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The Delivery Man
The Delivery Man is a thrilling and astonishing debut—a scary, fast-paced, and illuminating portrait of the MySpace generation. It is a love story set against the surreal excess of Las Vegas—and the artificial suburbs, gated communities, and freeways that surround it—where broken lives come to seek new beginnings and casinos feed the lust of tourists and residents alike. Ultrasophisticated local kids grow up fast and burn out early.
After attending college in New York, Chase returns to Vegas and is drawn into the lucrative but dangerous world of a teenage call-girl service with his childhood friend Michele, a beautiful Salvadoran immigrant with whom he shares a tragic past. Over the course of one extraordinary summer they will confront the violence and emptiness at the heart of the city and their generation.
At once stark and electrically atmospheric, horrifying and hopeful, The Delivery Man is an ambitious literary novel as well as a fast and absorbing page-turner—and a powerful indictment of a society in which personal responsibility has been abandoned, lust is increasingly mistaken for love, and innocence is an anachronism.
After attending college in New York, Chase returns to Vegas and is drawn into the lucrative but dangerous world of a teenage call-girl service with his childhood friend Michele, a beautiful Salvadoran immigrant with whom he shares a tragic past. Over the course of one extraordinary summer they will confront the violence and emptiness at the heart of the city and their generation.
At once stark and electrically atmospheric, horrifying and hopeful, The Delivery Man is an ambitious literary novel as well as a fast and absorbing page-turner—and a powerful indictment of a society in which personal responsibility has been abandoned, lust is increasingly mistaken for love, and innocence is an anachronism.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
February 10, 2016
I stumbled upon this gem completely by chance in a bookstore a few years ago. I’d never heard of the book or the author before, but I was completely hooked upon reading the first few pages. The sharp, visceral story is set in Las Vegas and focuses on a character trapped between his toxic friends and the pitfalls of sin city. It's about a man dealing with the complexities of who he once was and who he wants to become. Disturbing and heartbreaking at times, McGinniss’s style and story are exactly what I want to get out of a novel: compelling, effective, and masterful.
The writing is lean and crisp, often winding you like a gut punch. The characters are deliciously flawed. The tale is tragic. It's a look into a warped mirror of sorts, a reflective slice of real life that seems strange because far too many people don't want to acknowledge this kind of story exists. Las Vegas is a brightly lit black hole sucking in the money and souls of all who come close, neon lights attracting people like moths before burning them at the blackjack tables and slot machines. For the young growing up in and around Las Vegas life can be a foreign existence, something so alien from the rest of the country that it seems unrecognizable. There are just as many scams in the city's workplaces and communities as there are along the Vegas Strip. Money makes people do crazy things, and a gambling town can operate more like a free-range asylum where everyone is out on a weekend pass.
'The Delivery Man' is storytelling at some of its absolute finest. I'm actually insulted (if not horrified) that more people don't recognize the level of talent that is present within these pages. McGinniss's skills are well-honed and I envy his level of craftsmanship. He doesn't just tell you a story, he makes you feel it, under your skin, through your flesh, and down in your bones. Whenever someone asks me to recommend a fantastic book written by a talented author that I personally love, I inevitably tell them about this novel. I've always felt Joe McGinniss Jr. knocked one out of the park with 'The Delivery Man', but sadly I think it sailed over too many people's heads.
This book was one of my '10 Books That Stuck With Me' piece. Check out which others made the list: http://jkentmessum.com/2014/03/19/10-...
The writing is lean and crisp, often winding you like a gut punch. The characters are deliciously flawed. The tale is tragic. It's a look into a warped mirror of sorts, a reflective slice of real life that seems strange because far too many people don't want to acknowledge this kind of story exists. Las Vegas is a brightly lit black hole sucking in the money and souls of all who come close, neon lights attracting people like moths before burning them at the blackjack tables and slot machines. For the young growing up in and around Las Vegas life can be a foreign existence, something so alien from the rest of the country that it seems unrecognizable. There are just as many scams in the city's workplaces and communities as there are along the Vegas Strip. Money makes people do crazy things, and a gambling town can operate more like a free-range asylum where everyone is out on a weekend pass.
'The Delivery Man' is storytelling at some of its absolute finest. I'm actually insulted (if not horrified) that more people don't recognize the level of talent that is present within these pages. McGinniss's skills are well-honed and I envy his level of craftsmanship. He doesn't just tell you a story, he makes you feel it, under your skin, through your flesh, and down in your bones. Whenever someone asks me to recommend a fantastic book written by a talented author that I personally love, I inevitably tell them about this novel. I've always felt Joe McGinniss Jr. knocked one out of the park with 'The Delivery Man', but sadly I think it sailed over too many people's heads.
This book was one of my '10 Books That Stuck With Me' piece. Check out which others made the list: http://jkentmessum.com/2014/03/19/10-...
