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Drama City
The real test of an author's skill is sometimes to be found not in an unusually conceived work, but in his or her ability to create a consuming tale out of what, in outline form, might sound like an all-too-familiar or mundane plot line. In another novelist's hands, for instance, Drama City might have been a perfectly serviceable but regrettably unmemorable story of redemption and revenge set in the grittier districts of Washington, D.C. But with George Pelecanos at the reins, it becomes a poignant, profound yarn about men--the good, the bad, and the still undecided--trying to find their footing amid the centrifugal forces at play in a modern inner city.
Pelecanos's first standalone after four consecutive novels starring private eye Derek Strange (including Soul Circus and Hard Revolution), Drama City introduces Lorenzo Brown, a young, black onetime criminal enforcer who's recently returned to the streets after doing eight years in prison on a felony drug charge. Crime and criminals had always been fundamental to Lorenzo's existence. ("Y'all know how that is. I ran with some boys, one in particular, and when those boys and my main boy went down to the corner I went with 'em. They were my people, the closest thing I ever had to male kin.") Since his release, though, he's been serving as a Humane Law Enforcement Officer with the Humane Society, protecting animals from the panoply of domestic cruelty, trying to leave both the drugs and the thugs behind. This attitude has won him a few champions, notably Rachel Lopez, his striking half-Jewish, half-Latina probation officer and friend, who spends her days "telling other people that they need to stay on track," but then goes off the rails at night, haunting hotel bars, picking up inappropriate guys, always frightened by the idea of a relationship "where she was not in complete control." Of course, these delicate balances of individual behavior are only possible in the absence of the unexpected. When a seemingly inconsequential mistake incites a lethal turf battle between rival gang bosses Nigel Johnson and Deacon Taylor, and Rachel is stabbed in the chest by a volatile, hopped-up gunman, Lorenzo finds his killer instincts returning to the fore. He must decide how far he's willing to go--and how much he's willing to lose--in order to exact retribution.
A simple plot on its face, yet given high stakes and a heroic edge by Pelecanos's portrayal of Brown as a man-in-progress struggling to secure his liberty from the past, helped along by his unexpectedly sympathetic former boss, childhood friend Nigel Johnson. Less satisfyingly rendered is Lopez, whose acrobatic swings to the wild side provide merely arousing diversions, without adequate character development. Bearing soul as well as teeth, Drama City gives off the air of a Greek tragedy. You know things are going to get bad before they turn worse, but Pelecanos keeps you riveted throughout. --J. Kingston Pierce
291 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
98 people are currently reading
1246 people want to read
About the author
George P. Pelecanos
59 books1,627 followersGeorge Pelecanos was born in Washington, D.C., in 1957. He worked as a line cook, dishwasher, bartender, and woman's shoe salesman before publishing his first novel in 1992.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Pelecanos is the author of eighteen novels set in and around Washington, D.C.: A Firing Offense, Nick's Trip, Shoedog, Down by the River Where the Dead Men Go, The Big Blowdown, King Suckerman, The Sweet Forever, Shame the Devil, Right as Rain, Hell to Pay, Soul Circus, Hard Revolution, Drama City, The Night Gardener, The Turnaround, The Way Home, The Cut, and What It Was. He has been the recipient of the Raymond Chandler award in Italy, the Falcon award in Japan, and the Grand Prix du Roman Noir in France. Hell to Pay and Soul Circus were awarded the 2003 and 2004 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, Playboy, and the collections Unusual Suspects, Best American Mystery Stories of 1997, Measures of Poison, Best American Mystery Stories of 2002, Men from Boys, and Murder at the Foul Line. He served as editor on the collections D.C. Noir and D.C. Noir 2: The Classics, as well as The Best Mystery Stories of 2008. He is an award-winning essayist who has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, GQ, Sight and Sound, Uncut, Mojo, and numerous other publications. Esquire called him "the poet laureate of the D.C. crime world." In Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King wrote that Pelecanos is "perhaps the greatest living American crime writer." Pelecanos would like to note that Mr. King used the qualifier "perhaps."
Pelecanos served as producer on the feature films Caught (Robert M. Young, 1996), Whatever, (Susan Skoog, 1998) and BlackMale (George and Mike Baluzy, 1999), and was the U.S. distributor of John Woo's cult classic, The Killer and Richard Bugajski's Interrogation. Most recently, he was a producer, writer, and story editor for the acclaimed HBO dramatic series, The Wire, winner of the Peabody Award and the AFI Award. He was nominated for an Emmy for his writing on that show. He was a writer and co-producer on the World War II miniseries The Pacific, and is currently at work as an executive producer and writer on David Simon's HBO dramatic series Treme, shot in New Orleans.
Pelecanos lives with his family in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
September 18, 2022
I'm really enjoying George Pelecanos' work, essentially if you liked or loved 'The Wire: A Dramatic Series for HBO', you'll love his books.
Another great piece of crime writing sees a few hectic days in Washington DC through the eyes of a white female parole officer and a reformed gangbanger, turned 'dog police'. A look at their day-2-day lives, their ups and downs and how the relentless mean streets of Washington DC impact on their lives over two hectic gang crime ridden days. 8 out of 12 again for Pelecanos.
2012 read
Another great piece of crime writing sees a few hectic days in Washington DC through the eyes of a white female parole officer and a reformed gangbanger, turned 'dog police'. A look at their day-2-day lives, their ups and downs and how the relentless mean streets of Washington DC impact on their lives over two hectic gang crime ridden days. 8 out of 12 again for Pelecanos.
2012 read
April 13, 2024
DRAMA CITY
”Suspect-Presunto colpevole” un film del 1987 diretto da Peter Yates ambientato a Washington. Qui la protagonista Cher, e un coprotagonista, Dennis Quaid: per entrambi era il periodo più fulgido della carriera da attore.
Piacevole sorpresa Pelecanos.
Lo si incrocia in quei contesti e ambiti, e premi, che includono nomi come Winslow e Jefferson Parker, per citare mie letture recenti: ma Pelecanos mi ha colpito, e sorpreso, gli altri due non altrettanto.
Ho letto che ambienta tutte le sue storie a Washington, città capitale che si sa ha partorito contrasti pazzeschi, dalla Casa Bianca a quartieri poveri come pochi altri.
