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Paradise, Nevada
From an exhilarating new literary voice--the story of four transplants braving the explosive political tensions behind the deceptive, spectacular, endlessly self-reinventing city of Las Vegas.
On Friday, May 1st, 2015 a bomb detonates in the infamous Positano Luxury Resort and Casino, a mammoth hotel (and exact replica of the Amalfi coast) on the Las Vegas Strip.
Six months prior, a crop of strivers converge on the desert city, attempting to make a home amidst the dizzying lights: Ray, a mathematically-minded high stakes professional poker player; Mary Ann, a clinically depressed cocktail waitress; Tom, a tourist from the working class suburbs of Rome, Italy; and Lindsay, a Mormon journalist for the Las Vegas Sun who dreams of a literary career. By chance and by design, they find themselves caught up in backroom schemes for personal and political power, and are thrown into the deep end of an even bigger fight for the soul of the paradoxical town.
A furiously rowdy and ricocheting saga about poker, happiness, class, and selflessness, Paradise, Nevada is a panoramic tour of America in miniature, a vertiginously beautiful systems novel where the bloody battles of neo-liberalism, immigration, labor, and family rage underneath Las Vegas’ beguiling and strangely benevolent light. This exuberant debut marks the beginning of a significant career.
On Friday, May 1st, 2015 a bomb detonates in the infamous Positano Luxury Resort and Casino, a mammoth hotel (and exact replica of the Amalfi coast) on the Las Vegas Strip.
Six months prior, a crop of strivers converge on the desert city, attempting to make a home amidst the dizzying lights: Ray, a mathematically-minded high stakes professional poker player; Mary Ann, a clinically depressed cocktail waitress; Tom, a tourist from the working class suburbs of Rome, Italy; and Lindsay, a Mormon journalist for the Las Vegas Sun who dreams of a literary career. By chance and by design, they find themselves caught up in backroom schemes for personal and political power, and are thrown into the deep end of an even bigger fight for the soul of the paradoxical town.
A furiously rowdy and ricocheting saga about poker, happiness, class, and selflessness, Paradise, Nevada is a panoramic tour of America in miniature, a vertiginously beautiful systems novel where the bloody battles of neo-liberalism, immigration, labor, and family rage underneath Las Vegas’ beguiling and strangely benevolent light. This exuberant debut marks the beginning of a significant career.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2021
192 people are currently reading
2765 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 25, 2021
Okay okay yes this book has a LOT of poker in it, especially at the beginning, and is so backstory-heavy at the start that I understand the bad reviews, I really do. It’s a slow burn, takes ages to pick up, and spends the first 300 pages being a slow-paced, character-driven, at times pretentious work of literary fiction. Whoever is marketing this as a thriller is WRONG and if you go into this novel with that expectation you’re for sure going to be disappointed.
HOWEVER, I truly truly loved this book - the writing is so great, feels impressive without being inaccessible; the characters are really satisfyingly complex and interesting; the interlocking narratives come together again and again in a bunch of tiny ways that feel mostly realistic and are so satisfying. Once it picks up (again, about 300 pages in, so be prepared to wait for it) it PICKS UP and then it’s barreling towards the ending, can’t put it down suspense and excitement. It’s like 300 pages of slow, in-depth character development and then 100 pages of action and then back to in-depth character resolution for the end of it.
A lot of what I loved about this book, as well, is kind of geeky appreciation for its structure? Diofebi sets an expectation for how the narrative is gonna go and how the novel is going to be written and then slowly undoes that expectation. Idk I just found myself getting excited by, like, shifts in POV and style that surprised me lmao
But yes if you’re a fan of literary fiction and are fine with skimming some dense poker explanations at the beginning (which, I will say, you can 100% skim because I know truly nothing about poker and I didn’t need to to understand the book) then I think you’ll like this book!! It is surprisingly hopeful and has some fun commentary on labor and capitalism and the writing is really really great and once it got going I really couldn’t put it down. It's not a book for everybody! But for me it was a book where I finished it and I was like "okay what do I want to read next" and the answer was that I wish I could just keep reading this one.
HOWEVER, I truly truly loved this book - the writing is so great, feels impressive without being inaccessible; the characters are really satisfyingly complex and interesting; the interlocking narratives come together again and again in a bunch of tiny ways that feel mostly realistic and are so satisfying. Once it picks up (again, about 300 pages in, so be prepared to wait for it) it PICKS UP and then it’s barreling towards the ending, can’t put it down suspense and excitement. It’s like 300 pages of slow, in-depth character development and then 100 pages of action and then back to in-depth character resolution for the end of it.
A lot of what I loved about this book, as well, is kind of geeky appreciation for its structure? Diofebi sets an expectation for how the narrative is gonna go and how the novel is going to be written and then slowly undoes that expectation. Idk I just found myself getting excited by, like, shifts in POV and style that surprised me lmao
But yes if you’re a fan of literary fiction and are fine with skimming some dense poker explanations at the beginning (which, I will say, you can 100% skim because I know truly nothing about poker and I didn’t need to to understand the book) then I think you’ll like this book!! It is surprisingly hopeful and has some fun commentary on labor and capitalism and the writing is really really great and once it got going I really couldn’t put it down. It's not a book for everybody! But for me it was a book where I finished it and I was like "okay what do I want to read next" and the answer was that I wish I could just keep reading this one.
May 7, 2021
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.
Final rating: 2.5
As a reluctant Las Vegas resident for the past 6+ years, I was eager to read a book that aimed to roll back the glam and neon of the city to reveal the reality of the people actually living in the city. What I got however, was a slow drag of a book that was let down by its punchy, misleading blurb.
