a thing to the story other than to reflect some of the ignorant attitudes of the time. After reading the book, I found the movie online and watched it all the way through, and I think Pearce took great advantage of a rare opportunity - he got to make important improvements to the original story.While on the surface, it's a story about a non-conformist who doesn't fit in (a major theme of the 1960s), and who others look up to as a role model of "coolness" under pressure, it seems to also be about a larger issue. Prison could be thought of as a metaphor for life on earth, and the Free World (as Pearce calls it) is heaven. They all had an original sin - Luke's was cutting the heads off parking meters. The guards and the Captain ("What we got here, is failure to communicate") maybe represent organized religion or even government when it dictates how we live our lives. Luke seems to know the True Way, contrary to the way enforced by beatings and punishment, and seems to live as an example to others. Luke also embodies humility. "Sometimes, 'nothing' is a really cool hand," he says after bluffing his way through a poker game, earning his nickname.Luke is a Christ figure - more clearly so in the movie than in the book. He meets every hardship with a relaxed and calming smile, advising others to always play it cool. He turns the other cheek when he boxes with Dragline (a scene only in the movie), he tries to treat the Man With No Eyes with kindness by handing him his walking stick, but spends the night in the box for it. He performs miracles like eating 50 eggs in one hour.The guards want to break him, but they never do. Three escape attempts fail. One attempt, he tries to make it in the Free World and can't. Wandering in the wilderness, maybe - he realizes the truth and resigns himself to his fate. The third attempt ends in an old church as dilapidated and disused as organized religion itself. Luke pleads with God to show him the way, and he gets shot in the throat, fulfilling the Captain's promise to shoot him if he tried again. They couldn't get Luke's mind right, because Luke's mind was the only one that was right.A key difference between the movie and the book was in the final scene. In the movie, the Captain drives Luke off to the prison hospital and runs over the mirrored sunglasses of the Man With No Eyes, crushing them. It's as if to show that Luke "broke" the system or maybe took away its blindness in return for the system breaking Luke. The book's ending is less symbolic.In the book, the narrator is a fellow prisoner. He occasionally intrudes on the story, and one time starts to remember something from his WWII Navy days, but nothing of this narrator is ever developed, just that he's called "Sailor." The movie drops him completely.Luke had been in the Army in Europe during the war, won silver and bronze stars, but got busted to private before being discharged. The book further develops his war days, with his squad moving through Italy and Germany, literally raping and pillaging as they went. Luke stalked a girl up the stairs of one house and cornered her in the bathroom before gaining his senses when he looks up at a crucifix on the wall. This was probably the start of his disillusionment with society and his failure to reconcile killing in war with religious teachings. At age 28 on entering prison, this would make the story take place in the early 1950s.The movie is a better-told story, but the book is definitely worth reading. As I said, the author made many vital improvements and incorporated them into the screenplay. Cool Hand Luke is a timeless story, and is a vital part of our cultural heritage. The characters and dialog are still popular to quote and are as relevant today as when written over forty years ago.

I thoroughly enjoyed this telling of the saga if Cool Hand Luke. The format was great as was the character development. I have been a fan of the movie adaptation for years. The cast was perfect for the characters shown in the book. I could visualize them in the book. Mr Pearce did a fantastic job. Highly recommend this book. I will definitely be checking his other works. Thank you for a fun read.

The movie did do the book justice, but not enough. Donn Pearce gives his experiences on a chain gang in Central Florida with colorful narration and eloquent prose. The beginning page gives just a glimpse of Pearce’s work. The author wrote the screenplay and was nominated for an Oscar. The narrative and description of one of the most miserable existences, grips you and yet it is Shakespearian with its delivery. The book is narrated by one of the gang members, “Sailor” as oppose to the movie in which “Dragline” narrated. The character, Lloyd, “Cool Hand Luke” Jackson does not come into the novel, some 50 pages in, but he is talked about before he arrives. Cool Hand is a symbol of rebellion. It is not just within the ranks of a road gang, but in the spirit of the Sixties that Pearce, gives us this hero. The real beauty of the book, is not just the story, but the prose that Pearce slams the reader. The description of men working and just trying to catch a glimpse of a woman, or the pain of being put in “The Box” makes this book a classic in the darker side of American life. The capturing of Southern dialogs and spirit of the horrendous conditions makes it a great read. Pearce is an author whose talents rivals that of John Fonte, Charles Bukowski, and Hubert Selby. If you love reading the former authors, you will love Pearce. He is an author much overlooked, but his best work was Cool Hand Luke.

Took me back to the first time I saw the movie which created a timeless portrait of Paul Newman as Luke.The book tells more about the daily misery and boring routine most of us couldn't begin to survive. Good read.

I did like the book. I wanted to read it because I was a fan of the film version and the book was just as enjoyable as I thought it would be. Plus a few who I know who’ve read this also appreciate it as well.

I've been on one hell of a lucky streak with reading good books. This book is fantastic. This is old school writing, not the homogenized big-box-store style of writing so popular today. Written in a unique, unforgettable voice, it has the dim glow of greatness humming up from its pages, a kind of once-in-a-lifetime act of lightning-catching, mysterious and beautiful and sad and defiant, everything that makes great art.I've seen the movie at least 20 times. I watch it whenever I start to get them ol' existential doldrums. But this is the first time I read the book and I tell you that it is a different experience and worth reading even if you're familiar with the film. It's not better or worse, just different, and the moment I finished the book I knew I'd read it again. There aren't many books I read more than once.Read it before or after the movie, or on its own. It doesn't matter. It's a great tale, a book to tuck in your pocket and take to the grave.

It doesnt happen very often, but this time the movie is better than the book. You have to see Paul Newman at his best.