Drama City, il titolo originale, è un viaggio tra gli umili, tra gli ultimi, tra gente piena di sfumature: anche nel Bene e nel Male, Pelecanos sa introdurre una ricca gamma di toni, dando vita e anima a ogni singolo personaggio, e anche il più bieco sa trovare il suo momento di umanità.
Quasi tutti cadono, qualcuno sa rialzarsi, sfruttare una seconda possibilità, e trovare la sua redenzione.
Nel film, Liam Neeson, non ancora esploso come protagonista, interpreta un veterano del Vietnam che vive in mezzo ai senza casa, una Washington molto diversa dallo stereotipo, proprio come nella pagine di Pelecanos.
È un racconto duro, realistico, anche spietato, della società americana, del suo rapporto col crimine, con la droga, la povertà, la morte della classe operaia. Un ritratto e un’esplorazione della vita urbana nei suoi girono marginali.
Un altro momento dello stesso film che testimonia la trasformazione fisica del personaggio interpretato da Liam Neeson.
Procede con ritmo lento, sembra perdersi in dettagli (le infinite descrizioni dei percorsi!), ma la tensione è latente, palpabile, si sa che deve succedere, si intuisce che succederà a chi non si vorrebbe, la questione è capire quando.
E il quando non lo dice Pelecanos, ma la sua storia: quando il momento è maturo, il colpo arriva. E fa male.
Mi ha ricordato molto un’ottima serie tv, quella che il presidente Obama ha molte volte ripetuto essere la sua preferita, The Wire, alla quale Pelecanos ha partecipato sia in veste di sceneggiatore che di produttore.
Il personaggio interpretato da Liam Neeson è quello di un veterano di guerra sordomuto ingiustamente accusato d’omicidio. Cher è il suo avvocato d’ufficio. Un buon, solido thriller.
”Suspect-Presunto colpevole” un film del 1987 diretto da Peter Yates ambientato a Washington. Qui la protagonista Cher, e un coprotagonista, Dennis Quaid: per entrambi era il periodo più fulgido della carriera da attore.
Piacevole sorpresa Pelecanos.
Lo si incrocia in quei contesti e ambiti, e premi, che includono nomi come Winslow e Jefferson Parker, per citare mie letture recenti: ma Pelecanos mi ha colpito, e sorpreso, gli altri due non altrettanto.
Ho letto che ambienta tutte le sue storie a Washington, città capitale che si sa ha partorito contrasti pazzeschi, dalla Casa Bianca a quartieri poveri come pochi altri.
Drama City, il titolo originale, è un viaggio tra gli umili, tra gli ultimi, tra gente piena di sfumature: anche nel Bene e nel Male, Pelecanos sa introdurre una ricca gamma di toni, dando vita e anima a ogni singolo personaggio, e anche il più bieco sa trovare il suo momento di umanità.
Quasi tutti cadono, qualcuno sa rialzarsi, sfruttare una seconda possibilità, e trovare la sua redenzione.
Nel film, Liam Neeson, non ancora esploso come protagonista, interpreta un veterano del Vietnam che vive in mezzo ai senza casa, una Washington molto diversa dallo stereotipo, proprio come nella pagine di Pelecanos.
È un racconto duro, realistico, anche spietato, della società americana, del suo rapporto col crimine, con la droga, la povertà, la morte della classe operaia. Un ritratto e un’esplorazione della vita urbana nei suoi girono marginali.
Un altro momento dello stesso film che testimonia la trasformazione fisica del personaggio interpretato da Liam Neeson.
Procede con ritmo lento, sembra perdersi in dettagli (le infinite descrizioni dei percorsi!), ma la tensione è latente, palpabile, si sa che deve succedere, si intuisce che succederà a chi non si vorrebbe, la questione è capire quando.
E il quando non lo dice Pelecanos, ma la sua storia: quando il momento è maturo, il colpo arriva. E fa male.
Mi ha ricordato molto un’ottima serie tv, quella che il presidente Obama ha molte volte ripetuto essere la sua preferita, The Wire, alla quale Pelecanos ha partecipato sia in veste di sceneggiatore che di produttore.
Il personaggio interpretato da Liam Neeson è quello di un veterano di guerra sordomuto ingiustamente accusato d’omicidio. Cher è il suo avvocato d’ufficio. Un buon, solido thriller.
September 2, 2013
Lorenzo Brown, dog catcher and ex-con, struggles to keep from falling back into his old ways, while his parole officer, Rachel Lopez, has some problems of her own. What will happen when two drug factions get into a dispute and Brown and Lopez find themselves caught in the crossfire?
Drama City is a throwback to George Pelecanos DC Quartet. While it's a crime book, it's also a story of life in Washington, DC. In this case, it's the story of a black man trying not to fall back into a life of dealing drugs and a parole officer trying not to let her life go up in flames due to her addictions to sex and booze.
Brown and Lopez are both deeply conflicted characters. It could be that Brown's love of animals and feels toward the young woman and her little girl that he sees every day while walking his dog are all the keeps him from his old life of violence. Lopez has never been in an equal relationship and the idea of one scares her.
Brown's friend from his youth, Nigel Johnson, is a fairly powerful drug dealer. After a minor turf dispute with a rival dealer's thugs, things begin building and Lorenzo is pulled in when he breaks up a dog fighting ring. Melvin Lee, one of the thugs he runs across, shares his parole officer.
Father figures and growing up without a father play important roles in Drama City. Rico Miller, psychopath that he is, sees Melvin as a father figure, and therein is the source of much of the drama that happens in the story. Nigel Johnson sees himself as a father figure to Michael Butler, and when Michael winds up dead, things quickly escalate.
There isn't a lot of action in Drama City. Most of the events are of the emotional sort, but when the violence comes, it is brutal. I love the twist at the end with Nigel and Lorenzo.
Most of Pelecanos' books have a cinematic feel but Drama City felt the most like a movie to me so far. Like something that would probably be nominated but not win an Academy Award.
As with all Pelecanos books, there are a lot of music references and a fair amount of car talk. Derek Strange and his dog make an uncredited cameo appearance early on. Well, Greco is named but not Strange. One thing I noticed is that Pelecanos doesn't often point out skin color to describe characters so you might not realize someone is or isn't white right away.
Like I said earlier, Drama City feels like a throwback to the DC Quartet to me. Four out of five stars.
