A quick read, I read on audio. An early work by Walter, who is on my "I'll read everything they've written" list. Set right before the Regan/Carter Presidential election and is about Vince, who makes donuts in Washington, but his past is coming back to haunt him. He's in the witness relocation program after turning on the Gotti mob family. ( )

Great crime fiction. Good characters, good plot, interesting background imagery of 1980 presidential election, all on interesting backbone of question of criminals' sacrifice of their citizenship tied to the protagonist's search. ( )

An enjoyable story that while not necessarily unique, is paced nicely with a nicely done narrative style. I was actually hoping for more of a twist ending, though the direction decided fit for the most part. ( )

this is so funny I was just randomly on this author's page and saw this book and remembered reading it...also remember a really brutal and hilarious imagination of Ronald Reagan on election night. ( )

Better than I expected. An sharp, humorous novel with the 1980 presidential election providing a refreshing philosophical background. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the moral wrangling of national politics alongside the stereotypes of everyday, disillusioned criminals and their corrupt counterparts. A good political twist of the crime novel with a style that pulled me along. I’ll have to read more of this guy, not bad at all. ( )

Very well written with an interesting plot, yet much like Walter's "Financial Lives of Poets" it seemed to add up to less than the sum of its parts somehow. I finished it with mild interest, but at no point was I riveted. ( )

Torn between 4 and 5 stars on this one. Engaging characters, from the main to the most incidental. It's hard not to like even the contract killer. The plot thread about voting gave the story humor and depth, although it's not lacking either one without it. Also a quick and fun read. If you liked Motherless Brooklyn I think you'll like this one. ( )

Jess Walter's finely-honed tale of a crook on the lam who discovers his humanity almost, but not quite, too late, on election day in 1980. Funny, elegant, moving work from a writer to watch. ( )

Quirky, well-written book. Enjoyable read as we follow a small time crook on witness protection program, wondering what being a straight citizen is like.

What a pleasant surprise. Last year I read "Beautiful Ruins" by the same author, and loved it. I picked up "Citizen Vince" anticipating more of the same fluid, literary, fiction. But "Citizen Vince" is nothing like his later work; it's crooks and cops and mystery, with a dash of political wit. Good stuff! It's rare and refreshing to find a writer with such an impressive range. ( )

I came across this book totally by accident, but it was a fortunate accident. A very clever plot and great characterisation drive this book on. Highly enjoyable and a writer to follow ( )

Jess Walter is an excellent writer. I get the same feeling from him as I do from a Nick Hornby novel. This books take place the week before the 1980 election. The main character Vince lives in Spokane as part of the witness protection program and will be voting for the 1st time. The voting thing is a running backdrop to this story about a life long petty criminal who is trying to change his life. His old life intrudes and creates the action of the story. This book is filled with great characters, good writing, and was a 300 page book that I read in 2 days. My second Jess Walter book and I look forward to reading all of his stuff. ( )

a quick read - a fun read and well done ( )

This is an interesting book. But because my head wasn't cooperating and my span of attention was very low, I missed quite a few clues and hints.
That's why I'm not sure why the book goes as it goes. I'll lend it out to someone first, after that I'll reread it. It annoyes me that it is still so fuzzy. ( )

Jess Walter's 2005 novel "Citizen Vince" won an Edgar Award for best crime novel of the year. I don't know of any award for best political novel of the year, but if there were, "Citizen Vince" might have won that, too.

Vince Camden's real name is Marty Hagan. He's an ex-con who was convicted of his first felony in his teens and has never been eligible to vote in his life. Yet he's now living in Spokane under a new identity in the witness protection program, and with the new identity, his felonies are erased and a card arrives in the mail making him a registered voter. Never mind that Marty, now, Vince, continues to work the old credit card scam he did back in New York. He just hasn't been caught yet.

