Easy Money

Daryl Moore
Outskirts Press (2010)
ISBN 9781432754266
Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (11/10)

 

In Daryl Moore’s “Easy Money” Skip and Greg begin a self-destructive life style, which leads to drug related violence, police harassment, and incarceration. With dreams of fast cash and attracting women the duo begin by selling marijuana in an upscale urban community.

Moore uses the platform of fiction to deliver a message. His protagonists portray the results of the impact on the dire future of American’s urban population centers where the image of success is not the “solid citizen,” the responsible husband and father, but rather the “hustler” selling dope and exploiting teens and children.

Skip and Greg come from two different lifestyles. Skip comes from a household with little parental discipline or accountability while Greg is subjected to a high level of expectation for assuming family responsibility, holding a job, with the goal of college and legitimate and legal income. Skip is motivated by the lure of easy money with no qualms of conscience.

In “Easy Money,” Moore’s writing is engaging. His descriptions of nature and animal life give evidence of a strong gift and talent. Interaction among his characters reveal Moore’s insight into the reality of the problems faced among urban teens, specifically in the black community. He clearly illustrates the confusion of values prevalent: the hopelessness of dead end jobs, the feeling of injustice experienced among today’s youth, and the disgust of a night spent in county jail. Daryl Moore has the potential of becoming a strong voice and influence on the future for urban youth. However, I was disappointed that his focus was on a repetition of graphic drug experiences, sexual scenes, and innuendos, and stereotyped characters than on the potential social value of his writing. My four star rating is based on Daryl’s engaging writing style and to encourage him to continue to alert society of the plight of America’s urban population.

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