So much of the novel was based upon Las Vegas fact, with names swapped out and true stories matter-of-factly tweaked. So much so that I was a bit freaked out by mentions of apartments located on lesser known Vegas streets I've lived on and names and backgrounds of certain characters disturbingly matching people I have met in real life. "Gifty" and its fictional founder Zach Romero takes the place of the real life Zappos and it's late founder Tony Hsieh. Al Wiles takes the place of what I can only assume is the now disgraced billionaire Steve Wynn. If Diofebi did anything exceptionally well, it was capturing the factual intricacies mingled with fiction of the sprawling city and those who had a hand in shaping it. At points however, pages read like laundry lists of as many Las Vegas places and people that could be mentioned on a page. It makes sense as it is a story being told of a city itself, but it became grating halfway through the book when not much had actually taken place.
Which brings me to the writing itself. At first I was enthralled by the characters and the idea of being so invisible in a place so universally known, something I myself experienced as a service worker in the city. However, my fascination quickly became annoyance at the endlessly meandering prose and attempts at Deeper Meaning. I truly tried to give it a chance, but the rating in my brain ticked down from 4 stars 25% of the way to 3 stars 50% of the way to 2.5 stars by the end. The motivations of the cast of characters were lost to me between the sloggy vocabulary and repetitive inner monologues. I love when a story has many seemingly unrelated characters who come together in unexpected ways by the end, but it didn't work for me in Paradise, Nevada. The hook in the book's blurb of a bomb detonating in a casino doesn't even happen until we've almost reached the end...and that whole storyline was oddly fantastical when compared to the attempts to be grittily true to the reality of Vegas.
The novel strove to be a brilliant piece of fiction ripping the truth out of the desert valley of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was trying so very hard to be something that it had the potential to be, but did not succeed in accomplishing. I'm glad that I read Paradise, Nevada, but it was a bit of a letdown.
Final rating: 2.5
As a reluctant Las Vegas resident for the past 6+ years, I was eager to read a book that aimed to roll back the glam and neon of the city to reveal the reality of the people actually living in the city. What I got however, was a slow drag of a book that was let down by its punchy, misleading blurb.
So much of the novel was based upon Las Vegas fact, with names swapped out and true stories matter-of-factly tweaked. So much so that I was a bit freaked out by mentions of apartments located on lesser known Vegas streets I've lived on and names and backgrounds of certain characters disturbingly matching people I have met in real life. "Gifty" and its fictional founder Zach Romero takes the place of the real life Zappos and it's late founder Tony Hsieh. Al Wiles takes the place of what I can only assume is the now disgraced billionaire Steve Wynn. If Diofebi did anything exceptionally well, it was capturing the factual intricacies mingled with fiction of the sprawling city and those who had a hand in shaping it. At points however, pages read like laundry lists of as many Las Vegas places and people that could be mentioned on a page. It makes sense as it is a story being told of a city itself, but it became grating halfway through the book when not much had actually taken place.
Which brings me to the writing itself. At first I was enthralled by the characters and the idea of being so invisible in a place so universally known, something I myself experienced as a service worker in the city. However, my fascination quickly became annoyance at the endlessly meandering prose and attempts at Deeper Meaning. I truly tried to give it a chance, but the rating in my brain ticked down from 4 stars 25% of the way to 3 stars 50% of the way to 2.5 stars by the end. The motivations of the cast of characters were lost to me between the sloggy vocabulary and repetitive inner monologues. I love when a story has many seemingly unrelated characters who come together in unexpected ways by the end, but it didn't work for me in Paradise, Nevada. The hook in the book's blurb of a bomb detonating in a casino doesn't even happen until we've almost reached the end...and that whole storyline was oddly fantastical when compared to the attempts to be grittily true to the reality of Vegas.
The novel strove to be a brilliant piece of fiction ripping the truth out of the desert valley of Las Vegas, Nevada. It was trying so very hard to be something that it had the potential to be, but did not succeed in accomplishing. I'm glad that I read Paradise, Nevada, but it was a bit of a letdown.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 17, 2022
This was a tremendously entertaining book that I think will offer readers more than they may realize at first. For me it became quite a page-turner, even though as a reader plot and pacing are less concerning, but Diofebi's debut is quite masterfully executed, and I cared enough about the characters that I became concerned with the events that befell them. Those events? Well, that's where it gets interesting and also a little difficult to confidently portray, because, and this is a good thing, I was never fully convinced that this was indeed a contrived world. It's set in a familar Las Vegas in pretty much every way, except a few, which is what made this book so enjoyable. I haven't been there since I was a very young man, so I ask this only half kidding, are there exotic dancers to entertain black jack players in casinos? Do staff have ladies that go around and massage the patrons while they are playing hours of poker? There hasn't recently been built a gigantic, coastal-island themed Resort Hotel Casino in Vegas, has there?
We have 4 characters narrating the book, with little short chapters titled 'interlude #_' to help to reader acquaint themselves contextually. Two women and two men converge on this very slightly but intriguingly warped Sin City. Thier paths and narratives are each compellingly unique and intersect only in the most hinted at ways. Tomasso is an Italian immigrant lacking in confidence who finds himself with a free trip to Vegas from a winning poker game back home in Italy. Mary-Ann is a confessed self-involved ex model/influencer who is looking to find some stability and sense of self living with her aunt who has worked in Vegas for quite some time. Ray is a mathematically inclined online poker legend trying to make a living while adapting to face to face poker as a Vegas reg (regular). Lindsay is from a big Mormon family who is striving for a literary career while working for a measly newspaper.
The back stories of these characters are all presented nicely and supplemented with engaging and important secondary figures, such as Tom's buddy and eventual roommate Trevor, an alpha-male pick up artist committed to helping Tom make the most of his opportunity in Vegas. An older man that visits with Mary-Ann while she serves drinks and is the only one she feels that she can talk to. Lindsay's brother, whom she is close with but seems to burden her, has some unique challenges and is obsessed with the dark side of his Mormon heritage. Various business magnates are introduced that serve to pique the readers curiosity. Things converge.
I'm a slow reader, but not a particulary confident one sometimes. Plot heavy books tend to make me feel rather disoriented at times, however the events and characters in this book were drawn together in a way that I found really effective and ultimately rewarding. This is a book that could be spoiled, so in wrapping this up I'll say that I highly encourage you to seek this one out, particularly if you are into poker, although it's certainly not a prerequisite. I thought the conclusion was quite well executed and the themes embedded within the character arcs were true to life and resonant.
I would like to throw some comparables out there. There are elements of 'A Naked Singularity' (the sense of unreality and sincere narration), 'Novel Explosives' (the convergences of various plotlines) as well as the film 'Rounders' (the sense of bad shit happening because of gambling)...It was an absolute blast to read. I found that I was eager each time I picked this up not only for it's exciting story but how well it was written. Confident, yet simple. Highly recommend.
We have 4 characters narrating the book, with little short chapters titled 'interlude #_' to help to reader acquaint themselves contextually. Two women and two men converge on this very slightly but intriguingly warped Sin City. Thier paths and narratives are each compellingly unique and intersect only in the most hinted at ways. Tomasso is an Italian immigrant lacking in confidence who finds himself with a free trip to Vegas from a winning poker game back home in Italy. Mary-Ann is a confessed self-involved ex model/influencer who is looking to find some stability and sense of self living with her aunt who has worked in Vegas for quite some time. Ray is a mathematically inclined online poker legend trying to make a living while adapting to face to face poker as a Vegas reg (regular). Lindsay is from a big Mormon family who is striving for a literary career while working for a measly newspaper.
The back stories of these characters are all presented nicely and supplemented with engaging and important secondary figures, such as Tom's buddy and eventual roommate Trevor, an alpha-male pick up artist committed to helping Tom make the most of his opportunity in Vegas. An older man that visits with Mary-Ann while she serves drinks and is the only one she feels that she can talk to. Lindsay's brother, whom she is close with but seems to burden her, has some unique challenges and is obsessed with the dark side of his Mormon heritage. Various business magnates are introduced that serve to pique the readers curiosity. Things converge.
I'm a slow reader, but not a particulary confident one sometimes. Plot heavy books tend to make me feel rather disoriented at times, however the events and characters in this book were drawn together in a way that I found really effective and ultimately rewarding. This is a book that could be spoiled, so in wrapping this up I'll say that I highly encourage you to seek this one out, particularly if you are into poker, although it's certainly not a prerequisite. I thought the conclusion was quite well executed and the themes embedded within the character arcs were true to life and resonant.
I would like to throw some comparables out there. There are elements of 'A Naked Singularity' (the sense of unreality and sincere narration), 'Novel Explosives' (the convergences of various plotlines) as well as the film 'Rounders' (the sense of bad shit happening because of gambling)...It was an absolute blast to read. I found that I was eager each time I picked this up not only for it's exciting story but how well it was written. Confident, yet simple. Highly recommend.
December 13, 2020
My review will appear in Booklist! A long but worthwhile read, perfect for poker fans. I enjoyed this novel's complexity and depth.
June 13, 2021
Fun and beautifully written. Especially recommended for Texas Hold Em fans but great for even if you're not.
"Only idiots get lost inside casinos. It's because they follow the lights, like overweight moths with a gambling problem. They wander around looking for the exact spot to lose their money, like it makes any damn difference. A reverse treasure hunt."
Could move along faster, at times it gets into the characters' heads and the action stalls, but it's a great story!
"Only idiots get lost inside casinos. It's because they follow the lights, like overweight moths with a gambling problem. They wander around looking for the exact spot to lose their money, like it makes any damn difference. A reverse treasure hunt."
Could move along faster, at times it gets into the characters' heads and the action stalls, but it's a great story!
August 20, 2022
Happy to have read, but didn’t quite come together. High Dive by Jonathan Lee comes to mind as a really well constructed novel with similar “bones” of a story.
May 14, 2021
Paradise, Nevada feels determined to be a novel of ideas, and in this regard it swings hard for the fences. Treating Las Vegas as a microcosm for America at large is a smart idea, and it's one Dario Diofebi executes well. It's a city that lures people in promising an even playing field where anyone can strike it big no matter where they come from or who they are, a lie it has steadily maintained for nearly a century. The title of the book refers to the fact that what we commonly understand as Las Vegas is itself an illusion because most of the Vegas strip and the airport that services it are actually outside the city limits of Las Vegas in the unincorporated region of Paradise, Nevada.
Diofebi is at his best when he is puncturing the image Las Vegas (and, through association, the American Dream) has built up. Unfortunately, Diofebi has a lot of ideas, and he stuffs all of them into this debut novel: the evolution of game theory in poker, labor rights in casinos, the commodification of women, immigration, the American Dream as a futile pursuit, the Mormon religion in a town billed as sinful, and more. It's a lot, and as the book progresses it becomes clear that these ideas are more important to Diofebi than the craft. For example, the characters aren't as important as the setting, so don't go in expecting a lot of deft character work.
All this stuff Diofebi packs in proves to be too much. A significantly shorter novel with a much tighter focus would have been much better. Which is a shame, because when Diofebi makes a point it lands well. It just gets lost in the deluge of everything else going on.
Diofebi is at his best when he is puncturing the image Las Vegas (and, through association, the American Dream) has built up. Unfortunately, Diofebi has a lot of ideas, and he stuffs all of them into this debut novel: the evolution of game theory in poker, labor rights in casinos, the commodification of women, immigration, the American Dream as a futile pursuit, the Mormon religion in a town billed as sinful, and more. It's a lot, and as the book progresses it becomes clear that these ideas are more important to Diofebi than the craft. For example, the characters aren't as important as the setting, so don't go in expecting a lot of deft character work.
