Scan barcode
lud's review
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
treandgro's review
5.0
If you were to pick up a novel set in Mississippi, you likely wouldn’t expect its protagonist to be a taxi driver. If you were picking up a book about a taxi driver, you likely wouldn’t expect it to be set in Mississippi. Such is my ignorance that I had to read the synopsis for this novel twice to be sure I had it right. A taxi driver ... in Mississippi? A day in the life of a taxi driver in Mississippi. Written by a former taxi driver in Mississippi. I had to read it, if even just for novelty’s sake.
My ignorance was quickly revealed upon starting this book. For all its madcap adventures, it’s genuine. I saw the many, many situations I’d overlooked. Of course there are taxis in Mississippi, and across the South. I see them nearly every day in Savannah (when I’m not sheltering in place, at least). And while I can count on one hand the times I’ve taken a taxi in the states (owing largely to the advantage of having had a car for my use in most cases, and having preferred the anonymity of public transportation in others), there are many times where people need a cab. “The Last Taxi Driver” put me in the car with them and let me see a bit of their lives. I could open to any spot in the book to dive in and be entertained before even turning the page, as colorful as each of the passengers and as fast-paced as the characterizations are.
In the space of about a day, the reader meets quite an array of characters, and learns a great deal about what makes their driver, Lou, the fascinating person he is. Passing the miles next to strangers and regular fares each day seems to have further broadened his already wide perspective on the world, which he explores further in a refreshingly frank narration that puts the reader right there with him from stop to stop, and through the caffeine-fueled imaginative interludes between. Lou goes through enough Red Bull in the course of this book to raise even the reader’s heart rate.
With distinctive dialogue I could practically hear, the scenes really came to life through Lou’s narration. I was most impressed by how vividly the story tracked his state of mind over the course of the novel, with his exhaustion clearly taking its toll on Lou’s state of mind and loosening his inhibitions to reveal more of his backstory. I appreciated how smoothly the details of his past were incorporated into the narration, mostly avoiding extended flashbacks and thus keeping the story’s momentum as it speeds toward increasingly surreal adventures en route to a surprisingly tense finale.
Buckle up a give this one a read. It's a great way to get out of the house.
My ignorance was quickly revealed upon starting this book. For all its madcap adventures, it’s genuine. I saw the many, many situations I’d overlooked. Of course there are taxis in Mississippi, and across the South. I see them nearly every day in Savannah (when I’m not sheltering in place, at least). And while I can count on one hand the times I’ve taken a taxi in the states (owing largely to the advantage of having had a car for my use in most cases, and having preferred the anonymity of public transportation in others), there are many times where people need a cab. “The Last Taxi Driver” put me in the car with them and let me see a bit of their lives. I could open to any spot in the book to dive in and be entertained before even turning the page, as colorful as each of the passengers and as fast-paced as the characterizations are.
In the space of about a day, the reader meets quite an array of characters, and learns a great deal about what makes their driver, Lou, the fascinating person he is. Passing the miles next to strangers and regular fares each day seems to have further broadened his already wide perspective on the world, which he explores further in a refreshingly frank narration that puts the reader right there with him from stop to stop, and through the caffeine-fueled imaginative interludes between. Lou goes through enough Red Bull in the course of this book to raise even the reader’s heart rate.
With distinctive dialogue I could practically hear, the scenes really came to life through Lou’s narration. I was most impressed by how vividly the story tracked his state of mind over the course of the novel, with his exhaustion clearly taking its toll on Lou’s state of mind and loosening his inhibitions to reveal more of his backstory. I appreciated how smoothly the details of his past were incorporated into the narration, mostly avoiding extended flashbacks and thus keeping the story’s momentum as it speeds toward increasingly surreal adventures en route to a surprisingly tense finale.
Buckle up a give this one a read. It's a great way to get out of the house.
rianreads's review
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This won’t be a book that I’m returning to, however it was funny in it’s own right. It was crass, it was brutal, it was a story of a man who the world ate and spit out.
The Last Taxi Driver faithfully lays out Mississippi in all of its good, bad, and ugly.
The Last Taxi Driver faithfully lays out Mississippi in all of its good, bad, and ugly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Car accident, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, and Drug abuse
jhen601's review
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
anonymouslizz's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, I don’t even know where to start with this book. I’ve never seen a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. And I think wretched is the most accurate part of that statement. Also, this book contains a very accurate description of going to Graceland. You go in a skeptic, and you leave a fan. What a story.
eeliizuh's review
DNF
eh it is just really boring. the concept seemed interesting but there's nothing getting me to actually finish it. just nothing exciting at all
eh it is just really boring. the concept seemed interesting but there's nothing getting me to actually finish it. just nothing exciting at all
honeydewfelon's review
5.0
I loved this book. It's filled with the most insane cast of characters, which you will love-hate as much as the narrator Lou does. It's been a long time since I've laughed out loud this much while reading a book. I think also yelled "eww" and "NO" a few times too. A brilliant book, one I will be recommending to Mississippians and non-Mississippians alike.
mwwoodmansee's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
brooklynbrianreads's review
4.0
This brilliant, funny, dark and deeply disturbing novel follows Lou, a taxi driver in a fictional Mississippi college town. His fares are "raven meth heads, spit-cupped bigots, shape-shifted alien suicide ex-cons, many of whom don’t have but three or four teeth in their skulls.” He also ferries around “piss-stained frat boy, racist lunatics and scrums of Adderall-vomiting coeds" all of whom lead him to abuse drugs, drink copious amounts of Red Bull and descend into mania. The writing is so good that even as Lou becomes more and more crazy, I could not help but laugh in his desperation.