May 10, 2022
The Delivery Man was another selection that I had requested the library to purchase on the Kindle for my viewing pleasure and then forgot about. A few months ago I went to the app to delete some of these long-forgotten requests and since the physical library had opened back up officially after Covid I went to see what was available in paper format and then requested allllllllll of the things I could find because . . . . of course I did.
I think J. Kent Messum’s review is probably what made me want to read this to begin with, but that Lolita knockoff cover certainly didn’t hurt anything. When I went on Goodreads to add this as a “Currently Reading” I was pretty thrown by the low rating. WhileI didn’t love it as much as my pal, still all those 1 Stars kind of boggled my mind (not that people aren’t allowed to have their own opinion – I was just a bit shook because it appears this must have been marketed to the wrong audience per the type of feedback I was seeing).
I’m giving this 3 Stars. I like the dark and gritty and an underage prostitution ring certainly fits that bill. That being said, the entire time I was reading I kept thinking “Channing Tatum could totally star in this if it were turned into a movie.” Per the cover blurb, I think I was supposed to get some Chuckie P. vibes or consider this a sort of Less Than Zero for the millennial sect, but since I’m a horny old Boomer I kept thinking the leading male trying to make good, become an artist and move on to adulthood with the girl of his dreams by leaving the hooker drivin’ lifestyle behind drew a lot more similarities to Magic Mike than B.E.E. . . . .
Still this wasn’t a bad read at all. It was pretty short, the writing was good and, as I said above, seedy underbelly types of settings????
I think J. Kent Messum’s review is probably what made me want to read this to begin with, but that Lolita knockoff cover certainly didn’t hurt anything. When I went on Goodreads to add this as a “Currently Reading” I was pretty thrown by the low rating. WhileI didn’t love it as much as my pal, still all those 1 Stars kind of boggled my mind (not that people aren’t allowed to have their own opinion – I was just a bit shook because it appears this must have been marketed to the wrong audience per the type of feedback I was seeing).
I’m giving this 3 Stars. I like the dark and gritty and an underage prostitution ring certainly fits that bill. That being said, the entire time I was reading I kept thinking “Channing Tatum could totally star in this if it were turned into a movie.” Per the cover blurb, I think I was supposed to get some Chuckie P. vibes or consider this a sort of Less Than Zero for the millennial sect, but since I’m a horny old Boomer I kept thinking the leading male trying to make good, become an artist and move on to adulthood with the girl of his dreams by leaving the hooker drivin’ lifestyle behind drew a lot more similarities to Magic Mike than B.E.E. . . . .
Still this wasn’t a bad read at all. It was pretty short, the writing was good and, as I said above, seedy underbelly types of settings????
March 19, 2008
Anyone who thinks this is "the real Las Vegas" doesn't actually live here. It's /a/ Las Vegas. (Except for when McGinniss gets some directions wrong; despite help from locals, a few typos seem to have wedged in. That, or else no one has ever pointed me to the secret tunnel making it so easy to flit back and forth from the Summerlin Parkway to Green Valley. And I *really* don't recommend trying to take Maryland down to Boulder Hwy from Flamingo. As for those "west side ghettos" - er, west of what? Boulder City, maybe? Not the actual west side here, where "The Lakes" - as featured in the book as a swanky place - is located.)
Like the main character, I'm a high school teacher in LV, and yes, in my school I have taught at least one student who (I knew) was a prostitute and yes, many kids see summer school as almost inevitable. It's not a great place for teens if you don't choose your schools carefully. So, I won't pretend our town doesn't have a gritty side, and it was interesting (albeit unoriginal) to see someone tackle it in fiction.
But, every city with this kind of population and population growth has a gritty side, so it's hardly worthy of the "OMG Kids in Las Vegas live like this!!?!!" hype that some would bestow on this novel that, street names and temperature aside, could have been set in Chicago or Baltimore. Kids who don't get their emotional needs met sometimes do stupid or dangerous things. It probably even happens in Iowa.
If I were going to be really nit-picky, I'd ask why a book published in 2008 goes on (and on) about Wet 'n Wild (but never mentions that it's been closed for several years now - which may have been significant to Chase) and also names the Stardust as the only casino for which Chase has chips that hasn't been imploded, when it has been almost 18 months since we all said good-bye to that property.
For that matter, why does Chase "discover" that his inherited chips are (almost) all for demolished casinos? Why didn't he or his mother cash in those chips before the casinos went out of business? They're locals; they would've had months of warning to do so. It's not like we Las Vegans are going to wake up, grab the newspaper, and suddenly call out, "Cripes. They blew up the Venetian last night. Who knew?"
But on to the actual writing. If you're into the stone-youth-wankery of Bret Easton Ellis, you might like this. If not, you might still like this, as it flows quickly and makes for a nice "beach book." None of the sex is too explicit (for better or for worse), which perhaps helps nudge this into the "literary" genre (as opposed to "dude lit").
Me, I didn't find any of the characters likable, but I respected that the author didn't (seem to) expect me to. They're all losers. (Really. And don't fool yourself into thinking that makes them more "real." If you believe that, get a better life.) It's like playing your birthday numbers on the roulette wheel: pick a character to root for, but don't expect anyone at the table to win.
