Nobody Move

A Novel

By: Denis Johnson

Narrated by: Will Patton

From the National Book Award–winning, bestselling author of Tree of Smoke comes a provocative thriller set in the American West.

Nobody Move, which first appeared in the pages of Playboy, is the story of an assortment of lowlifes in Bakersfield, California, and their cat-and-mouse game over $2.3 million. Touched by echoes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, Nobody Move is at once an homage to and a variation on literary form. It salutes one of our most enduring and popular genres—the American crime novel—but does so with a grisly humor and outrageousness that are Denis Johnson's own. Sexy, suspenseful, and above all entertaining, Nobody Move shows one of our greatest novelists at his versatile best.

©2009 Denis Johnson; (P)2009 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Will Patton delivers a flawless reading of Johnson's novel of life on the lam.... He embodies each character with absolute authority... [a] virtuosic performance.” —Publishers Weekly

“Will Patton's narration is so true to the mood, so evocative, that you'll feel like you've smoked a pack of Camels and swallowed a fifth of cheap vodka by the time it's all over.” —BookPage

“Will Patton gives real character to all the players, especially the protagonist, a gambling addicted singer in a barbershop choir named Johnny Lutz...A contemporary crime-noir masterpiece. Patton and Johnson make it all seem brand-new.” —AudioFile

“Patton's reading of Denis Johnson's noir novel Nobody Move is on my list of best audiobooks of 2009.” —St. Petersburg Times

“...A superb audio performance in a book that lingers on the edge of your consciousness.” —The Wintston-Salem Journal

Modern Noir Thriller

I am a huge fan of Denis Johnson, in particular of his poetic use of language in description and his crisp dialogue. In this novella, he focuses more on the characters and the dialogue than the use of poetic language. Therefore, I liked the book, but it doesn't match up to Tree of Smoke or Train Dreams. Still, a good read!

Excellent Reading of Johnson’s Tight, Brutal Text

Will Patton is one of our great audiobook narrators if you ask me, and he reads Denis Johnson especially well. He makes the prose sing and matches tone without overdoing it or distracting from the seamless flow of DJ’s inimitable sentence construction. DJ’s take on gritty crime/neo-noir here is well worth the modest length. We get plenty of well-formed characters in a short span—transgressive outsiders on the margins of American experience, written with bluntness and a grace unique to DJ . Recommended for readers of his other work, but not a bad intro to him either.

Great true feeling story

Will Patton delivers as always and Denis writes a mystery unfolding. A true genius book. He had such a short career. A favorite for me. One of my favorite writers.

Buy it and hang on tight

This is the best crime fiction, suspense thriller I’ve ever read. Denis Johnson’s prose in the hands of Will Patton makes this among the best, most intense audiobooks I’ve ever experienced.

Terrific

Wonderfull pace, great story perfect cast.
The music works as well!
Night recommend this book