But Vince learns Ray Sticks, a notorious mob hit man, is looking for him. Assuming the New York mob has found him and is trying to settle old scores, Vince returns to New York to try to buy his life back. The mobster takes his money but tells Vince the actual price is to kill Ray Sticks, who also turns out to be in the witness protection program.

All this takes place in late October and early November in 1980, when Ronald Reagan is challenging Jimmy Carter for the presidency. Vince may be battling for his life, but he's also, for the first time in his life, fascinated by the upcoming election. In a key scene, with Vince and Beth, his prostitute girlfriend, in grave danger, he manages to talk Sticks him into letting him vote.

The novel has a bit of the grit and the unpredictability of an Elmore Leonard story, yet "Citizen Vince" also reads like a literary novel. Jess Walter could have won an award for that, as well. ( )

Jess Walter has that "magic something" that puts him a notch above most contemporary novelists. There are so many ways in which this novel about a small time criminal living in Spokane, WA in a witness protection program could have gone wrong. Basic plot elements, style and charachters could easily have led this book straight into the immense garbage bin where not-that-good crime novels belong. But Walter adds his secret ingredients and this potentially weak noir story becomes a unique, brilliant, powerful, living and breathing work with the complexity and the cohesion of the best novels ever written.

Some reviewers said this is a book about citizenship as a conquer, and they are right. Some other reviewers said this is a book about redemption, and they are also right. Someone else said this book cannot be categorized or clearly labeled under a genre. I agree with that, too.

What elevates this book, in my opinion, is:
- the unusual level of depth (many memorable sentences and moments when you think "wow, that is actually right"!)
- the ability to make his charachters jump out of the page and be true and alive. You know how sometimes you feel a charachter in a book is being played by a b-movie actor? Well, it's as if Walter's charachters were played by some of the best actors who ever lived.
- the smart, omnipresent sense of humour.
- and, of course, the political sub-plot, centered on the presidential elections of 1980 and the meaning that political participation can add to an individual's life. Now, let's talk about this for a second. Too often I've seen authors trying to give me the "sub-plot" thing, while in reality what they were doing was just patching together different pieces of thoughts and failing miserably. One perfect example of this kind of failure, even if I only saw the movie, is "Killing them softly", movie with Brad Pitt. They tried to infuse that film with a "political sub-plot", failing in a spectacular way. Tv screens with Obama speeches in the background of many scenes, and a final cynical comment made by one charachter, do NOT make a political subplot. In "Citizen Vince", Everything converges to that focal point: the relationship between the individual citizen and the wider community, expressed in the right to vote. The meaning of your life as part of a much wider thing, the responsibility that comes with that and the privilege that it is to be a part of the democratic process, without any excessive patriotism or idealism, with all the proper doubts and questions posed at the right time, but with a message that comes out loud and clear despite the apparent simplicity of the plot.

Wow. To know that I will never be able to write like Jess Walter is a childish but really painful thought! ( )

Jess Walter has that "magic something" that puts him a notch above most contemporary novelists. There are so many ways in which this novel about a small time criminal living in Spokane, WA in a witness protection program could have gone wrong. Basic plot elements, style and charachters could easily have led this book straight into the immense garbage bin where not-that-good crime novels belong. But Walter adds his secret ingredients and this potentially weak noir story becomes a unique, brilliant, powerful, living and breathing work with the complexity and the cohesion of the best novels ever written.

Some reviewers said this is a book about citizenship as a conquer, and they are right. Some other reviewers said this is a book about redemption, and they are also right. Someone else said this book cannot be categorized or clearly labeled under a genre. I agree with that, too.