Like the main character, I'm a high school teacher in LV, and yes, in my school I have taught at least one student who (I knew) was a prostitute and yes, many kids see summer school as almost inevitable. It's not a great place for teens if you don't choose your schools carefully. So, I won't pretend our town doesn't have a gritty side, and it was interesting (albeit unoriginal) to see someone tackle it in fiction.
But, every city with this kind of population and population growth has a gritty side, so it's hardly worthy of the "OMG Kids in Las Vegas live like this!!?!!" hype that some would bestow on this novel that, street names and temperature aside, could have been set in Chicago or Baltimore. Kids who don't get their emotional needs met sometimes do stupid or dangerous things. It probably even happens in Iowa.
If I were going to be really nit-picky, I'd ask why a book published in 2008 goes on (and on) about Wet 'n Wild (but never mentions that it's been closed for several years now - which may have been significant to Chase) and also names the Stardust as the only casino for which Chase has chips that hasn't been imploded, when it has been almost 18 months since we all said good-bye to that property.
For that matter, why does Chase "discover" that his inherited chips are (almost) all for demolished casinos? Why didn't he or his mother cash in those chips before the casinos went out of business? They're locals; they would've had months of warning to do so. It's not like we Las Vegans are going to wake up, grab the newspaper, and suddenly call out, "Cripes. They blew up the Venetian last night. Who knew?"
But on to the actual writing. If you're into the stone-youth-wankery of Bret Easton Ellis, you might like this. If not, you might still like this, as it flows quickly and makes for a nice "beach book." None of the sex is too explicit (for better or for worse), which perhaps helps nudge this into the "literary" genre (as opposed to "dude lit").
Me, I didn't find any of the characters likable, but I respected that the author didn't (seem to) expect me to. They're all losers. (Really. And don't fool yourself into thinking that makes them more "real." If you believe that, get a better life.) It's like playing your birthday numbers on the roulette wheel: pick a character to root for, but don't expect anyone at the table to win.
December 3, 2007
love getting to read advance reader copies. And even better when a book turns out to be really great - and this one is really great. It's a very interesting take on teens/20'somethings and experiences growing up in Las Vegas. There is some really powerful imagery in this book.
I've been reading a lot of "darker" fiction lately, the kind that is meant to really get you (just read Fight Club for the first time recently even though had seen the movie...) and this book really fits that category. Is similar to Fight Club actually, in a way, in that I think the author is making a point about the vapid nature of much of today's popular culture - and he's making this point in a very dramatic way with characters in Las Vegas who are so anethesized by certain influences that they think running a teen call girl service out of a casino to make money makes sense(!). But the great thing is that it does make sense in the context of this book. Anyway, I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in a great read.
I've been reading a lot of "darker" fiction lately, the kind that is meant to really get you (just read Fight Club for the first time recently even though had seen the movie...) and this book really fits that category. Is similar to Fight Club actually, in a way, in that I think the author is making a point about the vapid nature of much of today's popular culture - and he's making this point in a very dramatic way with characters in Las Vegas who are so anethesized by certain influences that they think running a teen call girl service out of a casino to make money makes sense(!). But the great thing is that it does make sense in the context of this book. Anyway, I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in a great read.
January 20, 2025
Highly recommend for fans of Bret Easton Ellis. This has scratched the itch I’ve been having since finishing all of BEE’s backlist. This book is dark, gritty, bleak, depressing, and like a punch to the gut. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. So well done.
January 30, 2008
great story. it made me really nervous to read but wanted to keep turning the pages. thank God I grew up when I did. best last line of a book ever.
March 20, 2008
love, love, love this book. "Find yourself here" great first sentence. Great ending all the way to the last sentence but won't post that :) Need to put a review here but in the meantime I agree with this guy:
--At first glance, this debut novel looks like a good, short read for the next time you're waiting at the airport. It's an insider's guide to the dark underbelly of twenty-first-century Las Vegas, brimming with brand names, hard bodies, hard drugs, and heavy doses of sex and violence. If that's all you're looking for, The Delivery Man won't disappoint. . . .
But once you finish it, you won't be able to get it out of your mind--McGinniss uses his fast-paced, B-movie plotline to explore how the flip side of the American dream can often be an inescapable nightmare, much like F. Scott Fitzgerald manipulated the melodrama of The Great Gatsby. In fact, The Delivery Man, like Gatsby, is the story of a lost generation. While Fitzgerald's flappers danced as fast as they could before their world collapsed in Depression and war, McGinniss's losers are stranded in an empty landscape of dead sex, coked-out emotion, and pointless danger.
