This version of "American Gangster" I read is based on the movie itself, so I reckon it is pretty much a close fit to the movie version.
I was drawn to the book on account of the apocalytic 'good-vs-evil' theme. Personally, there's always something faintly cathartic in these kind of books, in that you are able to participate vicariously in such epic fight for nothing less than triumph over the bad/good (depends on who you are rooting for).
Notwithstanding the promising introduction at the back cover, the book's not really a good read for me. The storyline essentially played to stereotypes: from the black druglord (played by Washington in the movie), to the posse of dirty cops, and to the white cop (incarnated by Crowe in the movie) who leads a band of undercops in the bid to bust the dope ring.
Even the backdrop of America and the Vietnam War era carried the faint tinge of déjà vu. There are no defining, insightful moments where one is tempted to go "wow, what a good point", not even "hmm, interesting".
The ending, well, ended predictably, with the 2 protanganists metaphorically walking into the far horizon. Another trite moment (thinking cowboy and hero-themed movies).
If I had ever evinced a desire to catch the movie prior to reading this, I think I will probably wait for the VCD (or DVD) version instead.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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