What elevates this book, in my opinion, is:
- the unusual level of depth (many memorable sentences and moments when you think "wow, that is actually right"!)
- the ability to make his charachters jump out of the page and be true and alive. You know how sometimes you feel a charachter in a book is being played by a b-movie actor? Well, it's as if Walter's charachters were played by some of the best actors who ever lived.
- the smart, omnipresent sense of humour.
- and, of course, the political sub-plot, centered on the presidential elections of 1980 and the meaning that political participation can add to an individual's life. Now, let's talk about this for a second. Too often I've seen authors trying to give me the "sub-plot" thing, while in reality what they were doing was just patching together different pieces of thoughts and failing miserably. One perfect example of this kind of failure, even if I only saw the movie, is "Killing them softly", movie with Brad Pitt. They tried to infuse that film with a "political sub-plot", failing in a spectacular way. Tv screens with Obama speeches in the background of many scenes, and a final cynical comment made by one charachter, do NOT make a political subplot. In "Citizen Vince", Everything converges to that focal point: the relationship between the individual citizen and the wider community, expressed in the right to vote. The meaning of your life as part of a much wider thing, the responsibility that comes with that and the privilege that it is to be a part of the democratic process, without any excessive patriotism or idealism, with all the proper doubts and questions posed at the right time, but with a message that comes out loud and clear despite the apparent simplicity of the plot.

Wow. To know that I will never be able to write like Jess Walter is a childish but really painful thought! ( )

Vince snitched on the mob in New York City, and now he's in Spokane as part of the witness protection program. He constantly fears that his old life is going to find him again, and his fears come true. This all happens against the backdrop of the 1980 presidential election: as Vince deals with all of the various threats on his life, he also realizes that this is the first time in his life that he can vote.

Walter is a wonderful writer, so the book is full of fascinating little turns of phrase. It is funny and suspenseful. Vince and the other characters in the book - including the presidential candidates - explore questions of identity, so there's some interesting food for thought. ( )

Lousy title, outstanding book. ( )

An engaging novel that reminds me of the best of Elmore Leonard. ( )

Frequently, Edgar Best Novel winners are a bit more literary that the usual run of mysteries and thrillers. This doesn't necessarily mean they're better books in terms of writing or entertainment, but that they examine a deeper issue than "whodunit" or "will the good guy escape the bad guy." Such a book is [b:Citizen Vince.]

When this book came into the house, my husband read it first. He warned me not to read the jacket copy before beginning it, just to plunge into the story, which was good advice. Therefore, I won't talk about the plot. [b:Citizen Vince|50614|Citizen Vince|Jess Walter|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1170370489s/50614.jpg|1101680] takes place mostly in Spokane, Washington in the fall of 1980. There are plenty of suspenseful moments and snappy dialogues, but the book also delves into questions of identity, both external and internal, in the main plot and the subplot. It's also quite well-written and for both the locations used, there's a strong sense of place. It's the character studies, though, that really make this such a good book. Even though there are eleven months left in the year, I'm sure this will be on my Ten Best list for 2013. Very highly recommended. ( )

I listened to Citizen Vince while reading Financial Life of the Poets. Maybe it was the being read to but I just laughed all the way though Citizen Vince, what a perfect amalgamation of cops, robber, and donut makers, with a special surprise guest appearance by John Gotti. One of my top reads of this year. Financial life of the Poets was good also but done better by Dave Zeltserman in "Outsourced". But Jess Walter - I will read everything he wrote and writes. Hope he'll be around doing a reading soon, I'd like to meet him. ( )

Bought this on a recommendation, it is fine as a light read.
Part thriller, part character piece, it reminded me a little of one of those American films where the anti-hero wanders round, getting mixed up with all kinds of incongruous characters along the way but there seems to be no overall purpose or meaning. It's OK, but not really that believable or engaging. ( )

Top 5 author - love love love ( )

I find one of the great pleasures in life is visiting other people's homes and exploring
their bookshelves. There is no telling what is going to be found there, but it is almost
guaranteed not to be anything I would normally find to read. (Rented beach homes are
my absolute favorites, mostly because of the trashy, sexy novels you find there. I wish
I had that much fun when I went to the beach!) This is a book I found in Seattle. Funny,
entertaining, and a great way to pass a couple of lonely days while my hosts were at work. ( )