To his credit, McGinniss refuses to take the easy, ironic way out favored by so many contemporary writers who distance the reader from the characters. You see these doomed, wretched people for what they are, and then McGinniss allows them to break your heart. The Delivery Man is that rare first novel that could well become a classic."--Peter Bloch, Penthouse
and a couple more thoughts: The characters you meet in this novel – Chase, Michele, Hunter and Bailey are in many ways sad and despicable and there is certainly a sense of large-scale impending doom throughout. But that’s the point and the magic of this book.
It reminds me so much of some of my most favorite books and authors – Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis and Charles Bukowski most of all. Like Clay, Hank Chinaski and Victor Mancini (from Palahniuk’s Choke), McGinniss has created characters, especially Chase, who want to move on but something is holding him back. These people are disturbing.
What is so great about this story though, is that you can’t look away. I think we all know self destructive people, who should get away from destructive influences, but who seem helpless and powerless in the face of those influences. They (we) see the train wreck coming, but we don’t move out of the way.
I highly recommend this book to everyone – but especially to Bukowski, Easton Ellis, Palahniuk and Hunter Thompson fans (and even JD Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgeral fans too). What a magical and painfully insightful book this is.
--At first glance, this debut novel looks like a good, short read for the next time you're waiting at the airport. It's an insider's guide to the dark underbelly of twenty-first-century Las Vegas, brimming with brand names, hard bodies, hard drugs, and heavy doses of sex and violence. If that's all you're looking for, The Delivery Man won't disappoint. . . .
But once you finish it, you won't be able to get it out of your mind--McGinniss uses his fast-paced, B-movie plotline to explore how the flip side of the American dream can often be an inescapable nightmare, much like F. Scott Fitzgerald manipulated the melodrama of The Great Gatsby. In fact, The Delivery Man, like Gatsby, is the story of a lost generation. While Fitzgerald's flappers danced as fast as they could before their world collapsed in Depression and war, McGinniss's losers are stranded in an empty landscape of dead sex, coked-out emotion, and pointless danger.
To his credit, McGinniss refuses to take the easy, ironic way out favored by so many contemporary writers who distance the reader from the characters. You see these doomed, wretched people for what they are, and then McGinniss allows them to break your heart. The Delivery Man is that rare first novel that could well become a classic."--Peter Bloch, Penthouse
and a couple more thoughts: The characters you meet in this novel – Chase, Michele, Hunter and Bailey are in many ways sad and despicable and there is certainly a sense of large-scale impending doom throughout. But that’s the point and the magic of this book.
It reminds me so much of some of my most favorite books and authors – Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis and Charles Bukowski most of all. Like Clay, Hank Chinaski and Victor Mancini (from Palahniuk’s Choke), McGinniss has created characters, especially Chase, who want to move on but something is holding him back. These people are disturbing.
What is so great about this story though, is that you can’t look away. I think we all know self destructive people, who should get away from destructive influences, but who seem helpless and powerless in the face of those influences. They (we) see the train wreck coming, but we don’t move out of the way.
I highly recommend this book to everyone – but especially to Bukowski, Easton Ellis, Palahniuk and Hunter Thompson fans (and even JD Salinger and F. Scott Fitzgeral fans too). What a magical and painfully insightful book this is.
October 2, 2008
I saw this in a Urban Outfitters, which possibly should ahve been my clue not to read it. It's gritty for the sake of being gritty and not that interesting. Boobs and a fight only keep the attention of certain demographics. (There's glowing reviews by Chuck Palahniuk all over the cover.)
March 11, 2009
It took me almost three months to read this book. It was just completely disengaging. The author seems to have no actual talent for writing a decent sentence. He has no sense of imagery whatsoever and would it kill for a little symbolism or SOMETHING interesting? The lack thereof was slightly insulting to the reader's intelligence.
The end came abruptly with no kind of resolution or explanation for the characters' behaviors. Which only hurt the story more by reducing every one to a shallow, single-layered, stupid, self-absorbed drug-addict. I understand that sex was one of the main themes of this story, but it was played like a badly written porn.
What this book lacked was any real substance (though it had plenty of substance ABUSE). No lesson was learned. No knowledge was gained. How did this book get published? It was very obviously a first novel. Whoever was in charge of marketing knew what they were doing. They made sure the cover had nothing to do with the story, totally misleading. But it was the most intriguing part of the book.
The end came abruptly with no kind of resolution or explanation for the characters' behaviors. Which only hurt the story more by reducing every one to a shallow, single-layered, stupid, self-absorbed drug-addict. I understand that sex was one of the main themes of this story, but it was played like a badly written porn.
What this book lacked was any real substance (though it had plenty of substance ABUSE). No lesson was learned. No knowledge was gained. How did this book get published? It was very obviously a first novel. Whoever was in charge of marketing knew what they were doing. They made sure the cover had nothing to do with the story, totally misleading. But it was the most intriguing part of the book.