Drama City is a throwback to George Pelecanos DC Quartet. While it's a crime book, it's also a story of life in Washington, DC. In this case, it's the story of a black man trying not to fall back into a life of dealing drugs and a parole officer trying not to let her life go up in flames due to her addictions to sex and booze.
Brown and Lopez are both deeply conflicted characters. It could be that Brown's love of animals and feels toward the young woman and her little girl that he sees every day while walking his dog are all the keeps him from his old life of violence. Lopez has never been in an equal relationship and the idea of one scares her.
Brown's friend from his youth, Nigel Johnson, is a fairly powerful drug dealer. After a minor turf dispute with a rival dealer's thugs, things begin building and Lorenzo is pulled in when he breaks up a dog fighting ring. Melvin Lee, one of the thugs he runs across, shares his parole officer.
Father figures and growing up without a father play important roles in Drama City. Rico Miller, psychopath that he is, sees Melvin as a father figure, and therein is the source of much of the drama that happens in the story. Nigel Johnson sees himself as a father figure to Michael Butler, and when Michael winds up dead, things quickly escalate.
There isn't a lot of action in Drama City. Most of the events are of the emotional sort, but when the violence comes, it is brutal. I love the twist at the end with Nigel and Lorenzo.
Most of Pelecanos' books have a cinematic feel but Drama City felt the most like a movie to me so far. Like something that would probably be nominated but not win an Academy Award.
As with all Pelecanos books, there are a lot of music references and a fair amount of car talk. Derek Strange and his dog make an uncredited cameo appearance early on. Well, Greco is named but not Strange. One thing I noticed is that Pelecanos doesn't often point out skin color to describe characters so you might not realize someone is or isn't white right away.
Like I said earlier, Drama City feels like a throwback to the DC Quartet to me. Four out of five stars.
June 14, 2010
A high three stars. I couldn't bring myself to give this four stars. I think I've been giving out too many four stars lately, so this one gets a three. It's kind of like life in the game, sometimes shit just doesn't go your way. Like the streets the book reviewing game has its victims.
The book is enjoyable. There are only some many times I can make The Wire references about Pelecanos, or maybe I've only made one reference in the past, but it still seems too much to repeat myself. But reading Pelecanos is sort of like reading a minor sub-plot line out of the TV show. There was a small nod towards Omar in a Snoop-esque character, which I would have enjoyed being developed a bit more than the tortured souls of the those that have left the game; these tortured older people seem to be the bread and butter of Pelecanos, or maybe they seemed too much like the characters in Shame the Devil and The Way Home. Drama City wasn't as good as his newest novel.
The moral ambiguity that I loved so much in the TV show is here, but in the written form I think he needs to go farther to get the same effect the show has. I don't know what I mean by that, but I was thinking last night about the parts of The Wire that made it such a groundbreaking TV show, and so smart only really seem to make average literature. Is it the mediums? Do I expect a lot less from TV shows, or has television conditioned me to expect less that deviations from the black and white world of good and bad is considered edgy?
A good fun read, with a couple of cringe worthy moments but kind of predictable at times. Oh, and there are a couple of continuity problems that irked me, but nothing too serious.
The book is enjoyable. There are only some many times I can make The Wire references about Pelecanos, or maybe I've only made one reference in the past, but it still seems too much to repeat myself. But reading Pelecanos is sort of like reading a minor sub-plot line out of the TV show. There was a small nod towards Omar in a Snoop-esque character, which I would have enjoyed being developed a bit more than the tortured souls of the those that have left the game; these tortured older people seem to be the bread and butter of Pelecanos, or maybe they seemed too much like the characters in Shame the Devil and The Way Home. Drama City wasn't as good as his newest novel.
The moral ambiguity that I loved so much in the TV show is here, but in the written form I think he needs to go farther to get the same effect the show has. I don't know what I mean by that, but I was thinking last night about the parts of The Wire that made it such a groundbreaking TV show, and so smart only really seem to make average literature. Is it the mediums? Do I expect a lot less from TV shows, or has television conditioned me to expect less that deviations from the black and white world of good and bad is considered edgy?
A good fun read, with a couple of cringe worthy moments but kind of predictable at times. Oh, and there are a couple of continuity problems that irked me, but nothing too serious.
February 25, 2012
This is another excellent novel from George Pelecanos who demonstrates once again that he knows the seamier side of Washington, D.C. inside and out and can portray it better than anyone else. Even better are the characters who populate this novel--some good, some bad, some still making up their minds, but virtually all of them struggling in one way or another.
The main protagonist, Lorenzo Brown, once ran with a rough gang headed by his best boyhood friend. But after serving eight years in prison on a drug charge, Lorenzo is back on the street, determined to stay on the straight and narrow and make a new life for himself. He finds a job as a "dog man," working for the Humane Society, attempting to rescue mistreated dogs.
Lorenzo must report periodically to his parole officer, an attractive but troubled woman named Rachel Lopez. By day, Rachel is very conscientious and does her job well. But by night, she drinks too much and picks up strangers in hotel bars for rough sex. Outside of their scheduled sessions, Lorenzo and Rachel also occasionally run into each other at a mid-day meeting of a Narcotics Anonymous chapter.
Lorenzo is doing well, content in his humble job and steering clear of his former bad associates, when a simple mistake by a stupid gang banger threatens to set off a conflict between two of D.C.'s major drug lords, one of whom is still Lorenzo's friend. The incident threatens both Lorenzo and Rachel and forces Lorenzo to make an agonizing choice.
These characters are beautifully drawn and their story pulls you in from the first page. These are real people in a setting that is totally believable and flawed or not, you can't help but sympathize with virtually all of them. Certainly you won't soon forget them.
The main protagonist, Lorenzo Brown, once ran with a rough gang headed by his best boyhood friend. But after serving eight years in prison on a drug charge, Lorenzo is back on the street, determined to stay on the straight and narrow and make a new life for himself. He finds a job as a "dog man," working for the Humane Society, attempting to rescue mistreated dogs.
Lorenzo must report periodically to his parole officer, an attractive but troubled woman named Rachel Lopez. By day, Rachel is very conscientious and does her job well. But by night, she drinks too much and picks up strangers in hotel bars for rough sex. Outside of their scheduled sessions, Lorenzo and Rachel also occasionally run into each other at a mid-day meeting of a Narcotics Anonymous chapter.
