Review: Drama City

The release of a novel by George Pelecanos is always like Christmas Day for this reviewer, as his work is of such power that I find his words resonates in my mind long after the gift is put back on my shelf. Drama City, like all his work is all about character, and the lives of those who live between the cracks of our society. It's not about bulky guys wielding MI6's and rocket launchers, or feisty blonde female detectives with attitude. Pelecanos's work is about wiping the slime from a burger wrapper, or avoiding eye-contact with the guy with the scar or watching out for the shards of a glass bottle. His work is about survival when walking down the middle of the street can get you killed. In Pelecanos's world the good guys are often worse than the bad guys. His work always looks at the social adhesion / cohesion that is absent in the lower layers of our world. His Washington backdrop could easily be transferred to Manchester or Birmingham or any big city, because the problems he writes about are universal to the inner city and always filled with drama.

Drama City in my opinion is his most ambitious. We have the tale of Lorenzo Brown, former convict, former drug enforcer now Humane Society Officer protecting dogs from human cruelty - which is a really neat metaphor for this tale. Now estranged from his wife and daughter, he keeps himself on the straight road with his canine friends. Like Pelecanos' previous work, we have an array of multi- faceted characters, each dealing with their own issues, such as the hideous Rico 'Creep' Miller as well as the Drug Overlord Nigel Johnson. Add to the mix Lorenzo's parole officer and friend - Rachel Lopez, who at nights trawls the bars looking to lose herself in drink and sex. Then things really change in Lorenzo's world when Rachel ends up dead on a gurney.

With a turf war brewing, Lorenzo is forced to look back at his past and decide what his options are. This is a heroic drama about a guy facing up to his destiny in a world that has more than two sides, and far too many sharp edges. The really terrifying thing about this story is the hordes of disaffected youths in the inner city ready to take the place of any of their fallen comrades, because Lorenzo the Canine Protector knows that in the guts of the city, it is a dog- eat- dog world. In some ways the book plays out like a Greek Tragedy, but for me, it is just world class literature from the quiet man from Washington. A word of warning - it has soul as well as teeth. Highly recommended.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Ali Karim - RAM

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: Drama City

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.