Havoc in the Hub: A Reading of George V. Higgins

Havoc in the Hub brings to light the long-neglected work of George V. Higgins, revealing the wealth of intellectual, social, literary, and religious thought that underlies his 25 novels and numerous other works. Higgins’s writing, fed by equal parts wit and sorrow, touches our senses, emotions, and minds. Peter Wolfe makes a resounding contribution to the study of this writer. Wolfe places Higgins’s work in its geographical context and outlines the many sources from which Higgins drew during his highly productive career. The first in-depth examination of George V. Higgins, Havoc in the Hub will interest scholars, graduate students, and lovers of Higgins’s work alike.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1. A Nose for Danger Chapter 2. Chasing Down the Mischief Chapter 3. The Guys onna Street and Others Chapter 4. Post-Hardboiled Chapter 5. Some Words onna Street Chapter 6. The Street Talks Back Chapter 7. With Friends Like These Chapter 8 Conclusion

About the Author :
Peter Wolfe is the Curators' Professor of English at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Review :
With this excellent study of Higgins, Peter Wolfe sustains, in his twentieth book, my judgment that he is the liveliest and wisest of crime fiction critics. His style and intellect were at high energy in his previous book on James Ellroy's shot-gun depiction of the sordid mysteries of Los Angeles. Wolfe adjusts his colorful style and delving intellect to do justice to Higgins' more controlled artistry and his objective analysis of Boston crime. I have followed Wolfe's work over four decades; I would follow him down any mean street he chooses. A new study by Peter Wolfe is always a cause for celebration, and Havoc in the Hub: A Reading of George V. Higgins is no exception. Perceptively written, critically astute, Wolfe's latest is an engaging read that informs us as much about the dynamics of the creative process as it does the importance of Higgins' work. George V. Higgins, perhaps the contemporary American writer most gifted at making the commonplace fascinating, is himself made fascinating by the gifted and incisive Peter Wolfe. The synthesis of the author, his world, and his work is explored here with a precision and perception that hold the reader tight to the page. George V. Higgins changed the face of American crime fiction, and his first published novel, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, is one of the genre's enduring masterpieces. His extensive body of work is overdue for the thorough, sympathetic reading it receives from Peter Wolfe, who in this book shows scholars, students, and fans how to begin taking Higgins seriously as a teller of crime stories, a chronicler of the city, and an American novelist. Wolfe should get a medal for this sympathetic and perceptive analysis of a most gifted writer. At last - a scholarly reading of George V. Higgins by Peter Wolfe, who previously pioneered scholarship on Hammett, Chandler and Macdonald. His knowledge of the genre and broader literary context make this book a must for anyone interested in Higgins' characters, plots, and themes. Wolfe's own writing is lucid and enjoyable, and he offers here a clear-eyed evaluation of a writer whose place within crime fiction is assured....Recommended.