Lorenzo is doing well, content in his humble job and steering clear of his former bad associates, when a simple mistake by a stupid gang banger threatens to set off a conflict between two of D.C.'s major drug lords, one of whom is still Lorenzo's friend. The incident threatens both Lorenzo and Rachel and forces Lorenzo to make an agonizing choice.
These characters are beautifully drawn and their story pulls you in from the first page. These are real people in a setting that is totally believable and flawed or not, you can't help but sympathize with virtually all of them. Certainly you won't soon forget them.
September 26, 2018
Τελευταία φορά που διάβασα βιβλίο του Τζορτζ Πελεκάνου, ήταν τον Δεκέμβριο του 2014. Δηλαδή τόσα χρόνια, δεν έτυχε να πιάσω για διάβασμα κάποιο βιβλίο του, ενώ μου ανήκουν όλα όσα έχουν μεταφραστεί στα ελληνικά, και ενώ είναι ένας συγγραφέας που μου αρέσει πολύ. Τι να πω, άβυσσος η ψυχή του βιβλιοφάγου! Στο μεταξύ, αυτό είναι το πέμπτο βιβλίο του που διαβάζω και μου φάνηκε στο ίδιο υψηλό επίπεδο ποιότητας με τα τέσσερα προηγούμενα. Πριν κάτι μήνες η ΕΡΤ πρόβαλλε τη σειρά The Wire, την οποία πραγματικά απόλαυσα, και το βιβλίο αυτό μου θύμισε έντονα την ατμόσφαιρα και τη θεματολογία της συγκεκριμένης σειράς. Κάτι λογικό, μιας και ο Πελεκάνος είναι ένας από τους παραγωγούς/σεναριογράφους της. Λοιπόν, το Drama City περιέχει... δράμα, σκηνές βίας, έντονο ρεαλισμό, απίστευτη ατμόσφαιρα, ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες και πολύ πειστικούς διαλόγους. Πρόκειται για μια ιστορία που αναδεικνύει τον κόσμο του εγκλήματος και των εγκληματιών στην άγρια πλευρά της Ουάσινγκτον, ο συγγραφέας μας δίνει την ευκαιρία να ρίξουμε μια ματιά στους μηχανισμούς του εγκλήματος. Το πλέον δυνατό "χαρτί" του βιβλίου είναι η εξαιρετική γραφή, η οποία είναι γεμάτη οξυδέρκεια και σιγουριά, με εξαιρετικά ρεαλιστικές περιγραφές σκηνικών και καταστάσεων, αλλά και με την απαραίτητη χρήση της αργκό. Σίγουρα πρόκειται για ένα απαραίτητο ανάγνωσμα για τους λάτρεις των σύγχρονων δραματικών νουάρ με στοιχεία εγκλήματος.
August 20, 2011
The book Drama City is an aberration for George Pelecanos. One of the two main characters is actually a woman! Having a woman as a main player is almost unheard of for Pelecanos. Now we just have to see if there is any character development of Parole Officer Rachel Lopez. And what do you think? Are we going to find out some about her more than her body type and what she drinks! Eureka, yes we are! But, like I say, an aberration. But I’m going to enjoy it while I can. Hello, Rachel, good to know you.
The book starts in a familiar neighborhood so we are comfortable in our surroundings immediately. However, there are some new Pelecanos characters in the hood. People particular to this book. Life can be rough in this part of DC but that is to be expected of Pelecanos. He doesn’t hang in nice, middle class neighborhoods. But there are many flashy, expensive cars, nicer than the houses they are parked in front of most of the time. The men work at low pay jobs, if they work at all, but they can still somehow afford those cars and expensive chains around their necks.
Drama City features two people in law enforcement, but the kind of law enforcement without a gun. Rachel, as mentioned, is a parole officer. And Lorenzo is a Humane Society officer who breaks up organized dog fights and watches out for mistreated animals. Rachel deals with a lot of troubled people, Lorenzo with a lot of troubled animals.
We find mistakes, misunderstandings and murder courtesy of George Pelecanos. Not justice as we might see it, but revenge. But at the end we find some good moralizing and satisfying action. And, as is often the case with Pelecanos, we see someone doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. We understand that people are not all good or all bad but often some of each. The Pelecanos world is a mixed bag.
Drama City gets four stars from me just like most Pelecanos books. And I have now read them all as I wait for the new one about to come out. I hope there will be more strong women like Rachel in future Pelecanos books. Strong women deserve a place in metro DC, Mr. Pelecanos. Maybe we’ll find her in The Cut coming out at the end of August? I hope so.
The book starts in a familiar neighborhood so we are comfortable in our surroundings immediately. However, there are some new Pelecanos characters in the hood. People particular to this book. Life can be rough in this part of DC but that is to be expected of Pelecanos. He doesn’t hang in nice, middle class neighborhoods. But there are many flashy, expensive cars, nicer than the houses they are parked in front of most of the time. The men work at low pay jobs, if they work at all, but they can still somehow afford those cars and expensive chains around their necks.
Drama City features two people in law enforcement, but the kind of law enforcement without a gun. Rachel, as mentioned, is a parole officer. And Lorenzo is a Humane Society officer who breaks up organized dog fights and watches out for mistreated animals. Rachel deals with a lot of troubled people, Lorenzo with a lot of troubled animals.
We find mistakes, misunderstandings and murder courtesy of George Pelecanos. Not justice as we might see it, but revenge. But at the end we find some good moralizing and satisfying action. And, as is often the case with Pelecanos, we see someone doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. We understand that people are not all good or all bad but often some of each. The Pelecanos world is a mixed bag.
Going up Georgia Avenue, she saw single mothers moving their children along the sidewalks, young girls showing off their bodies, church women, men who went to work each day, men who did nothing at all, studious kids who were going to make it, stoop kids on the edge, kids already in the life, a man smoking a cigarette in the doorway of his barbershop, and the private detective with the big shoulders talking to a white dude on the sidewalk in front of his place, had the sign with the magnifying glass out front. It was a city of masks, the kind Nigel had said hung in theaters. Smiling faces and sad, and all kinds of faces in between.
Drama City gets four stars from me just like most Pelecanos books. And I have now read them all as I wait for the new one about to come out. I hope there will be more strong women like Rachel in future Pelecanos books. Strong women deserve a place in metro DC, Mr. Pelecanos. Maybe we’ll find her in The Cut coming out at the end of August? I hope so.
February 15, 2014
While a familiar man walks his familiar dog by a familiar sign at the beginning of this book, it isn't about any recurring characters, which actually happens to be quite refreshing. I like Derek Strange & all that, but Lorenzo Brown can more than hang on his own without any help from more familiar D.C. guys. There are all the usual suspects of the drug trade; the murderous boss, the less murderous boss, the scary psycho teenager with the dead eyes, the Most Promising Young Guy who will undoubtedly be tragically gunned down. My only qualm is with Rachel Lopez. There's certainly a sense that she drinks to excess & sleeps with strangers because of the concurrent deaths of her parents, but I wanted her character to have a little more meat to it. Now I'm wishing for another whole book about Lorenzo Brown, but I'm hoping I can make do without disappointment by reading Shoedog, which, c'mon, has got to be about the man Shoedog. If it isn't, I'm going to be a sad little reader.
January 30, 2019
All Pelecanos' plots are distant echoes of each other and Drama City is no different. Lorenzo Brown fresh out of jail, had his youth swallowed up by the streets of DC and is mounting a bid to get back on the straight and narrow. It is a test of his maturity and restraint as he crosses paths with a sadistic sociopath. Sprinkle some drug dealers in the middle and add a close quarter gunfight with said sociopath at the end and you have the outline for a Pelecanos novel. It has been done a hundred times before (quite a few times by Pelecanos himself) and he adds nothing new to the mix here. It is never boring but it seems very content to stay within the boundaries of mediocrity.
Pelecanos' writing is too dry to evoke any sympathy for his characters. He remains ultra realistic and gritty but his writing is devoid of any emotion or soul. It basically feels like an excellent journalistic account, well written and interesting but you never really immerse yourself in the narrative. Some of my favorite crime authors like James Lee Burke use repetitive plots while other favorites like James Ellroy use a sparse, disjointed style. They are not red flags by themselves but in Pelecanos' works, those two elements do not complement each other.
If you read a disproportionately large number of crime novels (like I do) you can do far worse than an occasional Pelecanos taking an authentic look at the drug scene in Washington underbelly. However if your reading habits are more eclectic, there are far better crime authors to browse through. A read that kept my attention but does not do enough to dissuade an underlying feeling that what I am reading is strictly second-tier. Rating - 3/5.
Pelecanos' writing is too dry to evoke any sympathy for his characters. He remains ultra realistic and gritty but his writing is devoid of any emotion or soul. It basically feels like an excellent journalistic account, well written and interesting but you never really immerse yourself in the narrative. Some of my favorite crime authors like James Lee Burke use repetitive plots while other favorites like James Ellroy use a sparse, disjointed style. They are not red flags by themselves but in Pelecanos' works, those two elements do not complement each other.
If you read a disproportionately large number of crime novels (like I do) you can do far worse than an occasional Pelecanos taking an authentic look at the drug scene in Washington underbelly. However if your reading habits are more eclectic, there are far better crime authors to browse through. A read that kept my attention but does not do enough to dissuade an underlying feeling that what I am reading is strictly second-tier. Rating - 3/5.
July 22, 2015
A fast read. Be warned though, this book does have some unflinchingly brutal dog-fight passages, and that kind of thing can be a lotta no fun. But luckily Pelecanos takes some satisfying shots at the culture, calling out posers who think of a scary dog as a status symbol, as well as the idiotic ‘90s dog fighting boom, where everyone who wasn’t fighting a pit bull certainly wanted you to think they were. In fact, even though this book was published in 2005, it feels very grounded in the ‘90s, full of that era’s music, sometimes in flashbacks, sometimes not. The main characters are memorable, too. The two major players, slow burning ex-con Lorenzo and Rachel (day and night versions), are both introduced efficiently and effectively, and the author does wonders with Lorenzo early on by having the reader ride along on his thankless day job for the Humane Society, as he works to convince deadbeat dog owners to improve their beasts’ low standard of living. The plight of the canines in the book mirrors the humans, of course (“You can’t save every animal”), and even though the main plot regarding a childhood friend’s drug dealing empire circling the drain and the young, hot-headed psycho all headed for a showdown is well-worn territory, I still stuck around for the finale. As far as the prose, it's suitably rough, slang-ridden, and unpolished but never distracting, although there was that unintentionally hilarious metonymy where the author kept referring to a particular body part as a woman's "sex." But it is a confident book, so much so that you may get the feeling Pelecanos wrote it one-handed. Quickly devoured.
July 1, 2010
There is something about a Pelecanos book that is like sitting in a classroom, making dreamy eyes at your favorite professor as he lectures about your favorite topic while you wear your favorite clothes on your favorite day of the best year of your life.
Not that Pelecanos is expository. Or dry. Or anything remotely like listening to a lecture, in the slightest.
But reading him, I learn. I learn so much about Washington, DC. About people. About crime and violence and struggling and living.
Drama City is nominally about Lorenzo Brown, ex-offender, now working for the Humane Society, and Rachel Lopez, his parol officer. Lorenzo and Rachel gets caught up in the spiraling violence between two local gangs— one led by Lorenzo’s longtime friend, the man he went to prison for, Nigel.
But, not to spoil this book before you read it (and you really, really should read it), the violence, the mayhem which the book blurb makes you think is the whole plot? Doesn’t happen almost until the last quarter of the book. What you really get with Pelecanos is a story about a whole city, how it is now, how it was, how people end up where they are, and why.
It’s a slow book, with a whole host of secondary characters and sub plots. I never got confused though, never got lost. Each new person or story was interesting, fascinating. Sometimes I felt a little voyeuristic- middle class suburban white girl peeking in on a predominantly black, inner-city experience. But that is my hang-up, not something the book imposed on me. I felt no judgement in the text, nor was there a sense of Pelecanos distancing the reader from the characters in order to teach some greater moral lesson.
I honestly do not know if these books would resonate with me as much if I didn’t live in DC. It is something amazing to read a book set on my streets, in my neighborhood even, that doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the President and Secret Service foiling terrorist hijackers by landing Air Force one on the tip of the Washington Monument. And even though this is a crime book, the next time someone looks at me askance for living in the “murder capital of the United States” (actually, it’s DETROIT) or makes a joke about crack-smoking mayors, I’m gonna hand them this book.
