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The Greyhound God
A restless man obsessed with dog races embarks on a cross-country journey leading to his Idaho hometown in this debut novel reminiscent of Catcher in the Rye . Luke Rivers is a part-time bartender and full-time gambler who dreams of scoring big at the dog races. He travels the greyhound circuit with his wife, Jenny, and their young son, Jake, until one morning he wakes up in a motel in Rapid City, South Dakota, to discover that Jenny has left him and taken Jake with her. Now, for the first time, Luke must confront both the tragic family past that led him to gambling and the uncertain future that lies ahead. Morris evokes with deft intelligence the colorful world of dog racing and the characters, human and canine, who inhabit it. But this is merely a background for the travails of Luke and his little family, the cheap motels and dusty dreams, the tensions between Luke’s tender love for his son and his obsession with his betting “system.” Luke’s dilemma—whether to pursue Jenny or continue gambling—is complicated further by his painful memories of family tragedy and personal breakdowns, and by a seemingly miraculous winning streak at the track.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2003
About the author
Keith Lee Morris
20 books40 followersKeith Lee Morris is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Clemson University. His previous book, THE DART LEAGUE KING, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection. His writing has appeared in many publications including Tin House, the Southern Review and the New England Review..
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 26, 2016
Keith Lee Morris writes prose I find almost addictive. I've yet to pick up one of his books and put it down without finishing it. Recently I read "The Dart League King" twice, cover to cover both times: first to take pleasure in the story and then again to look at how he made these struggling men, most of whom would be living safer, more comfortable lives with a college degree that even the most self-effacing could have earned given encouragement and a financial boost.
Morris is brilliant writer and his gift involves a mystique. It's his own. His characters are real, US people, who deserve more respect than they usually get.
Last night I read a earlier Morris novel, "The Greyhound God," (c) 2003. This moved me more than anything I've read in ages, and it broke my heart, despite a happy ending and characters who were lively and occasionally wildly optimistic.
In addition to Morris's gift for giving voice to under-educated men with few options, he presents several women who are thoroughly real, strong, and compassionate--and he writes from deep within their hearts and mind in both "The Dart League King" and "The Greyhound God."
The men take center stage but his women are true, specific, and tend to be forgiving--up to a point. I admire his female characters as much as I do his men and they do not read, as many male author's female characters do, like any special challenge. He portrays the women in less space but with as much depth and insight as he does the male characters.
"The Greyhound God" concerns a drifter/dreamer/father/husband whose talent, he says, is betting on Greyhound races. His wife craves a home, a place to raise their son, and early in the story leaves him in a hotel alone with his winnings. For the next three months he doesn't hear from her, misses his child somewhat more than his wife, possibly because he takes up with an interesting and easy to enjoy young woman, who seems to agree from the beginning that their time together is a summer fling. And he keeps on winning to an extent that mystifies him despite his self-affirmed "talent" and well-thought out system.
Morris' skill at balancing his protagonist's past and present is extraordinary. It's beautiful to read. He has mastered a difficult craft and writes with admirable discipline. He may have a gift for pacing, but I imagine he's worked hard at developing that, too.
I'm not so certain this is an actual "spoiler" but a good part of the character's past refers to the sudden death of his seven-year-old brother, and the greyhound-betters consequent grief and confusion compounded by his extended family's sorrow and near dissolution at their loss. When I say the story broke my heart, that's what I mean, having experienced a similar loss myself.
Yet I have read many stories and novels involving the instant and unexpected death of a child. Most writers either get it wrong (to my mind; what's right or wrong here?) or present it in a way that feels foreign to me at best, and occasionally (I can't help this) insulting.
**In case anyone wonders about the high(est) ratings I give to the books I include on Goodreads: I don't post about books that disappoint me.
I may never see my own writing published, but I take it more seriously than anything I ever attempt. Great work, at least for me, requires great risk. Some writers just might be in the astonishing position where even their lesser efforts find publication and possibly even adulation. If I happen to see a book that way, I don't write about it. Instead, everything I put up here is honest appreciation.
Yet, if I seem to skip many important books, please don't take that as bafflement on my part. Probably I haven't read it yet or else have more to say about it, or possibly so amazed I don't know where to start.
Morris is brilliant writer and his gift involves a mystique. It's his own. His characters are real, US people, who deserve more respect than they usually get.
Last night I read a earlier Morris novel, "The Greyhound God," (c) 2003. This moved me more than anything I've read in ages, and it broke my heart, despite a happy ending and characters who were lively and occasionally wildly optimistic.
In addition to Morris's gift for giving voice to under-educated men with few options, he presents several women who are thoroughly real, strong, and compassionate--and he writes from deep within their hearts and mind in both "The Dart League King" and "The Greyhound God."
The men take center stage but his women are true, specific, and tend to be forgiving--up to a point. I admire his female characters as much as I do his men and they do not read, as many male author's female characters do, like any special challenge. He portrays the women in less space but with as much depth and insight as he does the male characters.
"The Greyhound God" concerns a drifter/dreamer/father/husband whose talent, he says, is betting on Greyhound races. His wife craves a home, a place to raise their son, and early in the story leaves him in a hotel alone with his winnings. For the next three months he doesn't hear from her, misses his child somewhat more than his wife, possibly because he takes up with an interesting and easy to enjoy young woman, who seems to agree from the beginning that their time together is a summer fling. And he keeps on winning to an extent that mystifies him despite his self-affirmed "talent" and well-thought out system.
Morris' skill at balancing his protagonist's past and present is extraordinary. It's beautiful to read. He has mastered a difficult craft and writes with admirable discipline. He may have a gift for pacing, but I imagine he's worked hard at developing that, too.
I'm not so certain this is an actual "spoiler" but a good part of the character's past refers to the sudden death of his seven-year-old brother, and the greyhound-betters consequent grief and confusion compounded by his extended family's sorrow and near dissolution at their loss. When I say the story broke my heart, that's what I mean, having experienced a similar loss myself.
Yet I have read many stories and novels involving the instant and unexpected death of a child. Most writers either get it wrong (to my mind; what's right or wrong here?) or present it in a way that feels foreign to me at best, and occasionally (I can't help this) insulting.
**In case anyone wonders about the high(est) ratings I give to the books I include on Goodreads: I don't post about books that disappoint me.
I may never see my own writing published, but I take it more seriously than anything I ever attempt. Great work, at least for me, requires great risk. Some writers just might be in the astonishing position where even their lesser efforts find publication and possibly even adulation. If I happen to see a book that way, I don't write about it. Instead, everything I put up here is honest appreciation.
Yet, if I seem to skip many important books, please don't take that as bafflement on my part. Probably I haven't read it yet or else have more to say about it, or possibly so amazed I don't know where to start.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 5, 2010
I'd probably give it a 3.5 or something, in all honesty, but a 3 feels too low. I really dug it. That said, I'll admit to kind of skimming (to the point of practically skipping) large chunks of the first 1/3 or even 1/2, because there was just so much backstory with so little forward movement, and I couldn't really get invested in backstory. Which is a good reminder to self. That said, it all came together really well and I really, really enjoyed it overall, and especially by the end.
Wrote a little something about it here:
http://hobart.typepad.com/hobart/2010...
Wrote a little something about it here:
http://hobart.typepad.com/hobart/2010...
May 29, 2009
My creative writing professor in college wrote this book, and a couple others on my list of "to-reads." I learned a lot from him during two semesters and I find him to be an exceptional writer. Something about his stories always haunt me... and in the reading of them, I always feel like I'll remember them forever.
October 27, 2010
Great! If you enjoy Robert Olen Butler this first book by Morris will be a treat.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews