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Born Slippy
A globetrotting novel about the seductions of and resistance to toxic masculinity.
"Frank knew as well as anyone how stories start and how they end. This fiery mess, or something like it, was bound to happen. He had been expecting it for years."
Frank Baltimore is a bit of a loser, struggling by as a carpenter and handyman in rural New England when he gets his big break, building a mansion in the executive suburbs of Hartford. One of his workers is a charismatic eighteen-year-old kid from Liverpool, Dmitry, in the US in the summer before university. Dmitry is a charming sociopath, who develops a fascination with his autodidactic philosopher boss, perhaps thinking that, if he could figure out what made Frank tick, he could be less of a pig. Dmitry heads to Asia and makes a neo-imperialist fortune, with a trail of corpses in his wake. When Dmitry's office building in Taipei explodes in an enormous fireball, Frank heads to Asia, falls in love with Dmitry's wife, and things go from bad to worse.
Combining the best elements of literary thriller, noir and political satire, Born Slippy is a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.
"Frank knew as well as anyone how stories start and how they end. This fiery mess, or something like it, was bound to happen. He had been expecting it for years."
Frank Baltimore is a bit of a loser, struggling by as a carpenter and handyman in rural New England when he gets his big break, building a mansion in the executive suburbs of Hartford. One of his workers is a charismatic eighteen-year-old kid from Liverpool, Dmitry, in the US in the summer before university. Dmitry is a charming sociopath, who develops a fascination with his autodidactic philosopher boss, perhaps thinking that, if he could figure out what made Frank tick, he could be less of a pig. Dmitry heads to Asia and makes a neo-imperialist fortune, with a trail of corpses in his wake. When Dmitry's office building in Taipei explodes in an enormous fireball, Frank heads to Asia, falls in love with Dmitry's wife, and things go from bad to worse.
Combining the best elements of literary thriller, noir and political satire, Born Slippy is a darkly comic and honest meditation on modern life under global capitalism.
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 14, 2020
6 people are currently reading
431 people want to read
About the author
Tom Lutz
61 books76 followersI have just published the third volume of my travel writing, THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS ()October 2021). A volume of photographic portraits of people I've met on the road is coming out in February 2022, PORTRAITS: MOMENTS OF INTIMACY ON THE ROAD.
A book of philosophical and literary critical reflections, AIMLESSNESS, was published in January 2021 by Columbia University Press.
My first novel, BORN SLIPPY: A NOVEL was published in January, 2020 (Repeater/PRH).
I've just sent a sequel, STILL SLIPPY, to my agent.
I am the author of two earlier books of travel narrative — And The Monkey Learned Nothing and Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World — the cultural histories Doing Nothing and Crying; literary histories Cosmopolitan Vistas and American Nervousness, 1903; pieces for New York Times, LA Times, ZYZZYVA, Exquisite Corpse, New Republic, Salon, Black Clock, Iowa Review, and other places.
I’m a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the UC Riverside, the founding editor in chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, founder of The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB/USC Publishing Workshop, and LARB Books. I am a part-time musician, an amateur photographer, and a full-time dilettante. I live in Los Angeles.
A book of philosophical and literary critical reflections, AIMLESSNESS, was published in January 2021 by Columbia University Press.
My first novel, BORN SLIPPY: A NOVEL was published in January, 2020 (Repeater/PRH).
I've just sent a sequel, STILL SLIPPY, to my agent.
I am the author of two earlier books of travel narrative — And The Monkey Learned Nothing and Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World — the cultural histories Doing Nothing and Crying; literary histories Cosmopolitan Vistas and American Nervousness, 1903; pieces for New York Times, LA Times, ZYZZYVA, Exquisite Corpse, New Republic, Salon, Black Clock, Iowa Review, and other places.
I’m a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the UC Riverside, the founding editor in chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, founder of The LARB Radio Hour, The LARB Quarterly Journal, The LARB/USC Publishing Workshop, and LARB Books. I am a part-time musician, an amateur photographer, and a full-time dilettante. I live in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 4, 2020
This comic noir novel of unlikely friends, a 29 year old carpenter Frank, an autodidactic over-read over-thinker, is working on a spec house in Connecticut upon which his financial future depends, and pressed for money, pressed for time, and lacking qualified workers, reluctantly hires the 18-year-old son of friends of friends, an overprivileged English slacker named Dmitry.
The novel follows their friendship from Frank's point of view, as he alternately tries to unload Dmitry and vicariously enjoys the escapades of this eloquent young sociopath with a ready wit and a big sense of permission to do whatever the hell he's going to do. This odd love-hate friendship, or mentor-pupil stewardship born on that job site and continuing over a period of years, is drop dead funny, as Dmitry far outstrips Frank even at 18 in loquacious rascality, money-making schemes which end in unlikely and outrageous successes and flamboyant failures, prodigious sexual adventures and precarious pranks which only endanger everyone around Dmitry. Yet just when Frank thinks he's clear of his mentee for life, back he comes again. The increasingly criminal Dmitry considers Frank his portable conscience, and has to return for a periodic scolding. Who doesn't love a sociopathic charmer? Here's my blurb for the book:
"What a pleasure, to sink under the comedic spell of Tom Lutz’s debut novel! The perfect book for a dreary day-- a gleeful, twisty tale of an unlikely friendship. Its antagonist, young bloviating Dmitry Heald, with his wild schemes and hair-raising tales, is the guy you can’t trust to go to the market, while the older Frank, his boss, is a man who should know better, and yet can’t resist. Infinitely entertaining. I’d put it on the shelf between Tom Robbins and Martin Amis, if a place can be cleared there." — Janet Fitch, author of The Revolution of Marina M. and Chimes of a Lost Cathedral
The novel follows their friendship from Frank's point of view, as he alternately tries to unload Dmitry and vicariously enjoys the escapades of this eloquent young sociopath with a ready wit and a big sense of permission to do whatever the hell he's going to do. This odd love-hate friendship, or mentor-pupil stewardship born on that job site and continuing over a period of years, is drop dead funny, as Dmitry far outstrips Frank even at 18 in loquacious rascality, money-making schemes which end in unlikely and outrageous successes and flamboyant failures, prodigious sexual adventures and precarious pranks which only endanger everyone around Dmitry. Yet just when Frank thinks he's clear of his mentee for life, back he comes again. The increasingly criminal Dmitry considers Frank his portable conscience, and has to return for a periodic scolding. Who doesn't love a sociopathic charmer? Here's my blurb for the book:
"What a pleasure, to sink under the comedic spell of Tom Lutz’s debut novel! The perfect book for a dreary day-- a gleeful, twisty tale of an unlikely friendship. Its antagonist, young bloviating Dmitry Heald, with his wild schemes and hair-raising tales, is the guy you can’t trust to go to the market, while the older Frank, his boss, is a man who should know better, and yet can’t resist. Infinitely entertaining. I’d put it on the shelf between Tom Robbins and Martin Amis, if a place can be cleared there." — Janet Fitch, author of The Revolution of Marina M. and Chimes of a Lost Cathedral
February 3, 2020
In the spirit of Kurt Vonnegut, Tom Lutz has given us a shrewd, mordant tale of the male ego sucked into the modern maelstrom. Frank is a decent man but Dmitri is the devil on his shoulder, seducing him with all the messy pleasures of financial manipulation and global debauchery. Dmitri takes Frank on a wild global ride from his good intentions to his true intentions, and then forces him to confront the consequences of his new self. In this bracing, captivating tale Tom Lutz, as seductive as Dmitri, brings us face to face with the hidden choices we’re all forced to make to navigate the twenty-first century.
March 5, 2020
This book was received from the Author, and Publisher, in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
Born Slippy is a meticulous blend of thrilling suspense, globetrotting adventures,and a heavy dose of cynical humor. This is one book you will not forget.
Born Slippy by Tom Lutz, is a provocative and memorable, a psychological thriller. That takes the reader on a journey that reflects moral decisions and, seedy business dealings in a character driven satire with political elements.
A riveting book focusing on a twisted friendship between Frank Baltimore, and Dmitry Heald. Frank the protagonist, who happens to be a a moderately successful contractor, and thinks of himself a somewhat moralist with ecologist views
Dmitry Heald is the antagonist, in this superb tale, an overconfident Englishman, that is eight years younger than frank. As the story unfolds Dmtiry character becomes more sinister, as we see his true nature. He overtime becomes a ruthlessly but very successful financier. Who makes his fortune investing the corruptly acquired funds of international dictators and criminals.
Frank is continuous drawn into Demtiry deceptive web of schemes, in this fast paced character driven adventure.
The books engaging storyline deftly weaves back and forth as we see repercussions of some of the main POV’s critical choices .
When Frank becomes more entangled in Dmitry’s criminal schemes, ultimately sending him down his own dark treacherous path.
This enthralling tale that cleverly reflects on our twenty-first century world and the evils of global capitalism. When unrestrained capitalism inevitably leads to a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Tom Lutz’s captivating psychological portrait of a dark sinister toxic friendship that had me completely immersed and swiftly turning the pages. This was a nonstop, hand gripping edge of my seat, read for me. The narration was brilliantly executed and I was completely invested in.
This is a stunningly depicted satire, that captures the true nature of human morality and ultimately the consequences of decisions that me make.
@tomlutz22 #fiction #political #satire
Born Slippy is a meticulous blend of thrilling suspense, globetrotting adventures,and a heavy dose of cynical humor. This is one book you will not forget.
Born Slippy by Tom Lutz, is a provocative and memorable, a psychological thriller. That takes the reader on a journey that reflects moral decisions and, seedy business dealings in a character driven satire with political elements.
A riveting book focusing on a twisted friendship between Frank Baltimore, and Dmitry Heald. Frank the protagonist, who happens to be a a moderately successful contractor, and thinks of himself a somewhat moralist with ecologist views
Dmitry Heald is the antagonist, in this superb tale, an overconfident Englishman, that is eight years younger than frank. As the story unfolds Dmtiry character becomes more sinister, as we see his true nature. He overtime becomes a ruthlessly but very successful financier. Who makes his fortune investing the corruptly acquired funds of international dictators and criminals.
Frank is continuous drawn into Demtiry deceptive web of schemes, in this fast paced character driven adventure.
The books engaging storyline deftly weaves back and forth as we see repercussions of some of the main POV’s critical choices .
When Frank becomes more entangled in Dmitry’s criminal schemes, ultimately sending him down his own dark treacherous path.
This enthralling tale that cleverly reflects on our twenty-first century world and the evils of global capitalism. When unrestrained capitalism inevitably leads to a widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Tom Lutz’s captivating psychological portrait of a dark sinister toxic friendship that had me completely immersed and swiftly turning the pages. This was a nonstop, hand gripping edge of my seat, read for me. The narration was brilliantly executed and I was completely invested in.
This is a stunningly depicted satire, that captures the true nature of human morality and ultimately the consequences of decisions that me make.
@tomlutz22 #fiction #political #satire
February 17, 2020
From the very beginning, the names of our main characters, Frank and Dmitry, should completely summarize the whole book: two completely different individuals, one American and one European, East and West, good and bad, a perfect Yin and Yang that should complete one another if put together. When separated, one follows a path of loneliness and self pity, and the other becomes a criminal master mind.
Dmitry sounds impertinent from the beginning, like a spoiled brat, a punk with no skills or a desire to acquire some. At first. But he is an opportunist. As time passes, he slowly begins to realize that the world is full of people he can take advange of.
On the other hand, Frank is an ecologist, a strong believer in the man’s duty to protect the planet, and he also believes he can change Dmitry too, help him become a better person.
But Dmitry grows up to be superficial, obnoxious, loud and vain, never caring about anyone in his life, a filthy rich sociopath. And yet, Frank finds himself somehow always in his company, unable to say no to him. To such an extent, that he mails Dmitry his passport, or turns a blind eye when D. gets involved in a prostitution ring. He seems somehow flattered by the fact that D. keeps coming back to him and assumes the role of the mentor. Or so he thought.
The book goes back and forth between different years, slowly revealing interesting details, important for the story line, and keeping us on the edge. The true action only begins to unfold in the second half of the novel and, if until now we got to know the characters, now we plunge neck deep into a fast paced thrilling action that keeps us glued to the page. You will find yourself having a lot of “Aha!” moments during this part. Keep reading, it only gets better.
If you like to completely immerse yourself into a book, than you may find yourself fearing for Frank’s life or feeling sorry for him in the end, despising Dmitry and wishing he got what he deserved, or wondering what’s the deal with Yuli?
Something that can really happen to any of us. A thrilling adventure. A must-read.
Dmitry sounds impertinent from the beginning, like a spoiled brat, a punk with no skills or a desire to acquire some. At first. But he is an opportunist. As time passes, he slowly begins to realize that the world is full of people he can take advange of.
On the other hand, Frank is an ecologist, a strong believer in the man’s duty to protect the planet, and he also believes he can change Dmitry too, help him become a better person.
But Dmitry grows up to be superficial, obnoxious, loud and vain, never caring about anyone in his life, a filthy rich sociopath. And yet, Frank finds himself somehow always in his company, unable to say no to him. To such an extent, that he mails Dmitry his passport, or turns a blind eye when D. gets involved in a prostitution ring. He seems somehow flattered by the fact that D. keeps coming back to him and assumes the role of the mentor. Or so he thought.
The book goes back and forth between different years, slowly revealing interesting details, important for the story line, and keeping us on the edge. The true action only begins to unfold in the second half of the novel and, if until now we got to know the characters, now we plunge neck deep into a fast paced thrilling action that keeps us glued to the page. You will find yourself having a lot of “Aha!” moments during this part. Keep reading, it only gets better.
If you like to completely immerse yourself into a book, than you may find yourself fearing for Frank’s life or feeling sorry for him in the end, despising Dmitry and wishing he got what he deserved, or wondering what’s the deal with Yuli?
Something that can really happen to any of us. A thrilling adventure. A must-read.
March 15, 2020
3.5 stars
January 2, 2020
‘The moment when everything came together, and everything started to fall apart.’
When Frank Baltimore, a carpenter in his mid-twenties with a dream of building his own boat, meets teenage Dmitry, a relative of a distant friend, as they work together on a building project, his life is set on an improbable rollercoaster of a journey. As their friendship develops over the years, Dmitry’s life gradually starts to reveal itself to Frank and, as we move back and forward in time from their first meeting to an explosion at Dmitry’s office in Taipei, Frank becomes embroiled in events that overwhelm him. Dmitry amasses a fortune, some of which is banked under Frank’s name, and Frank gradually starts to realise the corruption and illegality of Dmitry’s enterprise, and the wider global financial world. All of this is complicated by the fact that Frank has, of course, fallen head over heels for Dmitry’s wife Yuli.
As Frank criss-crosses the globe trying to find answers, his jetlag and disorientation become a metaphor for what is happening to his world. All he wants is to sail off in his dream boat, but as he becomes more and more trapped in Dmitry’s web of deceit and money-laundering he finds himself wanted by the police, threatened with violence and suddenly very rich indeed.
This new novel from Tom Lutz is partly a satire on global capitalism, part thriller, and also an homage to the power of words and books; Frank is a voracious reader, and there are frequent nods and allusions to a whole range of literary genres throughout the book. Towards the end of the novel Frank looks back on what has happened:
‘He tried sometimes, out on the open sea, to figure out what it all meant, why so much of it seemed to be scripted from things he had read, whether that meant he had more to do with engineering the whole thing than he thought.’
This is an engaging page-turner, a moral tale for our time where the little people are shafted by the rich and powerful. Frank (aptly named?) is an everyman character caught up in events that change his life completely, but over which he has no control. It is a tale of how life chews us up and spits us out at the other end; we are somehow changed, but frankly none the wiser. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it for sure. 4 stars.
When Frank Baltimore, a carpenter in his mid-twenties with a dream of building his own boat, meets teenage Dmitry, a relative of a distant friend, as they work together on a building project, his life is set on an improbable rollercoaster of a journey. As their friendship develops over the years, Dmitry’s life gradually starts to reveal itself to Frank and, as we move back and forward in time from their first meeting to an explosion at Dmitry’s office in Taipei, Frank becomes embroiled in events that overwhelm him. Dmitry amasses a fortune, some of which is banked under Frank’s name, and Frank gradually starts to realise the corruption and illegality of Dmitry’s enterprise, and the wider global financial world. All of this is complicated by the fact that Frank has, of course, fallen head over heels for Dmitry’s wife Yuli.
As Frank criss-crosses the globe trying to find answers, his jetlag and disorientation become a metaphor for what is happening to his world. All he wants is to sail off in his dream boat, but as he becomes more and more trapped in Dmitry’s web of deceit and money-laundering he finds himself wanted by the police, threatened with violence and suddenly very rich indeed.
This new novel from Tom Lutz is partly a satire on global capitalism, part thriller, and also an homage to the power of words and books; Frank is a voracious reader, and there are frequent nods and allusions to a whole range of literary genres throughout the book. Towards the end of the novel Frank looks back on what has happened:
‘He tried sometimes, out on the open sea, to figure out what it all meant, why so much of it seemed to be scripted from things he had read, whether that meant he had more to do with engineering the whole thing than he thought.’
This is an engaging page-turner, a moral tale for our time where the little people are shafted by the rich and powerful. Frank (aptly named?) is an everyman character caught up in events that change his life completely, but over which he has no control. It is a tale of how life chews us up and spits us out at the other end; we are somehow changed, but frankly none the wiser. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend it for sure. 4 stars.
January 31, 2020
It's a high-wire balancing act of male-bonding, rescue fantasies, sociopathy, and debauchery, deftly time-shifted, suspenseful and hilarious, but finally deeply moving as it takes a slow, masterful turn into noir. Tom Lutz achieves the hardest-won, nearly-transcendent accommodation of them all - "It's Chinatown, Jake." The ghost of Harry Lime, too, floats through these pages, with exquisite self-serving monologues, in settings described in vivid, wrought, elegant prose. This one will stay on my shelf, and I'm looking forward to another novel by Tom Lutz beside it.
June 23, 2020
Born Slippy is a rip-roaring 21st Century bromance from the noir loving mind of Tom Lutz. His debut novel is a wild ride around the moral compass, from the philosophic musings of autodidact Everyguy, Frank Baltimore, to the amoral aspirations of his sociopathic pal Dmitry Heald. Frank is in Dmitry’s thrall from their first meeting on a Connecticut construction site in 2000. Frank is a sad sack 20 something contractor working the wrong end of a McMansion project, while supporting the two kids of his ex-girlfriend. Dmitry is the sketchy teenage son of an English acquaintance he hires to help save the project. Dmitry sees “Franky,” as he insists on calling him, as the launch pad to his nefarious American education. The two bond while sharing a tent on the construction site. A lively mind of wide ranging interests, Frank enjoys invoking such literary spirits as Henry James (The Ambassadors is a leitmotif), William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor and Nietzsche: “Everyman has his price.” Frank would be happy to not get soaked on his construction jobs, while Dmitry aims for international tycoon-dom, whatever the cost.
Frank eventually gets himself to L.A., where he finds financial success as a specialist in securing celebrity compounds. Dmitry resurfaces as a hotshot financial whiz, expert in risk assessment (“risk makes the world go round”), a trade he practices on a global scale from an Asian post. When it comes to Dmitry, Frank seems incapable of assessing the risks. Both men ultimately get something of what they want. They even manage to quit each other, or so it seems. This is tougher for Frank than it is for Dmitry, especially after Frank falls hard for Dmitry’s beautiful Asian wife.
The action moves at a pulse quickening pace, our hero’s journey peppered with witty asides and lively character driven observations. Frank has a special talent for describing rooms from a connoisseur contractor’s POV. It helps that Lutz did some carpentry in his younger days. One of my favorites: “The house was as silent as only an old double-walled house can be, the masonry deflecting the outside noise, the internal wood framing and plaster soaking up anything from the inside. Thick wooden doors kept sound from traveling between rooms, upholstery, heavy drapes, thick rugs, tapestries – the place was almost engineered for sound absorption. Maybe that’s why he didn’t hear her enter.” Raymond Chandler meets the Property Brothers! Other real estate riffs add to the fun. Indeed, in one passage towards the end, Frank sees something of the sublime in a building’s framing, with 2 x 4s “arrayed against the heavens, the fresh fir rafters on their elegant angles…” Frank is fundamentally a good, sensitive guy who happens to be looking for love in all the wrong places, and ultimately paying a price for his mistakes.
Dmitry, on the other hand, gets away with murder. Literally. A risk he has calculated the need to take. He’s also a poster boy for toxic masculinity with his salacious pursuits and chronic cataloguing of women in terms of body parts. I could have done with less tawdry sex. There’s so much more interesting territory to explore here. Flipping hot properties, especially in California, can be extremely sexy. And global finance is filled with indecencies!
Lutz’ globetrotting experiences inform the book’s action, leaping from Connecticut to Los Angeles to Taipai and assorted other Asian and European destinations, all captured in vivid detail. Fans of Succession will enjoy the well-engineered romp as Frank tries to make sense of Dmitry’s demented world and his own place in it. That in the end one of the main players becomes a major environmentalist is one of the books best of many darkly amusing jokes.
Born Slippy, by the way, is the title of a song by the British group Underground. It was the name of a racing greyhound they won money on. Here it’s also a key to the action, a gamble that ultimately pays off for both Frank and Dmitry. We discover each man’s price in that most satisfying of modern endings: ambiguity’s embrace. Slippy is also a synonym for slippery, and Dmitry is one of literature’s most wonderfully awful slippery characters. I fear there are far too many Dmitrys currently running our planet.
Spending time on the page with Lutz, founder of the Los Angeles Review of Books, is always a pleasure. I’ve previously enjoyed his non-fiction title Crying: A Natural and Cultural History of Tears, and am drawn to his Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers and Bums in America, but have as yet lacked the motivation to read beyond the title. In Slippy’s end, Frank brings us back to The Ambassadors, with the quote “Live all you can, it’s a mistake not to.” Born Slippy is brimming with life as lived at the dawn of the 21st Century, a captivating word picture painted by one of our liveliest literary minds.
Frank eventually gets himself to L.A., where he finds financial success as a specialist in securing celebrity compounds. Dmitry resurfaces as a hotshot financial whiz, expert in risk assessment (“risk makes the world go round”), a trade he practices on a global scale from an Asian post. When it comes to Dmitry, Frank seems incapable of assessing the risks. Both men ultimately get something of what they want. They even manage to quit each other, or so it seems. This is tougher for Frank than it is for Dmitry, especially after Frank falls hard for Dmitry’s beautiful Asian wife.
The action moves at a pulse quickening pace, our hero’s journey peppered with witty asides and lively character driven observations. Frank has a special talent for describing rooms from a connoisseur contractor’s POV. It helps that Lutz did some carpentry in his younger days. One of my favorites: “The house was as silent as only an old double-walled house can be, the masonry deflecting the outside noise, the internal wood framing and plaster soaking up anything from the inside. Thick wooden doors kept sound from traveling between rooms, upholstery, heavy drapes, thick rugs, tapestries – the place was almost engineered for sound absorption. Maybe that’s why he didn’t hear her enter.” Raymond Chandler meets the Property Brothers! Other real estate riffs add to the fun. Indeed, in one passage towards the end, Frank sees something of the sublime in a building’s framing, with 2 x 4s “arrayed against the heavens, the fresh fir rafters on their elegant angles…” Frank is fundamentally a good, sensitive guy who happens to be looking for love in all the wrong places, and ultimately paying a price for his mistakes.
Dmitry, on the other hand, gets away with murder. Literally. A risk he has calculated the need to take. He’s also a poster boy for toxic masculinity with his salacious pursuits and chronic cataloguing of women in terms of body parts. I could have done with less tawdry sex. There’s so much more interesting territory to explore here. Flipping hot properties, especially in California, can be extremely sexy. And global finance is filled with indecencies!
Lutz’ globetrotting experiences inform the book’s action, leaping from Connecticut to Los Angeles to Taipai and assorted other Asian and European destinations, all captured in vivid detail. Fans of Succession will enjoy the well-engineered romp as Frank tries to make sense of Dmitry’s demented world and his own place in it. That in the end one of the main players becomes a major environmentalist is one of the books best of many darkly amusing jokes.
Born Slippy, by the way, is the title of a song by the British group Underground. It was the name of a racing greyhound they won money on. Here it’s also a key to the action, a gamble that ultimately pays off for both Frank and Dmitry. We discover each man’s price in that most satisfying of modern endings: ambiguity’s embrace. Slippy is also a synonym for slippery, and Dmitry is one of literature’s most wonderfully awful slippery characters. I fear there are far too many Dmitrys currently running our planet.
Spending time on the page with Lutz, founder of the Los Angeles Review of Books, is always a pleasure. I’ve previously enjoyed his non-fiction title Crying: A Natural and Cultural History of Tears, and am drawn to his Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers and Bums in America, but have as yet lacked the motivation to read beyond the title. In Slippy’s end, Frank brings us back to The Ambassadors, with the quote “Live all you can, it’s a mistake not to.” Born Slippy is brimming with life as lived at the dawn of the 21st Century, a captivating word picture painted by one of our liveliest literary minds.
March 9, 2021
Born Slippy is a noir novel about two friends who chose different paths but can’t help but be intertwined. Their protagonist Frank is up-and-coming house builder just trying to make his way. The antagonist Dmitri, is a crude and amoral Englishman, who is willing to do anything to become rich. Born Slippy is the debut novel by author Tom Lutz.
Frank is working on a construction site with a less than reputable business partner when 18-year-old Dimitri shows up just a their only employee quits. They have to hire Dimitri even though he doesn't know anything about construction. Frank and Dimitri spend the summer working, living in a tent, and drinking at a local bar. Frank is constantly shocked at how morally reprehensible Dimitri can be at times. As years go on the two meet, now and again, with Dimitri giving Frank the impression that Frank is being his mentor. On their last visit together, Dimitri implies that he is in trouble and he asks Frank to take care of his family if anything happens. He has put aside money in a bank in Tokyo. Something does happen and Frank decides help his friend but finds he is being drawn into Dimitris world.
Tom Lutz is excellent at developing characters. The characters are compelling. Frank, you are almost cheering on while Dmitri you really begin to hate. Frank is a nice person but he is never sure of himself. He's not very good at relationships and he struggles with everything he attempts. Everything comes easy to Dimitri. You have to hate him. He thinks he's funny but he has no conscience and he is a boor. Lutz does an amazing job of contrasting the two characters and yet linking them together.
The story has a good flow and is easy to read. There is no twist but rather an unexpected ride down a slippery slope, which makes the title of the book very appropriate.
Some scenes are quite graphic and profane especially when it comes to Dimitri, his language, and his treatment of women. As a reader you have to be prepared for some parts that are quite gross and may be hard to take. Interestingly enough, it reminds me of the movie Trainspotting which made the song Born Slippy famous.
I recommend this book to or any reader who likes offbeat characters. I give this to the story a 3 on 5 primarily because I wasn't that enthralled with the story. I want thank NetGalley and Repeater Books for providing me with a digital copy of the story for which I have written this review voluntarily.
Frank is working on a construction site with a less than reputable business partner when 18-year-old Dimitri shows up just a their only employee quits. They have to hire Dimitri even though he doesn't know anything about construction. Frank and Dimitri spend the summer working, living in a tent, and drinking at a local bar. Frank is constantly shocked at how morally reprehensible Dimitri can be at times. As years go on the two meet, now and again, with Dimitri giving Frank the impression that Frank is being his mentor. On their last visit together, Dimitri implies that he is in trouble and he asks Frank to take care of his family if anything happens. He has put aside money in a bank in Tokyo. Something does happen and Frank decides help his friend but finds he is being drawn into Dimitris world.
Tom Lutz is excellent at developing characters. The characters are compelling. Frank, you are almost cheering on while Dmitri you really begin to hate. Frank is a nice person but he is never sure of himself. He's not very good at relationships and he struggles with everything he attempts. Everything comes easy to Dimitri. You have to hate him. He thinks he's funny but he has no conscience and he is a boor. Lutz does an amazing job of contrasting the two characters and yet linking them together.
The story has a good flow and is easy to read. There is no twist but rather an unexpected ride down a slippery slope, which makes the title of the book very appropriate.
Some scenes are quite graphic and profane especially when it comes to Dimitri, his language, and his treatment of women. As a reader you have to be prepared for some parts that are quite gross and may be hard to take. Interestingly enough, it reminds me of the movie Trainspotting which made the song Born Slippy famous.
I recommend this book to or any reader who likes offbeat characters. I give this to the story a 3 on 5 primarily because I wasn't that enthralled with the story. I want thank NetGalley and Repeater Books for providing me with a digital copy of the story for which I have written this review voluntarily.
August 21, 2021
In contrast to other reviewers I found the back half's slide into an international noir caper to be hugely disappointing after a solid and riveting first half. I guess the genre-clinging has a moderate shake up in that our detective is very much soft boiled; guileless. But having just googled that term, apparently it is a post-modern thing already. It is almost as if the genre-clinging was due to Lutz adrift and not knowing how to finish, reached for the tropes, some more a la mode than others. Shame cos he brought me to some deep satire up until that.
Mild spoilers below
In the end I found Dmitry's nihilistic pragmatism quite compelling and fuck knows that may even be a message. Certainly it seems nihilistic pragmatism is effectively wielded by the ludicrously dominant capitalist ideology, so it makes sense to me that it might be thwarted by the same. Is this point supported by Dmitry's last oratory, did he in fact rob the criminal elite? Is this point supported by Lutz juxtaposing Franky's idle philanthropy with his ill-gotten gains to Yuli and Dmitry's ostensibly productive development of eco-related causes?
It seems the means may be less important than the end, as Franky's often pathetic, inconstant, and idealistic moralism demonstrates. Even if the Qatar location of Yuli and Dmitry's eco-tech-convention is as significant as it is risible it still may be that their grasping conscienceless consequentialist approach can net more 'good'. At the present moment you can be sure that more and more of the best minds, wasted as they are in finance, are toiling for green energy and ecological causes simply because these projects become increasingly high status and profitable.
Overall I'd recommend it as good and I'd probably go another Lutz, since I think they are capable of special.
March 4, 2020
These days it’s rare for me to pick up new fiction at a bookstore knowing absolutely nothing about it. It’s not that I’m against the practice- we all know discovery is the one of the great joys of reading - its just that I’m usually well supplied with ideas between the NYT, the LRB, and of course, Bookstagram. This this caught my eye as I tried to the escape The Strand without any further damage to my wallet. The title instantly recalled the song by Underworld (a classic in my estimation), and the description intrigued me, so I went for it.
Born Slippy by Tom Lutz is a fun Noir-ish thriller with snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and just enough literary allusions to hoist it above most other works in the genre. While I was reading it I actually had quite a few Goldfinch flashbacks, which is definitely a good thing. The reason for that is because of the two main characters. Frank Baltimore is a mopey, helplessly philosophical carpenter who takes on a 18 year old Brit named Dmitry for the summer as a favor to a friend. Dmitry is a real charmer, with a lust for life that hides his dark side, at least for a time. What unfolds during that fateful summer binds these two forever. As Dmitry rises in the shadier parts of the global financial industry, he pulls Frank (or Franky, as Dmitry insists) into his orbit once again.
I definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a smart and occasionally very funny thriller. This was the first I’d heard of Lutz, who seems to have several interesting non-fiction works to consider. The publisher, Repeater Books, also seems worth paying attention to. Enjoy!
Born Slippy by Tom Lutz is a fun Noir-ish thriller with snappy dialogue, memorable characters, and just enough literary allusions to hoist it above most other works in the genre. While I was reading it I actually had quite a few Goldfinch flashbacks, which is definitely a good thing. The reason for that is because of the two main characters. Frank Baltimore is a mopey, helplessly philosophical carpenter who takes on a 18 year old Brit named Dmitry for the summer as a favor to a friend. Dmitry is a real charmer, with a lust for life that hides his dark side, at least for a time. What unfolds during that fateful summer binds these two forever. As Dmitry rises in the shadier parts of the global financial industry, he pulls Frank (or Franky, as Dmitry insists) into his orbit once again.
I definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a smart and occasionally very funny thriller. This was the first I’d heard of Lutz, who seems to have several interesting non-fiction works to consider. The publisher, Repeater Books, also seems worth paying attention to. Enjoy!
May 14, 2021
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley to read and review.
BORN SLIPPY by author Tom Lutz is the story of Frank and his life that has sort of stagnated as a carpenter, but who finally sees an opportunity to gain some respect and much needed income by being hired to build an estate, yet a young guy named Dmitri that he employs seems to go out of his way to screw things up.
Dmitri is an interesting subject who seems to be able to manipulate people and is capable of getting away with whatever he does, which irritates Frank but he’s often vulnerable to Dmitri’s actions that display no sign of true remorse for whatever he does to others to get his way, and who shows all the characteristics of a true narcissist & sociopath.
Time goes by after the ill-fated construction project that derailed Frank’s life, and Dmitri re-emerges as a highly successful man who Frank learns to both admire and despise, and the relationship is a complex and difficult affair that seems headed for destruction.. but will it be Frank or Dmitri who comes out on the losing end of things when the dust settles?
I enjoyed this book that is not the type of book I’d usually choose to read, but am glad I did and if you’re like me you’ll probably think of someone in your past life that you remember when Dmitri is at work taking care of his own needs and desires at the expense of anyone and everyone he comes across.
4 stars.
BORN SLIPPY by author Tom Lutz is the story of Frank and his life that has sort of stagnated as a carpenter, but who finally sees an opportunity to gain some respect and much needed income by being hired to build an estate, yet a young guy named Dmitri that he employs seems to go out of his way to screw things up.
Dmitri is an interesting subject who seems to be able to manipulate people and is capable of getting away with whatever he does, which irritates Frank but he’s often vulnerable to Dmitri’s actions that display no sign of true remorse for whatever he does to others to get his way, and who shows all the characteristics of a true narcissist & sociopath.
Time goes by after the ill-fated construction project that derailed Frank’s life, and Dmitri re-emerges as a highly successful man who Frank learns to both admire and despise, and the relationship is a complex and difficult affair that seems headed for destruction.. but will it be Frank or Dmitri who comes out on the losing end of things when the dust settles?
I enjoyed this book that is not the type of book I’d usually choose to read, but am glad I did and if you’re like me you’ll probably think of someone in your past life that you remember when Dmitri is at work taking care of his own needs and desires at the expense of anyone and everyone he comes across.
4 stars.
October 14, 2020
Frank and Dmitry meet in New England at the turn of the millenium, where Frank is building a house on the promise of forging a larger construction partnership with the client. The situation is far from perfect, Frank working for a basic wage, living in a tent on-site, with the suspicion he’s being conned. When a friend calls by, telling Frank that a nephew of his from Liverpool is travelling to the US on a gap year trip and wants work. A relationship of a type ensues, though the 18 year old Dmitry is lazy, and morally dubious. The seemingly moral Frank has unwittingly let immorality into his life, and it festers. Rather than being a noir, which several reviewers call it, Lutz examines how their relationship develops over the next 12 years. Dmitry's once minor transgressions become major ones, his dealings are with war criminals, and result in a devastating explosion in Taipei.
Lutz's skill is such, that in Dmitry, living life in the Far East and exploiting all in his wake, we know someone like him, its all very believable, we need no convincing - the fascination is what Frank sees in him. Despite being liberally sprinkled with familiar themes of the day, toxic masculinity and global capitalism, it's darkly comic and entertaining throughout.
Lutz's skill is such, that in Dmitry, living life in the Far East and exploiting all in his wake, we know someone like him, its all very believable, we need no convincing - the fascination is what Frank sees in him. Despite being liberally sprinkled with familiar themes of the day, toxic masculinity and global capitalism, it's darkly comic and entertaining throughout.
March 18, 2021
I went into this not really knowing what I was getting myself into-- something something int'l intrigue and published by a British press despite the American-ness of the set-up, which is usually a sign that the book will be off-beat, but tells me nothing about whether or not I'll like that.
And this was off-beat, in its way, the story of a decade-plus friendship between two men, who push and challenge each other, one having a moral compass and the other who seems, perversely, to want nothing more than to give an education that frustrates that compass.
There is glamor and intrigue, and a fair amount of sex, but it's not super-graphic. There's some fancy location work, in Taipei and Jakarta and a few other spots. Your interest and engagement might depend in part on how much you identify with characters being re-exposed to nihilism and degradation of morals as being worthwhile. I thought it was a little tiresome-- main tempter Dmitry never really captured my interest, and the scenes with Dmitry's wife were a little too Asian fantasy for me, though of course that's mediated through the character's perception. The things that were meant to seduce me didn't, is what I'm saying. I didn't hate it, it just didn't make me tempted.
And this was off-beat, in its way, the story of a decade-plus friendship between two men, who push and challenge each other, one having a moral compass and the other who seems, perversely, to want nothing more than to give an education that frustrates that compass.
There is glamor and intrigue, and a fair amount of sex, but it's not super-graphic. There's some fancy location work, in Taipei and Jakarta and a few other spots. Your interest and engagement might depend in part on how much you identify with characters being re-exposed to nihilism and degradation of morals as being worthwhile. I thought it was a little tiresome-- main tempter Dmitry never really captured my interest, and the scenes with Dmitry's wife were a little too Asian fantasy for me, though of course that's mediated through the character's perception. The things that were meant to seduce me didn't, is what I'm saying. I didn't hate it, it just didn't make me tempted.
January 29, 2022
I enjoyed Born Slippy, partly drawn in by it's title, lifted from a 90s rave song. I found the amoral Dimitry ultimately more compelling than Frank, the well read but boring protagonist.
I guess that there was an interesting interplay between Frank's sensitive apologism and Dimitry's unabated hedonism. However, I didn't feel like their binary positions as 'good' and 'bad' men ultimately told us anything at all about masculinity.
It felt like Lutz handed us a juicy, psychopathic character in Dmitry who remained glossy and superficial to the last, although maybe that's the point! Perhaps it was the Russian name, but Dmitry
reminded me of another amoral literary scamp, Boris from The Goldfinch!
The novel fell between noir and literary thriller, with a compelling storyline and characters with an interior life, but not to the extent that you fully understood or cared about them.
I guess that there was an interesting interplay between Frank's sensitive apologism and Dimitry's unabated hedonism. However, I didn't feel like their binary positions as 'good' and 'bad' men ultimately told us anything at all about masculinity.
It felt like Lutz handed us a juicy, psychopathic character in Dmitry who remained glossy and superficial to the last, although maybe that's the point! Perhaps it was the Russian name, but Dmitry
reminded me of another amoral literary scamp, Boris from The Goldfinch!
The novel fell between noir and literary thriller, with a compelling storyline and characters with an interior life, but not to the extent that you fully understood or cared about them.
June 23, 2022
I found this book by searching for neo noir books.
This is not a neo noir story, although noir movies are mentioned in it (the main character loves old noir movies).
But I am very glad I picked this up and read it. One of the best books I have read in a long time. The writer takes you on this insane journey across the world as the main character tries to unearth who
Dmitry really is and what he is doing.
Is the writer American? I am assuming he is. But he really wrote Dmitry very well, even though he is from Liverpool.
I liked this book a lot. My only criticism being the length of some of the chapters which made it a little uncomfortable to read.
I will check out Lutz's other work for sure.
This is not a neo noir story, although noir movies are mentioned in it (the main character loves old noir movies).
But I am very glad I picked this up and read it. One of the best books I have read in a long time. The writer takes you on this insane journey across the world as the main character tries to unearth who
Dmitry really is and what he is doing.
Is the writer American? I am assuming he is. But he really wrote Dmitry very well, even though he is from Liverpool.
I liked this book a lot. My only criticism being the length of some of the chapters which made it a little uncomfortable to read.
I will check out Lutz's other work for sure.
February 12, 2020
The story is mainly focused on two characters, Frank and Dimitry. Their simple acquaintance and an initially master-apprentice kind of relationship grew more intense as they became more involved in each other's lives.
We get a glimpse of Dimitry's strong nonchalant character even at the beginning of the story. He addresses Frank who is much older than him as Franky. It does not matter to him if he cut the wrong measurements for the house they were building, or if anyone would be deeply affected when he sets up women for prostitution, or make out with someone else's wife for as long as it benefits him emotionally, financially, and physically. Frank saw that in him. "Youth loves a narcissist. They do not care about anyone or anything other than one’s own pleasure and profit." Dimitry's greed, and deceitful ways caused him to become cold and merciless. He can even use his own family and friends as his puppets to protect and secure himself with no feeling of remorse at what he does. Eventually, they lose everything of value. Those who are older, Frank decided, finally "see narcissists for what they are — they are the death of love, the death of beauty."
Frank, on the other hand was not perfectly painted but he has his own principles. He is not Lulu's and Kennedy's biological father but his fondness and concern for their welfare reveals a fatherly side to him. This may be the reason why he managed to put up with Dimitry's extremely impertinent ways throughout the story. He became Dimitry's 'puppet' like some of the characters. It was not because he is dull but because he feels for the people who fell victim to Dimitry's cunning manipulations. Sometimes, however, people have no other choice. "They're pushes into it by economic circumstance" like himself. In the same way, those brief pleasures and encounters he had in the past, wells up from an inner "desire to validate himself and to feed his need for.approval." He, too, came to realize that "there is nothing to be done about the past and he learned a few other things as well." The lessons Frank has learned in the end were metaphorically written and beautifully said.
Finally, the book's title, Born Slippy is likened to the song, Born Slippy by Underworld. Similarly, it reflects on the personalities of the characters, how age, time, and circumstance has changed them; their regrets and realizations, and how they reconcile them in the end. It also reflects on responsibility and freedom- it's excess and consequences. The Author, too has inculcated several insights about life from famous literary personalities in Frank's and Dimitry's conversations and silent contemplations. It somehow gives us a thought about the author's good knowledge of literature.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good read for the youth
We get a glimpse of Dimitry's strong nonchalant character even at the beginning of the story. He addresses Frank who is much older than him as Franky. It does not matter to him if he cut the wrong measurements for the house they were building, or if anyone would be deeply affected when he sets up women for prostitution, or make out with someone else's wife for as long as it benefits him emotionally, financially, and physically. Frank saw that in him. "Youth loves a narcissist. They do not care about anyone or anything other than one’s own pleasure and profit." Dimitry's greed, and deceitful ways caused him to become cold and merciless. He can even use his own family and friends as his puppets to protect and secure himself with no feeling of remorse at what he does. Eventually, they lose everything of value. Those who are older, Frank decided, finally "see narcissists for what they are — they are the death of love, the death of beauty."
Frank, on the other hand was not perfectly painted but he has his own principles. He is not Lulu's and Kennedy's biological father but his fondness and concern for their welfare reveals a fatherly side to him. This may be the reason why he managed to put up with Dimitry's extremely impertinent ways throughout the story. He became Dimitry's 'puppet' like some of the characters. It was not because he is dull but because he feels for the people who fell victim to Dimitry's cunning manipulations. Sometimes, however, people have no other choice. "They're pushes into it by economic circumstance" like himself. In the same way, those brief pleasures and encounters he had in the past, wells up from an inner "desire to validate himself and to feed his need for.approval." He, too, came to realize that "there is nothing to be done about the past and he learned a few other things as well." The lessons Frank has learned in the end were metaphorically written and beautifully said.
Finally, the book's title, Born Slippy is likened to the song, Born Slippy by Underworld. Similarly, it reflects on the personalities of the characters, how age, time, and circumstance has changed them; their regrets and realizations, and how they reconcile them in the end. It also reflects on responsibility and freedom- it's excess and consequences. The Author, too has inculcated several insights about life from famous literary personalities in Frank's and Dimitry's conversations and silent contemplations. It somehow gives us a thought about the author's good knowledge of literature.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good read for the youth
February 26, 2021
Tom Lutz's Born Slippy kept me reading late into the night but it was worth the trip. Without getting too much into the plot, I will say that for a first foray into noir fiction, it's surprisingly good! Built with a very strong plot that never falters once and superbly drawn characters, it's a delightful fictional romp. Finally it's funny, darkly funny....Go ahead & enjoy it! You won't be disappointed.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the editor for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel prior to its release date
Many thanks to Netgalley and the editor for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel prior to its release date
July 11, 2020
I loved this book; often I didn't want to put it down. Lutz proves to be a well-educated writer who easily brings in references to classic books as well as practical knowledge about, for example, carpentry. Some of the sex scenes were cringe-worthy, especially the one involving children, but at least Frank himself cringes, which made me like him all the more. If you want a dark, intellectual page-turner, BORN SLIPPY is for you.
July 19, 2020
I was lured in by the promise of a globe-trotting, literary thriller. I should have paid more attention to the blurb about Repeater Books. Not sure if Lutz is trying to form a new cult? or is just lost and needs help? I hung in there until page 77. But when he moved back to the year 2000, with a potty-mouth, a strip-joint-bar and absolutely nothing of interest had been said...I gave up. And the author calls himself A Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing? Yikes! Heaven help us~
December 15, 2025
Enormously entertaining, and less than profound. A battle of values between an American and his Liverpool acquaintance, who seems to have his nose in anyone’s groin, while he reaps scandalous amounts of money. The Audiobook narrator delivers a remarkable performance as he captures the Liverpool accent, keeping both characters’ conflicts lively throughout. If it’s true that authors write what they know, then I have to wonder how much of this story borders on Mr. Lutz’s autobiography!
February 4, 2020
Tom Lutz, the founding editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, has published six non-fiction books including Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America (2007) which won the American Book Award. Now he has published a remarkable debut novel, Born Slippy, a noir psychological thriller that reflects on our twenty-first century world of global capitalism. The book focuses on the strange friendship established between Frank Baltimore, a moderately successful American contractor, and an Englishman, Dmitry Heald, eight years younger than him. Frank thinks of himself as a moralist (he reads a lot of philosophers) while Dmitry is an amoral sociopath who manipulates Frank at every turn. What does he want of Frank? “Maybe,” Frank reflects, “Frank was where he parked his conscience.” But then Frank is too hypnotized by Dmitry to ever get him right. His friends have only to met Dmitry once to ask Frank, “What sick part of you . . . responds to him?”
What is it with Dmitry that so fascinates Frank? This question haunts us as we watch Dmtiry turn into a ruthlessly successful financier who makes his fortune investing the corruptly acquired funds of international dictators and criminals. Dmitry ascribes his success in making millions to his ability to assess the risk involved. As he explains to Frank (or Franky, the puerile nickname he insists on calling him), “we have an entire economy that is fundamentally based on the notion of risk.” Dmitry dismisses all other considerations, especially those of ethics, as irrelevant. He may be representative of the world’s wealthiest one percent, but Frank’s claim to be better than that is cleverly exposed as so much hypocrisy by the end of the novel. Relativity and amorality reigns.
Tom Lutz’s psychological portrait of the two men is central to the first two-thirds of the novel. Each man needs something from the other, but neither is entirely clear what they want from someone so utterly different – or are they? The first two thirds of the novel rely on this conundrum, while the last third becomes a fast-paced thriller; yet it still retains the psychological interest and brings the novel’s musings on the amoral workings of capital into clearer focus.
Born Slippy is very well written. Tom Lutz’s facility with words surfaces even in his description of minor characters. For instance Margie, a client of Frank’s, “might have been pretty if it weren’t for her angry jaw and cruel eyes, whipping around like gale-warning flags at the end of the dock.” Tom Lutz’s wanderlust, exemplified in his marvelous travel writings, serves him well as he takes his two characters from Connecticut to Los Angeles, to Taipei and other Asian locations, such as “the science-fiction, parallel-universe feel Tokyo produced,” or Jakarta where a modern 500-foot tower and scattered mosques remind Frank that he was “between worlds.” His manipulation of chronology provides added insight into how the past informs the present over the thirteen years covered by the narrative.
I highly recommend this unusual novel. Read it. You won’t be disappointed.
What is it with Dmitry that so fascinates Frank? This question haunts us as we watch Dmtiry turn into a ruthlessly successful financier who makes his fortune investing the corruptly acquired funds of international dictators and criminals. Dmitry ascribes his success in making millions to his ability to assess the risk involved. As he explains to Frank (or Franky, the puerile nickname he insists on calling him), “we have an entire economy that is fundamentally based on the notion of risk.” Dmitry dismisses all other considerations, especially those of ethics, as irrelevant. He may be representative of the world’s wealthiest one percent, but Frank’s claim to be better than that is cleverly exposed as so much hypocrisy by the end of the novel. Relativity and amorality reigns.
Tom Lutz’s psychological portrait of the two men is central to the first two-thirds of the novel. Each man needs something from the other, but neither is entirely clear what they want from someone so utterly different – or are they? The first two thirds of the novel rely on this conundrum, while the last third becomes a fast-paced thriller; yet it still retains the psychological interest and brings the novel’s musings on the amoral workings of capital into clearer focus.
Born Slippy is very well written. Tom Lutz’s facility with words surfaces even in his description of minor characters. For instance Margie, a client of Frank’s, “might have been pretty if it weren’t for her angry jaw and cruel eyes, whipping around like gale-warning flags at the end of the dock.” Tom Lutz’s wanderlust, exemplified in his marvelous travel writings, serves him well as he takes his two characters from Connecticut to Los Angeles, to Taipei and other Asian locations, such as “the science-fiction, parallel-universe feel Tokyo produced,” or Jakarta where a modern 500-foot tower and scattered mosques remind Frank that he was “between worlds.” His manipulation of chronology provides added insight into how the past informs the present over the thirteen years covered by the narrative.
I highly recommend this unusual novel. Read it. You won’t be disappointed.
September 19, 2020
I would give this less than 1 star if possible. A boring as hell plot and the protagonists (frank & dimitri) are chauvinistic and so unlikeable. There’s instances of sex happening that are just so unbelievable and downgrading to women.
August 20, 2020
A unique style with very long monologs of storys with time jumping. I enjoyed though the end was kind of a bit let down in believability. Audio book has great narrator voice for the British guy.
August 19, 2023
a bunch of cynics
December 5, 2024
Really fun read! A friend gave me her copy and the margins were full onf 'lols' with which i concur
April 26, 2025
3,5 ster. Goed begin met twee interessante personages en een mooi uitgewerkt 'hellend vlak'. Naar het einde toe echter minder boeiend, te uitleggerig. Wel heel goed geschreven.
February 17, 2020
If asked to describe this book in one word I'd have to say "interesting."
From the first chapter onward, I just wasn't sure what I thought of the two main characters and their connection. On one hand you have a basically lovable, regular guy - Frank - who works with his hands building homes and tries to do what is right as he stumbles through life. Opposite him is Dmitry - libertine, amoral, self-centred, sexual swinger with wide tastes, unfaithful, questionable business practices........and the list goes on. Yet these two characters seem to be bound together in some unfathomable way.
From their first meeting when Dmitry worked for Frank building a house, over and over and over again, through countless scenarios, Dmitry brings chaos and problems into Frank's life. Yet Frank continues to have a soft spot for him, to feel he is responsible for this man in some way - his moral compass. Frank even says yes to applying for a passport and sending it to Dmitri so financial accounts can be set up in his name. NO NO NO NO NO! How can Frank be that naive?
Born Slippy moves smoothly back and forth in time from present to past and back. We follow the life of Frank, both on his own and during the unsettling times that Dmitri appears. I found myself continually trying to figure out what drew Frank to Dmitri, and what drew Dmitri to Frank. They seem to have nothing in common, but their paths continue to intersect regularly over time. This journey will challenge Frank to his core and lead him down unexpected paths.
Born Slippy offers a complex, intriguing storyline while weaving in opposing views on the themes of morality, sexuality and friendship.
From the first chapter onward, I just wasn't sure what I thought of the two main characters and their connection. On one hand you have a basically lovable, regular guy - Frank - who works with his hands building homes and tries to do what is right as he stumbles through life. Opposite him is Dmitry - libertine, amoral, self-centred, sexual swinger with wide tastes, unfaithful, questionable business practices........and the list goes on. Yet these two characters seem to be bound together in some unfathomable way.
From their first meeting when Dmitry worked for Frank building a house, over and over and over again, through countless scenarios, Dmitry brings chaos and problems into Frank's life. Yet Frank continues to have a soft spot for him, to feel he is responsible for this man in some way - his moral compass. Frank even says yes to applying for a passport and sending it to Dmitri so financial accounts can be set up in his name. NO NO NO NO NO! How can Frank be that naive?
Born Slippy moves smoothly back and forth in time from present to past and back. We follow the life of Frank, both on his own and during the unsettling times that Dmitri appears. I found myself continually trying to figure out what drew Frank to Dmitri, and what drew Dmitri to Frank. They seem to have nothing in common, but their paths continue to intersect regularly over time. This journey will challenge Frank to his core and lead him down unexpected paths.
Born Slippy offers a complex, intriguing storyline while weaving in opposing views on the themes of morality, sexuality and friendship.
February 3, 2020
Born Slippy is the type of novel that you cannot put down – it is full of anguish, heart break, selfishness, suspense and so much more.
First we have Frank, a man with a kind heart but someone that you just want to shake. He trusts those around him, most of the time a little too much. He is awful at standing up for himself, instead he always accepts less than what he truly deserves. At times, he appears envious of others and it makes you wonder if that is why he accepts bad relationships, bad friendships and allows others to use him. Dmitry is hard to put into words – he is manipulative, selfish and while appears to be charming, he is an awful person. He makes Frank believe he is his friend but you want to shake Frank for believing him.
The book starts off with an explosion a Dmitry’s office building where he is presumed dead and then we take a journey back in time to see how their relationship developed over the years and uncover quite a plot around money laundering and more. We see how Dmitry evolves from being a young man who wants to make millions to quite the con artist, with hisa many schemes over the years adding up. We watch as Frank unknowingly (or perhaps he knows but prefers to keep his blinders up) participates in these illegal acts. Frank seems to be constantly grasping for something that he cannot reach – whether it be love, work or respect. While my heart was sore for him at the end of the novel, he played a large part in his demise.
This is a well written novel, that starts off a bit on the slow side but builds an intricate plot that you will not want to stop reading. You find yourself shocked, angered, intrigued throughout the book – and constantly on the edge of your seat as you can never quite guess what Dmitry has up his sleeve or how low he may go. Born Slippy is a definite must read novel.
First we have Frank, a man with a kind heart but someone that you just want to shake. He trusts those around him, most of the time a little too much. He is awful at standing up for himself, instead he always accepts less than what he truly deserves. At times, he appears envious of others and it makes you wonder if that is why he accepts bad relationships, bad friendships and allows others to use him. Dmitry is hard to put into words – he is manipulative, selfish and while appears to be charming, he is an awful person. He makes Frank believe he is his friend but you want to shake Frank for believing him.
The book starts off with an explosion a Dmitry’s office building where he is presumed dead and then we take a journey back in time to see how their relationship developed over the years and uncover quite a plot around money laundering and more. We see how Dmitry evolves from being a young man who wants to make millions to quite the con artist, with hisa many schemes over the years adding up. We watch as Frank unknowingly (or perhaps he knows but prefers to keep his blinders up) participates in these illegal acts. Frank seems to be constantly grasping for something that he cannot reach – whether it be love, work or respect. While my heart was sore for him at the end of the novel, he played a large part in his demise.
This is a well written novel, that starts off a bit on the slow side but builds an intricate plot that you will not want to stop reading. You find yourself shocked, angered, intrigued throughout the book – and constantly on the edge of your seat as you can never quite guess what Dmitry has up his sleeve or how low he may go. Born Slippy is a definite must read novel.
January 20, 2020
Tom Lutz’s Born Slippy is the story of an amoral manipulator and the kind-hearted workingman who probably comes closest to being his friend.
Frank Baltimore is a handyman in rural New England, in the particularly depressed and depressing areas where the mills have left, but nothing much has taken their place. Teenage Dmitry, the nephew of some friends, ends up with a summer job “working” for Frank, despite being an unskilled builder and a truly apathetic worker.
Dmitry is constantly testing boundaries, cheerfully self-serving in every way. The book blurb describes Dmitry as a “charming sociopath” and, over the years, he stops seeming like a hedonistic child and more like a cleverly calculating personification of greed. This makes for a fascinating read, especially as good-natured, often plodding Frank is such an odd confidant for Dmitry. Frank begins the book somehow supporting an ex-girlfriend’s children from a previous relationship, and somehow accepting the worst ends of work deals. And when things improve for him, the novel seems to ask us how much of his later successes are due to Dmitry’s habits rubbing off on him? How much greed and manipulation are just part of life and capitalism?
After honing his manipulation and money-making skills, Dmitry lands in Asia, in the financial expat circles, where the standards for decency are even lower. Here, he really lets his greed for money, women, and power run free, and it’s impossible to look away from this absolute madness.
I enjoyed the travelogue a great deal. There are a few standout descriptions, one of Turner’s Falls, MA, another of traveling through Damshui, Taiwan, and a short bit about seeing LA sunshine after living in New England, that were really spot-on, amazing depictions. But I found many of the minor characters and most of the women slightly flat. The scenes with expat finance bros, trophy taitai or disaffected Massholes were perfectly fine, but there’s a liveliness in Frank and Dmitry that just isn’t found in any of the secondary characters.
I don’t want to reveal too much, because seeing exactly how Frank and Dmitry develop is the real enjoyment in this book, but there were a few moments where I was both mentally screaming at Frank not to go forth and be an idiot, and also fully knowing that he was going to be a well-meaning chump, again and again.
Most of the secondary characters question their friendship, explicitly asking or just quietly wondering what Frank sees in Dmitry. That’s really the core of the novel. At times, Frank enjoys seeing himself as a Dmitry’s teacher or moral compass, but could that be the only thing that draws and holds them together? Does Dmitry get something out of telling his wild stories to a working stiff? Does he somehow enjoy his excess more in telling Frank about it? What makes this sociopath character tick?
Frank Baltimore is a handyman in rural New England, in the particularly depressed and depressing areas where the mills have left, but nothing much has taken their place. Teenage Dmitry, the nephew of some friends, ends up with a summer job “working” for Frank, despite being an unskilled builder and a truly apathetic worker.
Dmitry is constantly testing boundaries, cheerfully self-serving in every way. The book blurb describes Dmitry as a “charming sociopath” and, over the years, he stops seeming like a hedonistic child and more like a cleverly calculating personification of greed. This makes for a fascinating read, especially as good-natured, often plodding Frank is such an odd confidant for Dmitry. Frank begins the book somehow supporting an ex-girlfriend’s children from a previous relationship, and somehow accepting the worst ends of work deals. And when things improve for him, the novel seems to ask us how much of his later successes are due to Dmitry’s habits rubbing off on him? How much greed and manipulation are just part of life and capitalism?
After honing his manipulation and money-making skills, Dmitry lands in Asia, in the financial expat circles, where the standards for decency are even lower. Here, he really lets his greed for money, women, and power run free, and it’s impossible to look away from this absolute madness.
I enjoyed the travelogue a great deal. There are a few standout descriptions, one of Turner’s Falls, MA, another of traveling through Damshui, Taiwan, and a short bit about seeing LA sunshine after living in New England, that were really spot-on, amazing depictions. But I found many of the minor characters and most of the women slightly flat. The scenes with expat finance bros, trophy taitai or disaffected Massholes were perfectly fine, but there’s a liveliness in Frank and Dmitry that just isn’t found in any of the secondary characters.
I don’t want to reveal too much, because seeing exactly how Frank and Dmitry develop is the real enjoyment in this book, but there were a few moments where I was both mentally screaming at Frank not to go forth and be an idiot, and also fully knowing that he was going to be a well-meaning chump, again and again.
Most of the secondary characters question their friendship, explicitly asking or just quietly wondering what Frank sees in Dmitry. That’s really the core of the novel. At times, Frank enjoys seeing himself as a Dmitry’s teacher or moral compass, but could that be the only thing that draws and holds them together? Does Dmitry get something out of telling his wild stories to a working stiff? Does he somehow enjoy his excess more in telling Frank about it? What makes this sociopath character tick?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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