Here, here is my city. Here is the heat in summer, and the smells, and the noise, and yes the terrible violence, the corruption, the loss. But here too are the people in my city, good and bad, and in all the choices they make, see the profundity of average life.
Five of five stars.
Not that Pelecanos is expository. Or dry. Or anything remotely like listening to a lecture, in the slightest.
But reading him, I learn. I learn so much about Washington, DC. About people. About crime and violence and struggling and living.
Drama City is nominally about Lorenzo Brown, ex-offender, now working for the Humane Society, and Rachel Lopez, his parol officer. Lorenzo and Rachel gets caught up in the spiraling violence between two local gangs— one led by Lorenzo’s longtime friend, the man he went to prison for, Nigel.
But, not to spoil this book before you read it (and you really, really should read it), the violence, the mayhem which the book blurb makes you think is the whole plot? Doesn’t happen almost until the last quarter of the book. What you really get with Pelecanos is a story about a whole city, how it is now, how it was, how people end up where they are, and why.
It’s a slow book, with a whole host of secondary characters and sub plots. I never got confused though, never got lost. Each new person or story was interesting, fascinating. Sometimes I felt a little voyeuristic- middle class suburban white girl peeking in on a predominantly black, inner-city experience. But that is my hang-up, not something the book imposed on me. I felt no judgement in the text, nor was there a sense of Pelecanos distancing the reader from the characters in order to teach some greater moral lesson.
I honestly do not know if these books would resonate with me as much if I didn’t live in DC. It is something amazing to read a book set on my streets, in my neighborhood even, that doesn’t have a damn thing to do with the President and Secret Service foiling terrorist hijackers by landing Air Force one on the tip of the Washington Monument. And even though this is a crime book, the next time someone looks at me askance for living in the “murder capital of the United States” (actually, it’s DETROIT) or makes a joke about crack-smoking mayors, I’m gonna hand them this book.
Here, here is my city. Here is the heat in summer, and the smells, and the noise, and yes the terrible violence, the corruption, the loss. But here too are the people in my city, good and bad, and in all the choices they make, see the profundity of average life.
Five of five stars.
March 26, 2013
I was late to The Wire, only watching the first three seasons (actually, in full disclosure, I've still still to watch the last two season three episodes) over the last few months. But I'd heard of this Pelecanos guy because of his connection to the show, and my library has half a dozen of his novels at the ready every time I pass the Ps. I wanted something lighter and noir-ish but the cover design reminded me of the kind of shit my dad read (e.g. Tom Clancy), and I hate both that shit and my dad, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Drama City turned out pretty well. After starting the novel I realized abused animals were at the forefront (a main character works for animal control) and wasn't sure if I wanted to continue. I can't stand animal abuse, even in fiction. But the storyline flowed and rose beyond the spinning-paperback-rack thriller level. The dogs mirror the dealers, esp. the broken youth beyond rehabilitation. Pelecanos keeps the storyline complex and fluid, his characters flawed, and his details fresh. So Drama City felt like time well-spent, although I'm not panting (please note dog reference) for the rest of his work. I'll check his catalog out in, if you will, a leisurely fashion. The definition of three stars. No fist-pumping enthusiasm, better than okay.
February 8, 2020
I've been wanting to read something by George Pelecanos for a while because I've been living in the DC area for 10 years and I know all of his books have that as a setting. One thing I found quite refreshing while reading this was just having a book in DC that wasn't a political or spy book.
In fact, most of this book felt either slow or slice-of-life as we follow Lorenzo, Rachel, and some drug dealers around the city for a few days. We get Narcotics Anonymous meetings, we get camaraderie, we get hopes and dreams, we get highs and lows and just personal connections. It felt very different from what I was expecting, since the event mentioned in the blurb doesn't happen till closer to the end.
I'm looking forward to reading more from Pelecanos, and seeing a different side to this city (it's really damn fun to see places I know about mentioned in books).
In fact, most of this book felt either slow or slice-of-life as we follow Lorenzo, Rachel, and some drug dealers around the city for a few days. We get Narcotics Anonymous meetings, we get camaraderie, we get hopes and dreams, we get highs and lows and just personal connections. It felt very different from what I was expecting, since the event mentioned in the blurb doesn't happen till closer to the end.
I'm looking forward to reading more from Pelecanos, and seeing a different side to this city (it's really damn fun to see places I know about mentioned in books).
June 21, 2017
I quite enjoyed this story of a criminal trying to stay straight and getting caught up with characters from his past; the characters are well drawn and the novel is very atmospheric. However I felt the climax was an anti-climax. Without giving anything away I was expecting more of a showdown, which didn't happen, and the book ended on a more positive note than I expected.
April 5, 2020
Βαρετό. 350 σελίδες και το μόνο που διάβαζα ήταν οι έλεγχοι του σκυλόμπατσου και της επι��ηρήτριας. Άσε που έμαθα όλες τις οδούς της Ουάσινγκτον. Περίμενα πολλά περισσότερα από τον διάσημο συγγραφέα...
August 29, 2019
Solid crime novel. Pretty believable and realistic. Will definitely try another Pelecanos novel in the future.
May 7, 2020
Can't go wrong with Pelecanos, another gritty slice-of-life Urban Noir on the streets of DC.
January 14, 2025
Probably the most The Wire of his books.
May 22, 2019
Here's what's crazy about Pelecanos. You can be 200 pages into the book, and it feels like nothing much has happened when SO MUCH has happened. That's because Pelecanos is a master at dropping seeds throughout, so even though a large percentage of his story is world-building D.C., another, even larger percentage of his time is spent character building, and you don't realize how invested you are until one of the key characters is brutally stabbed or shot dead in the streets. And that's what makes Drama City so spectacular, just like every other Pelecanos novel. You feel for every character. Even the ones who only last a few pages. This one stars a dog catcher. I kid you not. But he is still just as compelling as Stringer Bell from The Wire, or any of Pelecanos' other characters. If I have one complaint, it's probably just that I read too much Pelecanos, so I kind of have the formula mapped out in my head as I'm reading it. Still, it's a winning formula, and I still plan to read every last one of his novels
Not the best to start with, but a damn good one.
Not the best to start with, but a damn good one.
