Drama City

I loved Drama City! I've read (I think) about six Pelecanos novels now, and after reading the most recent books (prior to the Martini Shot [Short Stories] - the Cut and the Double with Spero Lucas as the main character) I've got to say that Drama City, similar to the Sweet Forever and The Way Home, is absolutely one of Pelecanos' best. I especially appreciated Pelecanos' way of weaving the stories of the supposedly "bad" (but actually, reasonable - even principled!) drug lords, such as Nigel, and his former enforcer-turned jailed-turned humane society/dog police official Lorenzo Brown. You have, basically, night and day here - always side by side, with the characters' negative past always within reach (or even ready to collide with the main characters), no matter how far they distance themselves from it.

What separates Drama City from the pack - I think - is how beautifully Pelecanos writes some of the scenes - you can tell he spent extra time detailing what it would be like. For example, the walk between the two warring drug capos, Deacon and Nigel through a football field, their protectors left staring at one another outside their parked vehicles. The capos more or less walk back in time (this is not said, only alluded to), to a simpler point where they could have been schoolmates - graduating, in a way, from the classroom to the more lucrative (not in terms of money, but certainly in terms of power) drug trade. They discuss an issue of mutual interest in such a way that the reader is left believing that a thing such as trust could exist between two worthy rivals. HA! Pelecanos has you again, human nature intervenes - these are arch rivals, after all, with nearby kingdoms (city blocks, really).

I think this one certainly comes across as one of the best thought out novels. I did catch Pelecanos recycling many features he seems to use in all of his books - the [somewhat] graphic love/sex scenes, the way thugs kill their rivals. Some of the "really" bad guys - I swear - you see them appear with new names/faces/identities in other books. I also think I picked up on another Pelecanos technique of having his new characters nod to his old ones in passing (I think Derek Strange showed up here in one passage, an old detective going into his office) - maybe a way for Pelecanos to pass a baton of sorts - respecting the old work while forging a new path with the new one.

Yeah, what can I say - I loved this one. What's not to like about Lorenzo Brown - he spends all day cleaning up other people's problems - the problems they cause for beings that have no way of communicating effectively with their negligent families (referring here to the relationship between a pet and the owner - the owner should care for the pet, but that's not a given!). He succeeds, he fails, but most of the time he's cleaning up after them. How different is this really than the negligent fathers or mothers in disrupted families, whose lives rip them away from those they were supposed to protect or guide? They're not, really - but Pelecanos seems to argue that many do patch together families and aren't destined to be stray or abused dogs. Lorenzo rescues "rescues", but other groups, such as community alcoholic reunions, also rescue and reunite people.

Yeah, tip the hat to Pelecanos here. Drama City is my favorite and a winner. It's more subtle and maybe even simpler than, say, the Turnaround or the Way Home, but it's unique and special in its own way. Loved it.

Pelecanos is the best. He knows the local area, & has a spiritual component in most of his books. Much better than James Patterson & the other knuckleheads.

Very good writing and plot marred by an disingenuous ending that seems to be more dropped in than integrated in the story. I would recommend GP's earlier novels

This was my first Pelecanos book, and I really enjoyed it. It feels just like the Wire, the characters and plot gradually developing. I was sad when it ended, and can't wait to read another Pelecanos.

A steady read, but not one of his best efforts. A slow moving character study

I pretty much devoured this book - read it in two days. With all the distractions of modern life I often find myself taking a few weeks to finish a book. But not this one. I've been reading Pelecanos since his early days - long before there was an HBO series called The Wire. This is Pelecano's territory and he is as surefooted as can be. If you're looking for exotic locales and highfalutin ways, this is decidedly not your bag. These are the hard streets of modern urban life - the action rarely moves outside of a 2-3 mile radius and many of the characters have known each other since childhood. Drama City seems destined to be a one-off; the character Lorenzo Brown is a strong one, but there don't seem to be a lot of loose ends when the action is finished. If nothing else, I'd like to see Lorenzo brought back in peripheral role. This book has heart. This book has soul. The man knows his business.