All this stuff Diofebi packs in proves to be too much. A significantly shorter novel with a much tighter focus would have been much better. Which is a shame, because when Diofebi makes a point it lands well. It just gets lost in the deluge of everything else going on.
Want to read
March 10, 2022I DNF’d this one. Might pick it up down the road but for now I’m moving on.
January 12, 2022
Probably in the minority as I enjoyed the poker stuff and could relate to the experiences of both Ray and Tom. Unfortunately, the female characters were comparatively very underwritten.
I enjoyed the story even if it lumbered under its own weight and took its time getting there and I found the author's style mostly engaging, although his inexplicable desire to abbreviate everything got annoying.
I enjoyed the story even if it lumbered under its own weight and took its time getting there and I found the author's style mostly engaging, although his inexplicable desire to abbreviate everything got annoying.
May 24, 2024
the writing really did nothing for me, and i mostly left this feeling like this book squandered what could’ve been some really interesting explorations of the limits and consequences of getting wrapped up in the mythos of a place, a dream, or a person, rather than its attempts at a social/political epic. the multi-pov kept the story moving but at what cost…lindsay’s storyline was so unnecessary and the half-hearted attempts to integrate it felt so heavy handed? the whole novel was very heavy handed and the ending was genuinely ridiculous. the more i think about these characters the more annoyed i get. however to quote a review i once saw on letterboxd, “my ass was entranced.” ray’s final poker game had me on the edge of my seat not gonna lie. kept me entertained at work but tbh i prefer a bit more to chew on with the novels i read.
January 10, 2023
i’d actually say more like 3.5, but this is a new author and i’ll be looking for more by him after this! one of the characters uses poker terminology but the author provides funny little footnotes to simplify what he’s saying. overall great plot and characters i recommend
June 6, 2021
I really enjoyed this!! Looking forward to Diofebi’s work in the future!
April 15, 2021
As an avid Las Vegas lover I was so excited to read this. It was really interesting to read about the complexities of Poker and a different side than the tourists see of Paradise, Nevada. Not a super fast paced read but interesting, with several completely different characters and storylines that come together in the end.
May 28, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this novel. Even though the book started off a bit slow, I quickly became enthralled with the characters. The novel is very character driven with each member of the ensemble well developed. Each character brought something different and all felt very alive. Las Vegas, or at least the fictional Positano hotel and casino where much of it is set, almost functions as another character.
This was a fun read for me because while each character had a sort of stand alone journey, their actions directly or indirectly impacted each other in ways the characters oftentimes weren't aware of. It reminded me a bit of the film Magnolia, where thr audience wonders if/when/how the characters have anything to do with each other. Whether their paths are parallel or whether they intersect, the journey isn't complete without every single character acting as a piece of the puzzle.
The author did a great job depicting motivation, drive, desire, greed, fear, ego, insecurity, and even the trancelike feeling of going through the motions just trying to get through another day. These were some of the most engaging characters I've read.
The story got a little clunky/confusing right after the climax, but the plot points were made clear in time for a satisfying resolution. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a contemplative character driven story. It is, overall, the tale of a city that is what it is, the good and the bad, because of the people whose stories shape it.
This was a fun read for me because while each character had a sort of stand alone journey, their actions directly or indirectly impacted each other in ways the characters oftentimes weren't aware of. It reminded me a bit of the film Magnolia, where thr audience wonders if/when/how the characters have anything to do with each other. Whether their paths are parallel or whether they intersect, the journey isn't complete without every single character acting as a piece of the puzzle.
The author did a great job depicting motivation, drive, desire, greed, fear, ego, insecurity, and even the trancelike feeling of going through the motions just trying to get through another day. These were some of the most engaging characters I've read.
The story got a little clunky/confusing right after the climax, but the plot points were made clear in time for a satisfying resolution. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a contemplative character driven story. It is, overall, the tale of a city that is what it is, the good and the bad, because of the people whose stories shape it.
September 10, 2023
I'll never look at Las Vegas the same way. This complicated book rewards on several levels, as a satire, a social criticism, a political statement, a thriller, a philosophical inquiry. As other reviewers have noted, it will explain more about poker than you might want, yet that exposition is essential to understanding the behavior of the various characters and their belief systems.
I appreciated the focus on the workers, both those with casino jobs and the "regs," the fulltime poker players, each set subservient to the capitalist beneficiaries (who include the Mormon church). It's easy to see why people are seduced to live and work in this strange city, even though it is built on people losing, whether as visitors or workers. It replicates in the extreme the inequalities running through so many countries today, while offering a glittering and mendacious promise of success.
Among features I enjoyed was the attention to the infrastructure, the crazed traffic system, as it impacts characters throughout the story. Diofebi often drops poignant bits of history into the tale as well, such as a reference to the atomic tests whose radiation gifted parts of Utah with cancer years later. I didn't expect the role of Mormonism either, which made so much sense once into the book. Diofebi understands the social hierarchy as expressed in neighborhoods as well. "Paradise" is an actual sector of the city.
Overall, this rich literary account suffers from being, like Vegas, too rococo. I lost track of characters and chronology at times. I found the episodes and characters' musings compensated for the multi-layered structure. For once, a novel had me thinking about my own beliefs and reactions to challenging circumstances.
I appreciated the focus on the workers, both those with casino jobs and the "regs," the fulltime poker players, each set subservient to the capitalist beneficiaries (who include the Mormon church). It's easy to see why people are seduced to live and work in this strange city, even though it is built on people losing, whether as visitors or workers. It replicates in the extreme the inequalities running through so many countries today, while offering a glittering and mendacious promise of success.
Among features I enjoyed was the attention to the infrastructure, the crazed traffic system, as it impacts characters throughout the story. Diofebi often drops poignant bits of history into the tale as well, such as a reference to the atomic tests whose radiation gifted parts of Utah with cancer years later. I didn't expect the role of Mormonism either, which made so much sense once into the book. Diofebi understands the social hierarchy as expressed in neighborhoods as well. "Paradise" is an actual sector of the city.
Overall, this rich literary account suffers from being, like Vegas, too rococo. I lost track of characters and chronology at times. I found the episodes and characters' musings compensated for the multi-layered structure. For once, a novel had me thinking about my own beliefs and reactions to challenging circumstances.
June 9, 2021
This Is Not A Poker Book
...for those who don't get the reference; the short bit is that this book - while not being about poker - sure does spend a lot of time on the topic. I don't think an understanding of variance is necessary for the story, but you'll learn about it and some basic poker strategy here. It's part of character building, which the book spends the majority of its words on - the actual meat of the story is really towards the end, and rather quick.
I don't think the Thriller tag applies to this book - and that's the tag that made me pick it up. If you're looking for a thriller, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story with interesting characters and deep backstory, then you may want to give this a try.
Overall, 3 stars = It's Okay
It was enjoyable, a bit frustrating wondering when the "event" would happen - and felt a bit "end of GoT series" in that you aren't sure what all that build up was really for.
...for those who don't get the reference; the short bit is that this book - while not being about poker - sure does spend a lot of time on the topic. I don't think an understanding of variance is necessary for the story, but you'll learn about it and some basic poker strategy here. It's part of character building, which the book spends the majority of its words on - the actual meat of the story is really towards the end, and rather quick.
I don't think the Thriller tag applies to this book - and that's the tag that made me pick it up. If you're looking for a thriller, this isn't it. If you're looking for a story with interesting characters and deep backstory, then you may want to give this a try.
Overall, 3 stars = It's Okay
It was enjoyable, a bit frustrating wondering when the "event" would happen - and felt a bit "end of GoT series" in that you aren't sure what all that build up was really for.
November 12, 2025
The blurb says this is a “furiously rowdy and ricocheting saga about Poker, happiness, class and selflessness.†It is none of those things!
I struggled with this book. It was very slow moving. At 36% we were still getting character backgrounds and introductions. Nothing had actually happened yet, I almost gave up on it. I gave my self until 50%, if at 50% it hadn't grabbed my attention or had plot movement I would move on. This book got lucky, there was finally some plot movement at 44%. I wouldn't say it was great or even attention grabbing, but at least there was some movement.
Where is the bomb? This supposedly exciting event? It's doesn't happen until 86%.
The characters are depressing. The word “rowdy†to me indicates some fun plot points. The closet it came to that was when Mary Anne was telling Erica's toddler his pretend breakfast smelled good.
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*
I struggled with this book. It was very slow moving. At 36% we were still getting character backgrounds and introductions. Nothing had actually happened yet, I almost gave up on it. I gave my self until 50%, if at 50% it hadn't grabbed my attention or had plot movement I would move on. This book got lucky, there was finally some plot movement at 44%. I wouldn't say it was great or even attention grabbing, but at least there was some movement.
Where is the bomb? This supposedly exciting event? It's doesn't happen until 86%.
The characters are depressing. The word “rowdy†to me indicates some fun plot points. The closet it came to that was when Mary Anne was telling Erica's toddler his pretend breakfast smelled good.
*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.*
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2021
I enjoyed reading this until suddenly I didn't.
Truly, I like stories with rich details about the characters and the lives they are living but this time around I realized that there has to be something interesting or compelling about the character, and that wasn't in this book for me. It probably doesn't help that I'm not obsessed with poker although I know a lot more about it now.
Alas, not for me.
Truly, I like stories with rich details about the characters and the lives they are living but this time around I realized that there has to be something interesting or compelling about the character, and that wasn't in this book for me. It probably doesn't help that I'm not obsessed with poker although I know a lot more about it now.
Alas, not for me.
July 31, 2021
Read this book for my book club. It wasn't a terrible book; I had a hard time getting through it and staying focused. On the plus side 1) I learned a lot about Las Vegas (including where Paradise, Nevada is). 2) The author had many interesting social issues he wanted to discuss and the book is a successful forum for them. For example, even though the book was not about the failed January 6th coup attempt, the book does describe a milieu that would explain how people, many different types of people for several different reasons, can get caught up in similarly disastrous movements. 3) the characters are generally likable 4) some of the narratives are interesting (although some are not) which brings me to what's wrong with this book
1) There are too many unconnected narratives for my taste. The author makes grand attempt at the end of the book for his characters to cross paths but especially the Lindsey and Orson storyline is too far from the rest of the action and their story is the least eventful.
2) There's not enough character development for me to tell the difference between Ray and Tom. On paper they are completely different: age, background, ethnicity, education - but once we are in the mind's eye of these two characters they felt indistinguishable to me and I kept getting their story lines mixed up.
3) ***SPOILER ALERT***
the waitress' story line about trying to bring down the casino didn't make sense to me. It makes sense to a person with the math skills of a professional poker player, but from the ground it looked so obviously like way too much risk for a vague and completely undefined reward - so why?
I get that this was a fictional representation of the problem with capitalism - but it wasn't working on a plot level. I just didn't buy that this many people would risk their life and job over such an ill defined result
4) The most interesting storyline of all was Tom's and the bevy of other storylines took away from that. I think this book would have really benefited from a good editor. There are interesting ideas, well written prose and likable characters but the thing as a whole is way too sprawling.
I would give this author another chance if I saw a short story by him - because he has the heart of a writer. I would be a little more reluctant if it were another novel. . . .I don't know if I could slog through
1) There are too many unconnected narratives for my taste. The author makes grand attempt at the end of the book for his characters to cross paths but especially the Lindsey and Orson storyline is too far from the rest of the action and their story is the least eventful.
2) There's not enough character development for me to tell the difference between Ray and Tom. On paper they are completely different: age, background, ethnicity, education - but once we are in the mind's eye of these two characters they felt indistinguishable to me and I kept getting their story lines mixed up.
3) ***SPOILER ALERT***
the waitress' story line about trying to bring down the casino didn't make sense to me. It makes sense to a person with the math skills of a professional poker player, but from the ground it looked so obviously like way too much risk for a vague and completely undefined reward - so why?
I get that this was a fictional representation of the problem with capitalism - but it wasn't working on a plot level. I just didn't buy that this many people would risk their life and job over such an ill defined result
4) The most interesting storyline of all was Tom's and the bevy of other storylines took away from that. I think this book would have really benefited from a good editor. There are interesting ideas, well written prose and likable characters but the thing as a whole is way too sprawling.
I would give this author another chance if I saw a short story by him - because he has the heart of a writer. I would be a little more reluctant if it were another novel. . . .I don't know if I could slog through
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2021
Thanks so much to Bloomsbury for an advance copy of this upcoming title, expected pub date on April Sixth.
I'm going to try to place a professional review of this book, so I'm just jotting down some preliminary notes here, which will be updated later.
Dario Diofebi's "Paradise, Nevada" follows a cast of characters in the lead up to, and aftermath of, a casino bombing. We have a brilliant professional online poker player who decides to try his hand, pun intended, at high stakes playing in person; an unsatisfied casino waitress who gets involved in lefty direct action at the workplace; a fumbling Italian tourist trying to manage his gregarious American pal; and a Mormon journalist who longs to upend her career for literary ambitions. Everyone has incredibly convoluted relationships with their families. Everyone is too stressed to even think about genuine romantic relationships, or even sex for that matter. Everyone is about to come right up against big political power players in the city, and no one will come out of it the same.
Diofebi's book is an impressive debut systems novel that successfully tackles so many contemporary topics and concerns: artificial intelligence, gamification, immigration, unions and labor organizing, the impact of algorithms on markets, the rise of right wing internet extremism, etc, etc. And of course, Las Vegas is the perfect setting to analyze this early twenty first century mess; Vegas is a complete contradiction, a place supposedly defined by freedom where your relationship to capitalism is heightened to the extreme, where you're encouraged to let go and be yourself while surrounded by so much artifice. I love Vegas don't get me wrong, but Vegas is complicated.
Excited to do some more thinking and writing about this book, and to see what Diofebi comes up with next.
I'm going to try to place a professional review of this book, so I'm just jotting down some preliminary notes here, which will be updated later.
Dario Diofebi's "Paradise, Nevada" follows a cast of characters in the lead up to, and aftermath of, a casino bombing. We have a brilliant professional online poker player who decides to try his hand, pun intended, at high stakes playing in person; an unsatisfied casino waitress who gets involved in lefty direct action at the workplace; a fumbling Italian tourist trying to manage his gregarious American pal; and a Mormon journalist who longs to upend her career for literary ambitions. Everyone has incredibly convoluted relationships with their families. Everyone is too stressed to even think about genuine romantic relationships, or even sex for that matter. Everyone is about to come right up against big political power players in the city, and no one will come out of it the same.
Diofebi's book is an impressive debut systems novel that successfully tackles so many contemporary topics and concerns: artificial intelligence, gamification, immigration, unions and labor organizing, the impact of algorithms on markets, the rise of right wing internet extremism, etc, etc. And of course, Las Vegas is the perfect setting to analyze this early twenty first century mess; Vegas is a complete contradiction, a place supposedly defined by freedom where your relationship to capitalism is heightened to the extreme, where you're encouraged to let go and be yourself while surrounded by so much artifice. I love Vegas don't get me wrong, but Vegas is complicated.
Excited to do some more thinking and writing about this book, and to see what Diofebi comes up with next.
September 18, 2022
It wasn’t exactly an existential crisis of whether to award this book three or four stars, but I did give it more thought than it warranted. So let’s split the difference and call it 3.5. This is a captivating story about 21st Century Las Vegas from multiple points of view. Traditionally, I’ve minced no words about how much I loathe the back and forth timelines and continuously shifting storylines across each chapter. There was this anticipation that each character would eventually cross over into the other’s storyline and play a significant role in the climax or conclusion. However, that in itself left a bit to be desired.
I enjoyed the unique storyline surrounding the fictional hotel and resort The Positano, more than just “loosely” based on the true-to-life Italian-themed Bellagio Hotel and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Having made almost a dozen trips now, the familiarity of the skyline, street grid/names and use of some factual locations left little to the imagination while reading. As far as I was concerned, the events unfolded within the confines of the Bellagio (i.e. the Positano’s scale mock up of the Amalfi Coast along the strip no doubt an homage to the Bellagio lake and fountains that dominate the Strip today).
One of my points of contention with the relatively unknown, albeit talented writer is the incessant use of run-on sentences. As a grammar aficionado and advocate, those teeter on unforgivable for me. I look the other way when they’re embedded within dialogue, but these were in third person paragraphs. It was excessive.
The ending was… fine. I don’t suppose I’ll lose sleep over it, but each side plot’s protagonist wound up with a (mostly) favorable resolution. Though I’ll admit, only a couple of them left me longing for more substance.
I enjoyed the unique storyline surrounding the fictional hotel and resort The Positano, more than just “loosely” based on the true-to-life Italian-themed Bellagio Hotel and Resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Having made almost a dozen trips now, the familiarity of the skyline, street grid/names and use of some factual locations left little to the imagination while reading. As far as I was concerned, the events unfolded within the confines of the Bellagio (i.e. the Positano’s scale mock up of the Amalfi Coast along the strip no doubt an homage to the Bellagio lake and fountains that dominate the Strip today).
One of my points of contention with the relatively unknown, albeit talented writer is the incessant use of run-on sentences. As a grammar aficionado and advocate, those teeter on unforgivable for me. I look the other way when they’re embedded within dialogue, but these were in third person paragraphs. It was excessive.
The ending was… fine. I don’t suppose I’ll lose sleep over it, but each side plot’s protagonist wound up with a (mostly) favorable resolution. Though I’ll admit, only a couple of them left me longing for more substance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2023
I was initially drawn to this book because of the first paragraph in the prologue. I absolutely loved the prose and evident writing talent that came from that first chunk of writing, and I couldn't help but buy the book. I went into Paradise, Nevada with no expectations and was soon drawn into a world that I know nothing about, but that was brimming with personality and excellent prose. Dario Diofebi's voice is one of the best I've come across in fiction in a while, and I can't wait to see what he publishes next.
I do think it's important to approach this book with the understanding that its main driver is character, not plot. This novel reminded me a lot of A Tale of Two Cities in that much of the book takes its time to establish characters and place and then reaches a swift-moving, ricocheting finale at the end. I really enjoyed this read and the exploration of many personalities within one novel. Diofebi expertly shows how separate lives can touch on each other without feeling forced to make everyone's story fit together in a neat puzzle - it was a plot device that felt true to life and yet poetic at the same time. I finished this book a few days ago and still find my mind turning over some of the philosophical themes and points that Diofebi touches on in this novel. Diofebi examines one of the most heavily-marketed and ego-centric cities in the country and then uses that to examine themes like selflessness and success.
Diofebi has most definitely been placed on my list of authors to watch.
I do think it's important to approach this book with the understanding that its main driver is character, not plot. This novel reminded me a lot of A Tale of Two Cities in that much of the book takes its time to establish characters and place and then reaches a swift-moving, ricocheting finale at the end. I really enjoyed this read and the exploration of many personalities within one novel. Diofebi expertly shows how separate lives can touch on each other without feeling forced to make everyone's story fit together in a neat puzzle - it was a plot device that felt true to life and yet poetic at the same time. I finished this book a few days ago and still find my mind turning over some of the philosophical themes and points that Diofebi touches on in this novel. Diofebi examines one of the most heavily-marketed and ego-centric cities in the country and then uses that to examine themes like selflessness and success.
Diofebi has most definitely been placed on my list of authors to watch.
September 8, 2021
4.5 stars
A brilliant ambitious book!
Dickensean in its way, crossing all (or at least many) strata of Las Vegas society. Compelling plot lines, engaging characters, of whom my favorite might be Ray the professional gambler, also known as a reg. Precise footnotes describe the lingo of the regs and their mathematical minutiae. I of course was left in the dust but didn’t care.
What is Las Vegas anyway? What does it mean to America? Does what happens there really stay there? Each character faces a moral dilemma and struggles with it. Marianne the cocktail waitress feels convinced she is a terrible person who only brings misery to those around her, even though she has never done anything criminal or immoral. She has her chance, though. Tom the illegal immigrant from Italy feels convinced that he is a "beta" male and in need of courage, not unlike the cowardly lion in another great American story. All of the characters are unique and notable.
The book is full of analysis, of poker psychology, of Nevada, of casino history, of American acquisitiveness and where that has brought us, and of technology's current supremacy.
Tip of the hat.
A brilliant ambitious book!
Dickensean in its way, crossing all (or at least many) strata of Las Vegas society. Compelling plot lines, engaging characters, of whom my favorite might be Ray the professional gambler, also known as a reg. Precise footnotes describe the lingo of the regs and their mathematical minutiae. I of course was left in the dust but didn’t care.
What is Las Vegas anyway? What does it mean to America? Does what happens there really stay there? Each character faces a moral dilemma and struggles with it. Marianne the cocktail waitress feels convinced she is a terrible person who only brings misery to those around her, even though she has never done anything criminal or immoral. She has her chance, though. Tom the illegal immigrant from Italy feels convinced that he is a "beta" male and in need of courage, not unlike the cowardly lion in another great American story. All of the characters are unique and notable.
The book is full of analysis, of poker psychology, of Nevada, of casino history, of American acquisitiveness and where that has brought us, and of technology's current supremacy.
Tip of the hat.
August 30, 2021
An interesting twist on the good old Las Vegas heist plot.
It involves many, diverse characters representing numerous elements of the US population, including illegal immigrants, college kids, professional poker players, and the working poor.
A reclusive casino owner/developer reminiscent of real life Steve Wynn is exploiting his hundreds of employees, who have created a shadow union that is bent on "punishing" him for taking advantage of him. There are two men trying to make their livings as professional poker players. One is an unintentionally illegal immigrant, overstaying a tourist visa on a trip he won in a poker tournament in Italy. He hopes to stay in Las Vegas and make his fate and fortune as a pro poker player. Another is a Stanford dropout who hopes to use his talents in mathematics and game theory to love off of Texas Hold 'Em as a high roller.
It's an enjoyable read, especially if, like us, you've spent time in Vegas and have witnessed some of what's included in the plot and story elements.
It involves many, diverse characters representing numerous elements of the US population, including illegal immigrants, college kids, professional poker players, and the working poor.
A reclusive casino owner/developer reminiscent of real life Steve Wynn is exploiting his hundreds of employees, who have created a shadow union that is bent on "punishing" him for taking advantage of him. There are two men trying to make their livings as professional poker players. One is an unintentionally illegal immigrant, overstaying a tourist visa on a trip he won in a poker tournament in Italy. He hopes to stay in Las Vegas and make his fate and fortune as a pro poker player. Another is a Stanford dropout who hopes to use his talents in mathematics and game theory to love off of Texas Hold 'Em as a high roller.