October 21, 2023
˗ˏˋ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 'ˎ˗
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Joe McGinnis Jr.'s riveting and thrilling book "The Delivery Man" delves into the murky underbelly of a tiny community. The narrative is situated in Las Vegas and centers on the city's best-kept secrets, particularly the call-girl industry. Chase struggles with the complexities of having poisonous friends, leading a busy life, and having a best friend in the escort industry. As the story unfolds, Chase finds himself caught in a web of deceit and danger, forced to navigate the treacherous world of crime and corruption. With each page turn, McGinnis Jr. masterfully exposes the harsh realities that lurk beneath the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, leaving readers on the edge of their seats, craving for more.
I thought the writing style was excellent, but what I really liked about this book was how it illuminated the harsh relationships that exist in the world, particularly in the escort industry. The author skillfully portrays the complexities of power dynamics and the vulnerability of those involved, shedding light on the dark underbelly of an often glamorized profession. This book was tragic, but it was real.
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Joe McGinnis Jr.'s riveting and thrilling book "The Delivery Man" delves into the murky underbelly of a tiny community. The narrative is situated in Las Vegas and centers on the city's best-kept secrets, particularly the call-girl industry. Chase struggles with the complexities of having poisonous friends, leading a busy life, and having a best friend in the escort industry. As the story unfolds, Chase finds himself caught in a web of deceit and danger, forced to navigate the treacherous world of crime and corruption. With each page turn, McGinnis Jr. masterfully exposes the harsh realities that lurk beneath the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, leaving readers on the edge of their seats, craving for more.
I thought the writing style was excellent, but what I really liked about this book was how it illuminated the harsh relationships that exist in the world, particularly in the escort industry. The author skillfully portrays the complexities of power dynamics and the vulnerability of those involved, shedding light on the dark underbelly of an often glamorized profession. This book was tragic, but it was real.
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October 6, 2014
Okay. Hmm. Where do I start?
First, let me admit something. I may or may not have a slight, perhaps illogical, prejudice against people who moved to Las Vegas after the building boom.
The author was obviously intrigued by post-boom Las Vegas, lured by themed slot machines and upscale casino clubs. Ah, Sin City, am I right? I guess you can't help but sin if you live here. Or visit here. ("And there's a gentleman's club!" I helpfully pointed out to a relative who visited recently for the first time, as we passed it on the freeway.)
Anyway, the author's sins include, but are not limited to:
1. A high school art teacher swearing a class to secrecy so he can allow nude figure drawings. Uh, no, dude. (Yes, he eventually gets fired for this, but that is a SERIOUS infraction.)
2. Centennial High School originally built to be a prison. And outraged citizens protesting it because it was too close to their homes. In what fucking universe? We already have prisons OUTSIDE of Las Vegas (I know, I went on a field trip to Indian Springs once). I've heard but can't confirm that high schools here, and certain middle schools built in circular clusters, were designed after prisons, so maybe the author was misinformed? Or he's just trying to be edgy?
3. Generalization of "...the waterslide at Wet 'n Wild." FAIL. I still know all the names of those slides. (Okay, fine, except that one with the mats.)
4. Teenagers (15, 16) checking into suites at Bally's to watch the fireworks over the Strip. Okay, first of all, locals don't even go to the Strip if we can help it. Second of all, the Strip is probably the worst place to view the fireworks being shot off over the Strip. Third of all, teenagers checking into hotel rooms on the Strip? Maybe on Prom night, I guess?
5. Writing "I-15" or "I-215." It's just the 15 and the 215. Apparently this is a marked way of speaking. (Also, no one cares about the 93. It's just the 95.)
6. BLATANT disregard for basic Las Vegas geography. Pretty much every time the author mentioned street names, there was no need for it. Also, he was wrong A LOT. At one point the main character was driving west on Summerlin Parkway passing the Stratosphere. Um, what? Another time he was driving aimlessly around town, taking Maryland to Boulder Highway, passing the Hard Rock, turning at Sahara, which took him to Paradise and then the Strip. Okay ... no. Even when the street names and driving directions weren't much of an issue, the way these characters navigated town made absolutely no sense.
Those were my major issues, and they detracted from my enjoyment of the book in a major way. But people with no knowledge of Las Vegas whatsoever might enjoy this book, if they don't mind a gross teenage prostitution plot operating out of a suite in a fictional hotel, or unlikeable characters who have no moral compass and don't know any words over two syllables.
(It's only fair to mention that sometimes the author did a good job capturing the main character's ennui and disdain for Las Vegas, which I could really relate to. The end.)
So ... yeah. If that's your thing, have at it! But keep in mind, the prostitutes here are most likely not fake-boobed teenage girls, but crackheads who might call you "motherfucker" and demand a ride on a hot day if your window is down and you're idling somewhere downtown on your lunch break (true story).
First, let me admit something. I may or may not have a slight, perhaps illogical, prejudice against people who moved to Las Vegas after the building boom.
The author was obviously intrigued by post-boom Las Vegas, lured by themed slot machines and upscale casino clubs. Ah, Sin City, am I right? I guess you can't help but sin if you live here. Or visit here. ("And there's a gentleman's club!" I helpfully pointed out to a relative who visited recently for the first time, as we passed it on the freeway.)
