The Paperboy

Maybe it was a mistake to read the book after having watched the movie, but for once I actually thought the movie was better. I think because the movie was so graphic I was expecting a darker and more gritty read but it seemed to fall short. I think if I hadn't seen the movie at all I might have liked it better.

Dexter sentences are so sharp and clean he cuts right to the essence of each character and situation. So many people talk about tight pros and crisp writing that it's a cliche, but this is the real thing. His material is violent and masculine but I think with his talent he could write about nearly anything and make it interesting. The Paper Boy shows us how hard it is to get to the truth about anything. This is a novel that will outlast Dexter himself. Highly recomended along with Paris Trout and Brotherly Love. I wish Dexter would write another novel, and I bet his next one is about Hollwood. The corruption and BS out there ought to be good grist for his mill. HB

This is one of those books where you can't turn the pages fast enough. I sat up all night reading it. It's a devastating satire of post-Watergate investigative journalism, a splendid neo-noir, and one of the most tragic, haunting stories you will ever read. The plot involves the investigation of a murder in a small Southern town. Dexter writes twists and turns that are shocking, but seem chillingly inevitable once you've put down the book. I can't recommend this strongly enough. "There are no intact men." Amen.

I read "Paris Trout" (which I picked up wondering what the City of Light and fish have to do with one another) and was hooked. Pete Dexter writes books about people you don't really want to know -- racists, violent men, drunks, people who are depressed to the point of dragging you down with them -- but he gets his hooks in you on page one and never lets go. "Paperboy" is basically about failure and how close we are to it even when it seems that life is going OK -- something can come into our lives that takes it all apart. The story is magnificently told in prose so tight that you can almost hear typewriter keys clicking away (Pete Dexter's books don't read like they were produced on a word processor). Best of all, there are the many places in the book where the words "as if" or "like" appear. Nobody does descriptive comparisons better. This is a great book, just like the other Pete Dexter books -- you just can't go wrong with him.

Pete Dexter is one of the most overlooked writers around. His style is beautifully lyrical, insightful with great characterization. Granted, his stories are dark examples of the human condition but well worth the journey. If you want a fast-moving plot, a pretty story or happy endings, you won't find them here. What you will find is some of the best writing you will ever read. I must admit to a bias here because Pete and I worked together in the '70s at a couple of newspapers so I consider him a friend. But I'm also a book editor and reviewer and read a lot, and I've read all Pete's books and consider this one of the best. Now, if he'll quit writing movie scripts ("Rush" and "Michael" to name a couple)long enough to write another fine novel, we'd all be happy!

Pete Dexter is truly an amazing artist! This book will haunt you long after completing it. Take your time, read it slowly, the pacing is as important as the content. An engrossing, and at times harrowing, study of family ties, duty, pain, personal history, and ultimately self-destruction.