“Driven” by James Sallis – The Past Everlasting

Drive by James Sallis was certainly, in my opinion at least, a rather noteworthy novel, which goes double when viewed through the eyes of noir enthusiasts.

Though the fate of Driver is forever sealed as the one who goes down in a Tijuana bar at 3 AM, there were still many adventures to be had and trails of corpses to be left between now and then.

Driven is the sequel to the first novel, taking off a few years after the events of the first book. It opens with the murder of Elsa, the love of Driver's new life started from a clean slate, by some mysterious hitmen whom the latter quickly disposes of.

And so, Driver is once again plunged into the violent maelstrom that always lurked within him, embarking on a quest for vengeance and understanding, going from one chain link to the next hoping to reach the very top.

Just like with the first book, I wouldn't really advise anyone but real noir enthusiasts to read it. There are numerous lapses in logic, in the sense that it is never explained how one character knows something, or how Driver finds many of the people he stalks.

The emphasis is placed on the events themselves, and in order to truly find enjoyment in this kind of literature it is necessary to suspend your disbelief and focus on the significance of the many dark and grizzly happenings.

As far as the writing style goes, there is less jumping back and forth in time (though it still happens to a lesser extent), the sentences are generally short, as well as the chapters, with there being little text devoted to descriptions or in-depth analyzes of the various characters' thoughts.

It mimics the lifestyle of Driver himself, being constantly in motion towards an ultimate objective, only stopping to smell the flowers on the most special of occasions. It takes a bit of getting used to in order to be able to follow the course of the story, but it's certainly nothing which detracts the novel once it feels natural.

I have to admit that story-wise, the sequel is a bit weaker than the original, but it nevertheless remains a rather enthralling quest for vengeance, one that ends up being as gruesome, desolate and bleak as Driver's own world.

It is rather short, and as such it's really up to the reader to think the characters' development through based on their actions, and some may very well surprise you; there are indeed a couple of twists and turns which play well in contrast with the atmosphere of logical predictability established by Driver's cold and calculated methods.

And so, as I mentioned it before, if you liked the first novel and want to see Driver's adventures continued, if you are looking to get acquainted with Sallis' extreme version of noir literature, or just extend your exploration of it, then I definitely suggest you check this novel out, and the first one if you haven't already.

This one is a real treat for the enthusiasts amongst us.

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James Sallis James Sallis is an American writer, poet and musician, arguably best-known today for his contemporary noir novel, Drive, adapted into a critically-acclaimed movie of the same name in its own right in 2011. He has dabbled in many domains throughout his career, editing and writing numerous essays, biographies, criticisms, short stories, anthologies, and even musicology papers.