- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Little Brown and Company; First Edition edition (22 Mar 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316608211
- ISBN-13: 978-0316608213
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,467,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Drama City is one of the least gloom-laden of George Pelecanos' excellent thrillers about the underside of Washington DC, not because it lacks his usual high-energy scenes of mayhem and betrayal, but because, for once, there are some vestiges of hope left here. Lorenzo was a gang-banger and went to jail for crimes less serious than some he had committed--now he works as an enforcer for the Humane Society, busting people who mistreat their dogs, and he has genuinely got his life back on track. Rachel Lopez is his probation officer, a good and conscientious public servant, and an alcoholic whose personal life is spinning out of control. Lorenzo's friend Nigel is still in the life--a dealer in drugs and violence; yet even he gets a chance to do the right thing and takes it. This panoramic view of slums and drug dens and dog-fighting pits is as thoroughly peopled as Pelecanos' other books, and makes us invest in those people even more seriously than ever before. This is thriller as social comment and spectacularly intelligent about precisely why drugs still have a hold on people without hope. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Top-rate literary crime writer' (THE BOOKSELLER )
'Once again, Pelecanos treads the Washington DC soft shoe shuffle with assurance and pathos. Despairing characters flit across the drug saturated streets of the US capital in a wonderful, if tragic, waltz of despair. ... Pelecanos's view of life has always been bleak and this is no exception, but he displays such a ferocious understanding of street reality and an empathy for America's downtrodden that his books transcend their pulp origin. ... Savour while you can.' (Maxim Jakubowski THE GUARDIAN )
'Few American thirller writers can evoke the jagged rhythms of ghetto life as does George Pelecanos ... un-put-downable.' (Myles McWeeney IRISH INDEPENDENT )
'This had me ducking behind the covers.' (THE MIRROR )
'If you want journalistic realism about inner-city life, not lurid and twisty storytelling, he's your man.' (SUNDAY TIMES )
'...not a conventional thriller. There is no detective, no mystery to solve; it is a novel about crime, its perpetrators and its victims. The picture of life in a Washington DC black ghetto is vivid and harrowing.' (Susanna Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
'Once again, Pelecanos treads the Washington DC soft shoe shuffle with assurance and pathos. Despairing characters flit across the drug saturated streets of the US capital in a wonderful, if tragic, waltz of despair. ... Pelecanos's view of life has always been bleak and this is no exception, but he displays such a ferocious understanding of street reality and an empathy for America's downtrodden that his books transcend their pulp origin. ... Savour while you can.' (Maxim Jakubowski THE GUARDIAN )
'Few American thirller writers can evoke the jagged rhythms of ghetto life as does George Pelecanos ... un-put-downable.' (Myles McWeeney IRISH INDEPENDENT )
'This had me ducking behind the covers.' (THE MIRROR )
'If you want journalistic realism about inner-city life, not lurid and twisty storytelling, he's your man.' (SUNDAY TIMES )
'...not a conventional thriller. There is no detective, no mystery to solve; it is a novel about crime, its perpetrators and its victims. The picture of life in a Washington DC black ghetto is vivid and harrowing.' (Susanna Yager SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
i have been a devotee of the author for a number of years now, and truely after his last book 'Hard Revolution' i thought he could not get any better. 'Drama City' however surpasses even that, the characters are so fresh and real and the locations come alive, i sat down and read the book in one sitting, my only regret was that it came to an end. Go and buy now, you won't regret it.
Format:Hardcover
After loads of success with his earlier series, Pelecanos introduces two new protagonists in this excellent trip down Washington, D.C.'s mean streets. His work on the HBO series "The Wire", shows in the main character of Lorenzo, a drug crew thug recently off an eight-year stretch of jail after a third strike. Now he's trying to put the game behind him and live a square life as an enforcement officer for the city's Humane Society. Part of Lorenzo's routine involves reporting to his parole officer, the young, attractive Rachel Lopez. Given the D.C. area's substantial Latino population, it's taken Pelecanos a while to introduce one as a major character, but with Rachel he not only takes care of that, but has finally written a fully developed female character. She's not without her own issues, as alcoholism and anonymous sex threaten to lead her somewhere dark.
The story basically follows Lorenzo and Rachel around their daily rounds, providing a glimpse at the daily struggles they face simply to get along in the world. Like many of Pelecanos' characters, Lorenzo discovers satisfaction and pride in hard work, as he has to deal with both the nasty people who mistreat animals, and the mockery of the corner boys, who call him soft. He knows he's still as tough as they come, but he's also built the self-respect to realize that he doesn't need to prove anything to anyone. Meanwhile, Rachel has her own hard work, trying to keep her offenders on the straight path and a lid on her self-destructive behavior. Of course, since this is Pelecanos, they also get tangled up in an escalating beef between drug gangs, one of which is led by Lorenzo's old friend Nigel. There are plenty of subplots along the way, including an ugly look at the dog-fighting underworld, the fascinating details of Lorenzo's job, Rachel's Narcotics Anonymous meetings, and Lorenzo's wooing of a single mother.
One of the running themes is how environment shapes behavior, and the mistreatment of animals is used as a metaphor for the those who grow up with no opportunities in life and no options. There's a great part where a young gangster daydreams wistfully about seeing Paris, but his upbringing and environment have hamstrung him so that he has no idea how one goes about buying a plane ticket or getting a passport. Ultimately, like many crime books, the overriding theme is one of redemption, especially Lorenzo's. He's done things in the past he's not proud of, and when confronted with the choice between street ethics and civilian ethics, which path will he take? There are the usual Pelecanos tidbits, music references, car references, a cameo by Derek Strange and one or two other characters recognizable to long time Pelecanos readers. Nothing in this book is a surprise, but all the elements are so assuredly put together that one can't help but be sucked under. Definitely Pelecanos at his best.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If you're a Pelecanos fan, you'll know what to expect from Drama City. Familiar locales, familiar dialogue and a well paced plot that keeps the pages ticking over at a regular rate.
Herein lies the problem, its all too familiar. Although the novel has its plus points, the lasting impression is that Pelecanos has done it all before. Although Drama City introduces one interesting new character, the supporting ensemble could have been borrowed from any of his contemporary novels. The storyline is predictable, the ending formulaic and when you're done you're left with nothing worth thinking about for more than a couple of minutes.
Still worth two stars, one for the usual slick Pelecanos style and half each for Lorenzo and the animal welfare theme. But this year's Pelecanos offering is well below the usual standard.
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