Anyway, the author's sins include, but are not limited to:
1. A high school art teacher swearing a class to secrecy so he can allow nude figure drawings. Uh, no, dude. (Yes, he eventually gets fired for this, but that is a SERIOUS infraction.)
2. Centennial High School originally built to be a prison. And outraged citizens protesting it because it was too close to their homes. In what fucking universe? We already have prisons OUTSIDE of Las Vegas (I know, I went on a field trip to Indian Springs once). I've heard but can't confirm that high schools here, and certain middle schools built in circular clusters, were designed after prisons, so maybe the author was misinformed? Or he's just trying to be edgy?
3. Generalization of "...the waterslide at Wet 'n Wild." FAIL. I still know all the names of those slides. (Okay, fine, except that one with the mats.)
4. Teenagers (15, 16) checking into suites at Bally's to watch the fireworks over the Strip. Okay, first of all, locals don't even go to the Strip if we can help it. Second of all, the Strip is probably the worst place to view the fireworks being shot off over the Strip. Third of all, teenagers checking into hotel rooms on the Strip? Maybe on Prom night, I guess?
5. Writing "I-15" or "I-215." It's just the 15 and the 215. Apparently this is a marked way of speaking. (Also, no one cares about the 93. It's just the 95.)
6. BLATANT disregard for basic Las Vegas geography. Pretty much every time the author mentioned street names, there was no need for it. Also, he was wrong A LOT. At one point the main character was driving west on Summerlin Parkway passing the Stratosphere. Um, what? Another time he was driving aimlessly around town, taking Maryland to Boulder Highway, passing the Hard Rock, turning at Sahara, which took him to Paradise and then the Strip. Okay ... no. Even when the street names and driving directions weren't much of an issue, the way these characters navigated town made absolutely no sense.
Those were my major issues, and they detracted from my enjoyment of the book in a major way. But people with no knowledge of Las Vegas whatsoever might enjoy this book, if they don't mind a gross teenage prostitution plot operating out of a suite in a fictional hotel, or unlikeable characters who have no moral compass and don't know any words over two syllables.
(It's only fair to mention that sometimes the author did a good job capturing the main character's ennui and disdain for Las Vegas, which I could really relate to. The end.)
So ... yeah. If that's your thing, have at it! But keep in mind, the prostitutes here are most likely not fake-boobed teenage girls, but crackheads who might call you "motherfucker" and demand a ride on a hot day if your window is down and you're idling somewhere downtown on your lunch break (true story).
January 5, 2008
Excellent. The main characters are all childhood friends that were raised - with little or negative parental supervision – on the edge of the main strip in Las Vegas. Now in their mid-twenties, the story focuses on their lifestyle, illegal professions and their caustic influence on the generation right behind. A solid read that shows teenage self-perceived invincibility, MySpace and love of cash can bottom out anyone's morals.
February 15, 2008
sorry but i did not love this book. it's full of tortured, pitiful characters whom i mostly hated. i also felt like i was reading the same twenty pages over and over....the characters are stuck in their own muck but did i have to be too? yes, it reminds me of early brett easton ellis but in this case, that's not a good thing. the characters are souless and so is the story....
September 23, 2015
What a read! It's been a long time since I read a writing style that was this brilliantly effective. 'The Delivery Man' was a gut-wrenching tale of being held back and trapped by a life you'd sooner leave if you had the chance. Joe McGinniss Jr. is a new master who is hopefully just getting started.
February 10, 2008
This book was so bad, I put it in the recycling bin. I'm embarrassed to have it in the house.
Though it is an excellent example of how first novels don't have to be masterpieces, or even decently written. They just have to be first novels. You can only get better, one hopes.
Also, the front cover picture pisses me off. Did the designer READ the book, or get told what the main female character LOOKED like, because that is a far cry from anywhere near being her. Yeah, yeah, it could have been any of the other prostitutes... Mainly, they knew it would sell books, what with the Lolita Look.
Anyway, this book reinforced how much I dislike Vegas and anything having to do with it. How on earth did my friend Ben ever emerge as the kind, considerate, intelligent soul that he is after living there through his formative years?
Oh, back to the book. Yeah, no dice. Tiresome main character, tiresome secondary characters, tiresome plot, tiresome life. Glad I recycled you all.
Though it is an excellent example of how first novels don't have to be masterpieces, or even decently written. They just have to be first novels. You can only get better, one hopes.
Also, the front cover picture pisses me off. Did the designer READ the book, or get told what the main female character LOOKED like, because that is a far cry from anywhere near being her. Yeah, yeah, it could have been any of the other prostitutes... Mainly, they knew it would sell books, what with the Lolita Look.
Anyway, this book reinforced how much I dislike Vegas and anything having to do with it. How on earth did my friend Ben ever emerge as the kind, considerate, intelligent soul that he is after living there through his formative years?
Oh, back to the book. Yeah, no dice. Tiresome main character, tiresome secondary characters, tiresome plot, tiresome life. Glad I recycled you all.
