brotherly love is the second book i've read by pete dexter. i have to say, i like this guy. brotherly love took place in philadelphia, over a 20 or 30 year period. it followed this boy from his early childhood to his early twenties. he was part of a mob family, watched his sister and father die, watched his uncle (who took over the family when the dad died) die, and watch his cousin become a total asshole because of the mob connections. there were lots of scenes that took place in philly locales that i'm familiar with, and an important scene took place on bandstand. it was well written, and i finished the book quickly because i wanted to know what was going to happen next. the overall ending was appropriate and unexpected (in a good way) but the immediate ending--the last paragraph or so--was vaguely unfulfilling and left me wanting more information. overall, i think it was a great book. i also can't wait to read more of dexter's books.
Another story taken from the corners of Philadelphia that Dexter was so good at shining the light into. This one, like God's Pocket, taken from headlines that tell a little bit more about your neighbors, than you think you want to know. Hard-working constuction families, turning to, and then into, corrupt Union officials. Deals with all levels of policians, mobsters, and every level of the big city strata.. we know these people, sort of... Not just a Dexter fan, but a fan of descriptive, evocative story-telling..and Pete always satisfies on levels you didn't expect to discover.
What do You think about Brotherly Love (1992)?
What a dark yet satisfying novel. I found another favorite author. The characters are very well written and allow for their interaction in the story to forward their development rather than relying on the authors descriptions of them. The book was at times difficult to put down being as engrossing as it were. I look forward to reading everything else in the author's catalog. It is always a joy for me to find a book that has not just a great story but the writing is such that you don't care what the authors other novels are about, its just good writing.
—B George
Glad you like PD. And I recall reading about all that violence that happened to him in Philadelphia - The City of Brotherly Shove. ----- And, yes, I live in the idyllic outskirts of Philadelphia.
—Deborah Sheldon
The ironically named Brotherly Love is a cold, sparse and terrifying, an unrelenting plunge into a nightmare. There is Dexter’s scalpel sharp dissection of character and black humor along the way, but for the most part this the most relentless Dexter I have found yet. A tale of thirty or so years of two mob connected cousins in Philadelphia is told intimately, sparsely, and claustrophobic as opposed to sweeping. Brilliant narrative economy, dialogue, and character and I’m left with question of whether or not Dexter is a realist or a surrealist. Or his ultra magnified exploration of character revealing how much both sides of the coin are the same.
—Adam