April 9, 2020
El mayor problema de Goodreads son las dichosas estrellistas. 5 son pocas. Drama City no es libro de 4 pero, mucho menos, de 3. Para ser justo, es un libro de 3'6 (nada, pajas mentales mías).
La reseña en sí:
Drama City me ha parecido una historia ágil y entretenida, especialmente en su segunda mitad. Refleja la dureza de las calles de las grandes ciudades azotadas por el negocio del tráfico de drogas y la dificultad de revertir el poder de sus mafias. Las críticas le comparan con grandes monstruos como Elmore Leonard o James Ellroy. En mi opinión todavía queda lejos aunque en posteriores lecturas comprobaremos si se les va acercando.
Reseña completa en Vagando por Urano
https://vagandoporurano.blogspot.com/...
La reseña en sí:
Drama City me ha parecido una historia ágil y entretenida, especialmente en su segunda mitad. Refleja la dureza de las calles de las grandes ciudades azotadas por el negocio del tráfico de drogas y la dificultad de revertir el poder de sus mafias. Las críticas le comparan con grandes monstruos como Elmore Leonard o James Ellroy. En mi opinión todavía queda lejos aunque en posteriores lecturas comprobaremos si se les va acercando.
Reseña completa en Vagando por Urano
https://vagandoporurano.blogspot.com/...
July 9, 2018
Pelacanos writes two kinds of books: good ones and great ones. For my money, this is one of the great ones and, perhaps, the best of the dozen or so of his I've read.
The plot revolves around the intertwined lives of two characters. Lorenzo is a paroled criminal, working as a humane society investigator in some of the meanest streets of DC. Rachel Lopez is his parole officer and an alcoholic with her own set of problems. Plenty of action ensues, all of it plausible but what makes this so great (what makes ALL of Pelecanos' work so great) is the completely realistic picture he paints of a world with so many pitfalls, where a modest, lower-working class existence seems like a dream too big to hope for. When he writes of AA meetings, crappy brownstones subdivided into multiple low-rent apartments, poorly treated animals, drug dealers big and small and anything else, Pelacanos makes it all feel just right, down to the tiniest detail. It's fiction, but every word rings true and you suspect the characters and many of the situations are based more closely in reality than is comfortable.
In the end, it's an engaging character study and a finely observed peak into a world in which most people will never go. As usual, Pelacanos draws few lines in pure black and white and finds the humanity in even the least admirable characters. It's a world where victories are few and usually small but Pelacanos paints it with such care that we can't help rooting for humanity at every turn.
The plot revolves around the intertwined lives of two characters. Lorenzo is a paroled criminal, working as a humane society investigator in some of the meanest streets of DC. Rachel Lopez is his parole officer and an alcoholic with her own set of problems. Plenty of action ensues, all of it plausible but what makes this so great (what makes ALL of Pelecanos' work so great) is the completely realistic picture he paints of a world with so many pitfalls, where a modest, lower-working class existence seems like a dream too big to hope for. When he writes of AA meetings, crappy brownstones subdivided into multiple low-rent apartments, poorly treated animals, drug dealers big and small and anything else, Pelacanos makes it all feel just right, down to the tiniest detail. It's fiction, but every word rings true and you suspect the characters and many of the situations are based more closely in reality than is comfortable.
In the end, it's an engaging character study and a finely observed peak into a world in which most people will never go. As usual, Pelacanos draws few lines in pure black and white and finds the humanity in even the least admirable characters. It's a world where victories are few and usually small but Pelacanos paints it with such care that we can't help rooting for humanity at every turn.
July 10, 2024
A solid 3.5, this one is a good page turner, and tells a good story without any weak parts or dragging.
I found this one from Pelecanos work on The Wire, and you can see the threads and sometimes entire scenes that made it into that show. Unfair to this book, that I had seen so many of its best scenes already, but they still remain great storytelling.
This is a good vacation read, and while it's not a light read, it's well-made and told with heart, and that makes it a solid recommendation for 90%.
Would recommend for: Wire fans, people looking for a step above an airport read.
I found this one from Pelecanos work on The Wire, and you can see the threads and sometimes entire scenes that made it into that show. Unfair to this book, that I had seen so many of its best scenes already, but they still remain great storytelling.
This is a good vacation read, and while it's not a light read, it's well-made and told with heart, and that makes it a solid recommendation for 90%.
Would recommend for: Wire fans, people looking for a step above an airport read.
October 3, 2014
“The more you walk this road, the longer the road seems to be.”
I’m not entirely sure how George Pelecanos does it. Drama City is yet another example of the man’s brilliance. He tells a huge number of stories all at once by weaving together the lives of the main players with those of the supporting cast and still manages to drive forward a central theme that never lets on about where it’s going until things reach their climax.
Lorenzo Brown is a dog man. It’s where he’s ended up after a spell in prison for working drugs with his friend Nigel. Lorenzo has locked the demons of his past away and he’s determined to stay clean and live a straightforward life. As a dog man, he trawls through the city’s difficult spots and encounters a cast of unsavoury situations. In contrast to the animals he works with, his own dog is well-cared for. In this brief description of his pet, Pelecanos manages to hint at the violence of the environment and let us know about the dog all in a oner:
“Jasmine’s coat was cream coloured, with tan and brown shotgunned across the fur.”
Lorenzo has a probation officer, Rachel Lopez, and she (like me) is rooting for him all the way.
Lopez invests a good deal into each of the offenders she works with, believing in the possible. Unfortunately, she’s fighting demons of her own. Like Lorenzo, her job leads her into many difficult and dangerous places and her ways of coping are easily understandable.
For me, the power of Drama City lies in the strength of the characters. From an early stage I felt a strong desire to see them come through their own personal battles unscathed. Once that desire had been established, Pelacanos began to play with the inhabitants of the book like a mischievous god, throwing them to the lions piece by piece and forcing me to watch as the situations played out.
Pelecanos also manages to summarise the profound using very simple brushstrokes and is able to impart huge amounts of information through the tiniest of things (take, for example, the provenance of a matchbook).
Drama City is a hugely satisfying read. The only way I could recommend it more highly would be to stand on something very tall. Be warned, it’s not for those of a nervous disposition.
I’m not entirely sure how George Pelecanos does it. Drama City is yet another example of the man’s brilliance. He tells a huge number of stories all at once by weaving together the lives of the main players with those of the supporting cast and still manages to drive forward a central theme that never lets on about where it’s going until things reach their climax.