August 8, 2008
I was expecting salacious content but it never put out, the ending is lame
July 18, 2009
Why did I read this entire book? I knew, within five pages, that it was poorly written and sloppily constructed. I also knew, since my roommate already read it, that it wasn't going to improve (and it really didn't--it got steadily worse). But I had had this book on my shelf for months and I'd wanted to read it for a year, so I felt obligated to see it through. Next time I pick up something this bad, I'm making myself put it down.
A former co-worker of mine (who works in publishing), recently said on her Twitter, "Why is self-destruction so boring and predictable? Takes real balls to build a life and be happy." There is nothing new or interesting in this book about disaffected young people making shitty choices. Just the same predictable downward spiral, with absolutely no insight into these characters' motivations or psyches.
I also find it really annoying and lazy when authors use italics to connote flashbacks. If you're a good enough writer, we don't need that visual cue. Also, just tell your damn story, don't try and make it Pulp Fiction.
A former co-worker of mine (who works in publishing), recently said on her Twitter, "Why is self-destruction so boring and predictable? Takes real balls to build a life and be happy." There is nothing new or interesting in this book about disaffected young people making shitty choices. Just the same predictable downward spiral, with absolutely no insight into these characters' motivations or psyches.
I also find it really annoying and lazy when authors use italics to connote flashbacks. If you're a good enough writer, we don't need that visual cue. Also, just tell your damn story, don't try and make it Pulp Fiction.
January 4, 2008
stong debut novel. Definitely not a pretentious book - very readable, very gritty. I think we'll look back on this book in 10 years and think something was really captured. Kind of like the first Dre CD The Chronic - it upset everyone at the time as being too angry--well, there really was something to be angry about. This book is like that. definitely some distubing parts. Also, liked the range of characters in this modern Las Vegas tale-the beautiful Michele is Salvadoran (and definitely a twist on an immigrant story) and Julia, the ideal and only together character in the book, is black.-a nice change from the whole "can this girl save him" angle. Cool.
June 4, 2009
In a word: bleak. It is a fairly well written novel. The characters warn each other, and you the reader, about the dangerous ease of slipping into the quicksand of life. "The Delivery Man" touched my own fears and despair. It made grateful for what I am and what I am not. And it made me sad for everyone.
December 24, 2007
To be honest, not much greatness of plot occurs in this book, but there is something mystifying about the style of writing. Great complexities are found in the super-simple english used.
very quick read, liked it through to the end.
very quick read, liked it through to the end.
April 25, 2008
Gosh, hard book to rate. Unbelievably depressing, but very engrossing and haunting. I'm not sure I'd say I enjoyed the reading process, but I did think the book was well done.
July 29, 2021
Reading this book was a flat out chore. All of the characters are morons. The author tries to make them deep by having them say vague things, but nope. They are morons. The endless drug use, the hare brained schemes, the gross sex (not a prude at at all- the sex was written to be gross. I HOPE), the cruelty to animals, absurd notion that Julia would have any interest in Chase, all of Michelle, all of Bailey, omg it was fucking monotonous and icky. I hated, hated, hated the cruelty to animals parts and could only semi skim those paragraphs. I understand having all of these themes in books but not on and on without a break. Things like that lose meaning if not written in a thoughtful way. Cramming every bad thing you can think of into one novel is not edgy, it’s boring and gratuitous. I’ve been on this weird kick of accidentally reading books like that and I’m so sick of it. Books need balance. Some levity here and there. A few moments where the characters are happy (not while high) or times when they have hope. Otherwise it’s like slogging through someone’s therapy session or something. The writer was gifted with landscape and event descriptions! I will give him that and I hope he recognizes how good he is at that and uses it in the future. I live in the desert myself and could visualize the heat, the sticky asphalt, the hot, bored parents watching their kids play and all that.
September 30, 2025
Read this book based on someone else saying it had a Bret Easton Ellis vibe. I’d agree. It was really good. Tragic and sad.
May 6, 2023
I found this book at a thrift shop. McGinnis wrote this debut novel back in 2008. Two stars because I finished the book. Don't know why I finished the book about childhood friends living in Las Vegas and the life they live one being a prostitute another an artist/teacher still another being a pimp and lastly one being a rich hanger on. Why?
April 19, 2008
I read this book very quickly - the Vegas world of these kids captured me immediately and I kept reading because I was genuinely interested in where the main character would end up based on his series of bad decisions. I did have a hard time connecting with the characters at first, but the slow interweaving of the setting and the M.C.'s flashbacks helped me connect with them a bit more. The M.C.'s unconscious and understandable return and further descent into the particularly seedy world in which he was raised was a fascinating process and one which I thought the author handled quite honestly. I also felt the author did a good job with his flashbacks which subtly explained the M.C.'s unconscious emotional attachment to his hometown - the very place that drags him further and further away from any semblance of a positive and productive life, thus creating a subtle illustration of the idea that we are drawn to what we are familiar with, no matter how dark a place that might be. The writing is simple and sophisticated (I personally think they go hand in hand), and I appreciated that because I didn't have to spend time dissecting flowery prose. There were some genuinely and well-timed funny moments. The ending felt a bit anti-climatic. I wanted something more, but it was in keeping with the character and for that it redeemed itself.