It's an enjoyable read, especially if, like us, you've spent time in Vegas and have witnessed some of what's included in the plot and story elements.
April 19, 2023
Dario Diofebi’s PARADISE, NEVADA is a sprawling genre-bending novel, blurring literary lines while examining socio-economic issues facing the occupants of Las Vegas, which, of course, acts as stand-ins for greater society. I went in knowing very little about the novel, which added to how much I enjoyed it. After feeling like I had a handle on what I was reading, my expectations were dashed and a different yarn was spun, a different theme was explored. The story leads the reader through Las Vegas’s various socio-economic strata, and as Diofebi asserts, it is both more self-evident and increasingly adjacent to each other than any other place in the country.
How perfectly the different stories are at once tied up *and* tied together may be a little too cute for some readers, but this one thoroughly enjoyed it.
@meyers_megafictional_musings recently tagged me regarding my favorite book of 2023. PARADISE is definitely in that conversation now. Yet another great read hipped to me by the wonderful @concavityshow
How perfectly the different stories are at once tied up *and* tied together may be a little too cute for some readers, but this one thoroughly enjoyed it.
@meyers_megafictional_musings recently tagged me regarding my favorite book of 2023. PARADISE is definitely in that conversation now. Yet another great read hipped to me by the wonderful @concavityshow
November 22, 2021
This book is good. Not great! But good.
If I had been this book's editor, I would've done the following:
1. Cut Ray's story entirely and move some, but not all, of the poker talk to Tom's story--Ray was a good character but out of the 4, his storyline was the least compelling and he more or less served the purpose of showing Vegas from the perspective as a professional poker regular. Tweak some of Tom's storyline and it easily could've been consolidated.
2. Introduced Lindsay and Orson much earlier (I almost DNF at this point because another character half-way through the book?!)
3. Fleshed out Lindsay and Orson's story more
4. Got rid of the random emails from theZappos Gifty CEO.
That all being said, once the book clicked and I realized what the author was doing--namely showing the effects of the place on these people and how they live--Paradise, Nevada was much easier to enjoy. The ending was very satisfying with how the complex plot came together, but there's a lot of dull poker talk that could've been culled before getting there.
If I had been this book's editor, I would've done the following:
1. Cut Ray's story entirely and move some, but not all, of the poker talk to Tom's story--Ray was a good character but out of the 4, his storyline was the least compelling and he more or less served the purpose of showing Vegas from the perspective as a professional poker regular. Tweak some of Tom's storyline and it easily could've been consolidated.
2. Introduced Lindsay and Orson much earlier (I almost DNF at this point because another character half-way through the book?!)
3. Fleshed out Lindsay and Orson's story more
4. Got rid of the random emails from the
That all being said, once the book clicked and I realized what the author was doing--namely showing the effects of the place on these people and how they live--Paradise, Nevada was much easier to enjoy. The ending was very satisfying with how the complex plot came together, but there's a lot of dull poker talk that could've been culled before getting there.
March 31, 2023
What an interesting and strange book.
A motley cast of characters—including a Mormon journalist, a high stakes online poker player and an Italian immigrant—try to make their way in Las Vegas, all somehow connected in various ways (which are revealed at the end of the story).
This is a character driven book. Yes, there is a (funny and farfetched) plot driving the whole thing, but you come for the meandering inner workings of the characters. I loved Tommaso: knowing the author is an Italian immigrant himself makes his character so real and I found him to be hilarious in unexpected ways. The inner thoughts of Mary Ann really resonated with me. He really does an exquisite job rendering a world that feels so real.
A motley cast of characters—including a Mormon journalist, a high stakes online poker player and an Italian immigrant—try to make their way in Las Vegas, all somehow connected in various ways (which are revealed at the end of the story).
This is a character driven book. Yes, there is a (funny and farfetched) plot driving the whole thing, but you come for the meandering inner workings of the characters. I loved Tommaso: knowing the author is an Italian immigrant himself makes his character so real and I found him to be hilarious in unexpected ways. The inner thoughts of Mary Ann really resonated with me. He really does an exquisite job rendering a world that feels so real.
May 5, 2023
3.5- It's difficult to pin a rating to this one. It's uncharacteristically long and uncharacteristically good for a first novel. The author no doubt knows poker and knows Las Vegas, and this lends authenticity and a sense of place to the novel. Diofebi's strongest characterizations are the two poker players in the novel, which makes sense. And compared to some multi-storyline novels I've read, this one hangs together pretty well. Still, there's a lot going on and I also couldn't help but feel at a remove from most of the main characters. On the other hand, it's very well-written and an interesting and creative reflection on Vegas, specifically class and consumer culture.
October 22, 2023
I feel like some of this book’s most compelling characters didn’t get some of the closure they deserve. Like, Ray did— I think his characters arc was the best- but Mary Ann definitely didn’t. Orson didn’t and Lindsay’s felt rushed to me. Tom’s was nice!
I feel like this book was edited down by some overzealous editor and lost a lot of story as a result. And true, it’s a long book, but still. Also, some of the plot was confusing to me and felt like it lacked some exposition that would’ve helped. But maybe I’m just stupid idk.
Anyway I love that the author really was a poker player! The fact that the characters were so compelling and I wanted more really isn’t a bad thing.
I feel like this book was edited down by some overzealous editor and lost a lot of story as a result. And true, it’s a long book, but still. Also, some of the plot was confusing to me and felt like it lacked some exposition that would’ve helped. But maybe I’m just stupid idk.
Anyway I love that the author really was a poker player! The fact that the characters were so compelling and I wanted more really isn’t a bad thing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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