Dirty Work

If you're prepared to step into a not-so-well-known zone of emotion, turmoil, introspection, strife, heartbreak, and seemingly infinite, dogged self-questioning, then this story may begin to have a lasting effect on you. It is a brief but powerful exploration into a tumultuous, emotional maelstrom about men who have been at war and live its most personal aftermaths. This novel absorbs you, and if you are so inclined, produces an empathetic connection with you that may take a while, if it ever does, for you to break. Dirty Work is a glimpse at a pivotal moment in the lives of two men who are seemingly brought together for an important purpose. Both are victims of war through devastating wounds; physical, mental, and emotional; and are also victims of the aftermath of their recoveries. They each lived through their physical injuries but found, alas, that their survival placed them in another type of war; a war waged in the way that people react to them and in how they are expected to act around them. Being from different races and backgrounds, the main characters, Braiden and Walter, irreparably scarred by the Vietnam conflict, are brought together in the confines of a veterans' hospital and are initially wary of each other. But as they soon discover very quickly through their stories to one another, quickly imparting emotional and unspoken understandings, they are bound to form a special bond for a special purpose. The short time period covered in the "present" part of this story is told amidst non-stop, brief volleys of story swapping and philosophizing from Braiden and Walter. They speak of times when they were young, while in the war, about times after their war experiences, and about their present circumstances. Their exchanges are gripping, and you come to know each of these men at a level that gives you something akin to an emotional bond with them. They stay with you long after you close the back cover of the book.

Brown opens with a reference to "Johnny Get Your Gun," and the novel definitely contains parallels, but his pacing, characters and dialogue are far and away reason enough to pick this up. Like Thom Jones and Tim O'Brien, Brown elicits my great thanks and praises to both vets and the fact that I was born in 1972.

Dirty Work is the captivating debut novel from the finest novelist of this generation. Hailed as a modern Johnny Got His Gun, it lives up to and, at times, surpasses such comparisons. Brown's creative way of alternating the perspective, chapter by chapter, between the two main characters works beautifully. It's a fast and compelling read. The dark clouds that permeate Brown's style of storytelling are devoid of silver linings. The emotional landscape is often more stark than the gloomy physical settings where his stories unfold. I have turned many people on to this gem and all have come away as loyal Larry Brown fans. I do not think it's possible to be disappointed with this novel. Dive in with absolute confidence that Mr. Brown will take you where you need to go! You will want more when you are finished.

I was assigned to read just one chapter of this book as part of an advanced high school English class. The teacher had used a marker to blot out all the curse words. That one chapter effected so many people in the class that, over the next few weeks, many of us went out and got the book. The characters were that rich and the plot was that compelling that it got high school kids to read it on their own! That was when I was 17. Now I give the book often as a gift to friends at Christmas. I am now a literature major at a major university and still regard this as simply one of the most powerful novels I have ever read and constantly enjoy returning to it.