Chili Palmer is the iconic, ultra-cool protagonist of Elmore Leonard’s novels Get Shorty (1990) and Be Cool (1999). A former loan shark from Miami who finds his real calling in the shark-infested waters of Hollywood, Chili’s "story archive" is a masterclass in calm, collected professionalism.
Elmore Leonard’s signature "sound" is perfectly encapsulated in Chili—brief, punchy sentences and a refusal to use "he said" or "she said" unnecessarily. chili+palmer+story+archive
Leonard famously omitted the boring parts of a story. In the archive, you will find no long descriptions of Chili’s car ride. Instead, you get pure dialogue. Chili talks his way out of a beating. He talks his way into a studio lot. He talks a B-movie actress into believing he is a genius. The archive preserves a masterclass in "showing, not telling." Chili Palmer is the iconic, ultra-cool protagonist of