Matchstick Men: A Novel About Grifters with Issues

Matchstick Men by Eric Garcia

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I came to this book after re-watching the 2003 Nicholas Cage movie.

I liked the Cage movie a lot for the manic energy that Cage brought to “Roy” and for the eventual hopeful redemption arc that ended the movie.

I like the book somewhat less, which is not to say that I didn't enjoy the book.

In the book, Roy and Frankie are running short cons that net them an income - a pretty big, tax-free income if one is wise enough to bank it in the Caymans like Roy. The problem is that Roy has a pretty pronounced Obsessive-Compulsive disorder that is making his life miserable. Fortunately, his psychiatrist helps him formulate a father-daughter relationship with Angela, his long-forgotten daugher from his one, failed marriage.

Roy and Frankie are good at the con game. We see them effortlessly shake down marks throughout the book, which is part of the fun of the book. But through it all, we know that they are evil, miserable SOBs, particularly when they are coming up with games to fleece a widow or the victims of debilitating diseases.

The book is highly readable. I read it a few sessions. The prose style puts the reader at the level of the grifters who are always on the hunt for a score. I guess the reason that ultimately I related more to the movie rather than the book is precisely because the movie introduced a false to the story Hollywood redemption arc, whereas the book was truer to the reality of the characters and the story. Ultimately, I understood that Cage's character knew he was evil and regretted that fact, whereas book Roy is satisfied with his evil.