The Blue Suit: A Memoir of Crime

by Richard Rayner

Book Overview

Furiously written with a sardonic air of grace, this unforgettable memoir of crime and misdemeanor is both tragic and comic--an inspired act of retrieval. Rayner had a peripatetic childhood, but he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0395752884
• ISBN13: 9780395752883
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

An interesting book

An interesting book about the thrill of breaking the law, our tendencies to collect things and the compulsion to steal. Some great bits of humor in it as well. If you can't get enough of books either, then try this one.

Reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can.....

This is a compelling read. I have had the book for some time and just never read it.... But when I finally did pick it up I didn't put it down (except to eat and sleep) until I finished it. It is very reminiscent of Frank Abagnale's memoir Catch Me If You Can in that both writers were devastated by fathers they both loathed and loved and as a result turned, themselves, to lives of crime. Psychologically, it is very interesting, although it does not pretend in any way to be an analysis of the writer's actions or thinking or even feeling. This book has been described as humorous, but I didn't find it funny at all. It is painfully sad and excruciatingly honest and describes various situations the author got himself into, but funny they are not. In fact, after many of the crimes and weird situations with people he knew, he burst into tears, not being able to explain why. It's something we can all feel without having to know. I love to find such honest books. It was a delight to read and now I will move on to Rayner's other books.

An excellent book of self-discovery

I picked up this book on a lark and was very, very pleasantly surprised. The book is subtitled, "a memoir of crime," but the book is less about the author's life of crime than it is about his examination of himself. The story goes: Rayner, the author, is a smart Cambridge student whose life stifles him, so he turns to a life of petty crime and deception. Along the way, he grapples with such issues as love and whether he is destined for this life of lies (his father was a crook). But the tale is told through the lens of the middle-aged Rayner, reflecting on his upbringing. "The Blue Suit" is a colorful coming-of-age tale told with the powerful but delicate voice of a man reflecting on his growing up. I highly recommend!

Fascinating and candid confessional

I read an excerpt from this book in Granta and couldn't put it down. What's so riveting about a guy talking about his former life of crime? In this case, he's a Cambridge student who steals for thrills. You keep wondering, "When is he going to get caught?" It's not a moral tale of a fall from grace and subsequent redemption. It's more like the strange tale of a man's youthful excesses