Lorenzo Brown is a dog man. It’s where he’s ended up after a spell in prison for working drugs with his friend Nigel. Lorenzo has locked the demons of his past away and he’s determined to stay clean and live a straightforward life. As a dog man, he trawls through the city’s difficult spots and encounters a cast of unsavoury situations. In contrast to the animals he works with, his own dog is well-cared for. In this brief description of his pet, Pelecanos manages to hint at the violence of the environment and let us know about the dog all in a oner:
“Jasmine’s coat was cream coloured, with tan and brown shotgunned across the fur.”
Lorenzo has a probation officer, Rachel Lopez, and she (like me) is rooting for him all the way.
Lopez invests a good deal into each of the offenders she works with, believing in the possible. Unfortunately, she’s fighting demons of her own. Like Lorenzo, her job leads her into many difficult and dangerous places and her ways of coping are easily understandable.
For me, the power of Drama City lies in the strength of the characters. From an early stage I felt a strong desire to see them come through their own personal battles unscathed. Once that desire had been established, Pelacanos began to play with the inhabitants of the book like a mischievous god, throwing them to the lions piece by piece and forcing me to watch as the situations played out.
Pelecanos also manages to summarise the profound using very simple brushstrokes and is able to impart huge amounts of information through the tiniest of things (take, for example, the provenance of a matchbook).
Drama City is a hugely satisfying read. The only way I could recommend it more highly would be to stand on something very tall. Be warned, it’s not for those of a nervous disposition.
March 29, 2015
Lorenzo Brown is an ex-convict who is determined to lead a normal, morally righteous life. He is employed as a Humane Society officer for the city, determined to protect abused animals and bring some sort of justice to those that cannot defend themselves. Throughout all this, he has to stop himself from getting involved with the old street life.
At work he is employed alongside Mark, who is a humorous and supportive character. The trials he goes through as a Humane Officer are intriguing and depressing in a realistic way.
His parole officer, Rachel Lopez, is one of the good ones, believing that some people really can transform their lives for the better. But while during the day she has her head on her shoulders, at night is a much different story.
Drama City takes the reader through the daily lives of both of these main characters, creating an interesting story that is believable and realistic. When something tragic happens that could cause Lorenzo to undo his oath that says he should stay on the good side of things, will he be able to resist the temptation? What is the right thing for him to do after all?
George Pelecanos' story is one of hope, inspiration and survival. His style is easy to digest, his point comes across clearly without sounding preachy and his characters are strong.
On the negative side, the novel could have used some tightening in pace and tension, with more flavor added to Lorenzo's life (present and past). Overall, though, it's an enjoyable read that is thought-provoking, emotionally gripping and well-written.
At work he is employed alongside Mark, who is a humorous and supportive character. The trials he goes through as a Humane Officer are intriguing and depressing in a realistic way.
His parole officer, Rachel Lopez, is one of the good ones, believing that some people really can transform their lives for the better. But while during the day she has her head on her shoulders, at night is a much different story.
Drama City takes the reader through the daily lives of both of these main characters, creating an interesting story that is believable and realistic. When something tragic happens that could cause Lorenzo to undo his oath that says he should stay on the good side of things, will he be able to resist the temptation? What is the right thing for him to do after all?
George Pelecanos' story is one of hope, inspiration and survival. His style is easy to digest, his point comes across clearly without sounding preachy and his characters are strong.
On the negative side, the novel could have used some tightening in pace and tension, with more flavor added to Lorenzo's life (present and past). Overall, though, it's an enjoyable read that is thought-provoking, emotionally gripping and well-written.
October 19, 2010
Anyone who has watched that great tv series, THE WIRE, will like this "hardboiled" crime fiction by the same writer who worked on the series.
It has the same location (Washington and Baltimore slums) with the same theme - individuals who try to escape from this area of drugs, crime, and misery; some make it, and others don't - it's often a matter of luck whether one succeeds or fails.
Strangely, I thought this issue of "redemption" (people struggling against immense odds in this bleak environment) almost qualifies the book as a "spiritual" work, especially in its description of the Narcotics Anonymous meeting to which two of the main characters (Lorenzo and Rachel) attend.
It has the same location (Washington and Baltimore slums) with the same theme - individuals who try to escape from this area of drugs, crime, and misery; some make it, and others don't - it's often a matter of luck whether one succeeds or fails.
Strangely, I thought this issue of "redemption" (people struggling against immense odds in this bleak environment) almost qualifies the book as a "spiritual" work, especially in its description of the Narcotics Anonymous meeting to which two of the main characters (Lorenzo and Rachel) attend.
August 22, 2018
Once again I come away thinking that the main character in Pelecanos’s books is the city itself, specifically the middle to lower class neighborhoods of Washington DC. It’s the image of those streets, alleys and houses that always leaves the deepest impression on me. They seem to come alive and I find it easy to remember them. As for the characters themselves, I found them compelling, especially Lorenzo and Rachel, of course. Lastly, take note of the not-so-subtle parallel between how a vicious dog is raised and how a violent psychopath is raised. There’s a bit of a morality tale in there.
April 6, 2010
If you like the idea of an extra season of The Wire that's about parole officers and ex-cons working for the Humane Society, then this is the book for you. And if you don't, what's wrong with you? Drama City is much slighter than a season of anything - almost all the novel takes place over the course of 48 hours - but Pelecanos has a superb ear for dialogue and the plot doesn't go where you expect. This would have five stars if I wasn't a little unsure about the book's gender politics.
June 14, 2021
George Pelecanos is my favorite writer and along with Right as Rain and Hard Revolution, this is my favorite book by him. Not only does this book remind me of The Wire the most, it has a scene that Bubbles uses in season 5. To me, with how Scorsese and Tarantino are in a league of their own with filmmaking imo, Pelecanos is in a league of his own in writing. They are crime novels for sure, but he captures relationships and people so well. Can’t recommend him enough.
November 1, 2016
I love this book. I thought it had very believable characters, a reasonable plot and it kept me glued to the page. I read well into the night Because I couldn't put it down. It only took me a night or two to read it, because the pot moved very quickly. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fast-paced book.
Bonus points if you like animals and HBO's "The Wire".
Bonus points if you like animals and HBO's "The Wire".
August 22, 2012
Realistic and in that respect depressing.
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