February 6, 2008
There were a lot of "oh my god" moments in this one. Page after page you follow Chase (the names of the male characters I'm convinced are symbolic -- Chase, Hunter -- they're chasing/hunting, what? money? sex? meaning in their lives?) as he makes decision after decision that he shouldn't -- all the while telling himself it's just a detour from the path he knows he should be on. He's an aspiring artist who, after losing his art teaching job the way many teachers only wish they could -- by kicking the shit out of a punk student, becomes a delivery man for a Vegas teen call girl ring run by his high school fling, Michele, and their friend Bailey. He delivers the girls to their hookups. Yet, waiting in the wings is his MBA girlfriend Julia, the figure of stability, the anti-temptation that beckons, even as temptation of all forms surrounds Chase. The decisions that Chase makes throughout the narrative aren't a surprise to the reader -- it's those decisions that drive the story into an ever darkening, deepening hole. But the situations that generate those decisions provide the shock value that pervades this novel. McGinniss explores a Vegas underbelly most of us suspect exists but don't want to acknowledge, and it'll leave you breathless.
February 12, 2009
This was one of my favorite books of 2008, which is pretty impressive given it is the author's first novel. The story is centered around Chase, a 25 year-old who went to art school in NYC but finds himself working as a high school teacher in Las Vegas (his hometown) with hopes of meeting up with his girlfriend Julia who is working on her MBA in California. Of course his plans never truly materialize as he is hung up with childhood crush Michele. Michele and her boyfriend Bailey (Chase's other childhood friend) are running a call-girl operation, which would be fine in Vegas except for the fact that Michele is the only of-age girl taking clients. Chase finds himself "helping" with the business, by driving the underage girls to their calls. He quickly finds himself in over his head, and in an action packed turn of events Chase finds himself simultaneously running from new enemies and ghosts from the past.
December 22, 2012
This book made me cringe a lot. I don't know how, but I wanted to jump in the book and help these lost souls figure out their lives. It's a dark and gritty novel, but I think the description in the flap describes it perfectly: Ultrasophisticated local kids grow up fast and burn out early.
I found that no matter what optimistic thought Chase would come up with I was still waiting for the slide back into the rut. He couldn't break away from the life that he hated, despite Julia giving him the chance to do so. Instead, he screws that up too.
I don't know. Maybe I'll come back and write a review for this better. For now, it's too harsh in my mind and I literally cringe when I think about these (fictional) people's lives.
I found that no matter what optimistic thought Chase would come up with I was still waiting for the slide back into the rut. He couldn't break away from the life that he hated, despite Julia giving him the chance to do so. Instead, he screws that up too.
I don't know. Maybe I'll come back and write a review for this better. For now, it's too harsh in my mind and I literally cringe when I think about these (fictional) people's lives.
April 3, 2008
Chase asks her what time the appointment is booked for. Rachel says, "It's at 11:30 or midnight. He's supposed to call to confirm." She checks her cell. "But I want to be there early." she says.
"Why?"
"Just to be on the safe side."
"There isn't one, Rachel."
And so goes the story of Chase, The Delivery Man. If you've looked at my reading list, you'll see a lot of Vegas related crime fiction. This is another strong entry. Amoral, hedonistic, and fearless. Hey, what else do you want in contemporary fiction? Keep an eye on this author.
"Why?"
"Just to be on the safe side."
"There isn't one, Rachel."
And so goes the story of Chase, The Delivery Man. If you've looked at my reading list, you'll see a lot of Vegas related crime fiction. This is another strong entry. Amoral, hedonistic, and fearless. Hey, what else do you want in contemporary fiction? Keep an eye on this author.
Want to read
December 26, 2007Marie Claire: The Delivery Man
by Joe McGinniss Jr. (Grove/Black Cat) It's sex, drugs, and a slew of lost souls in this engrossing story of a 25-year-old known only as Chase. An out-of-luck wannabe artist, he retreats to his hometown—that being Vegas, a downward spiral ensues, thanks to madams and more. Since no less a connoisseur of depraved excess than Bret Easton Ellis helped McGinniss Jr. score a publisher, could The Delivery Man be this decade's Less Than Zero?
by Joe McGinniss Jr. (Grove/Black Cat) It's sex, drugs, and a slew of lost souls in this engrossing story of a 25-year-old known only as Chase. An out-of-luck wannabe artist, he retreats to his hometown—that being Vegas, a downward spiral ensues, thanks to madams and more. Since no less a connoisseur of depraved excess than Bret Easton Ellis helped McGinniss Jr. score a publisher, could The Delivery Man be this decade's Less Than Zero?
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