Dirt

Rating:
Summary: Funny and cool
Review: Breezy, fast-paced, and filled with sardonic humor, Sean Doolittle's first novel DIRT hits the ground running with a frantic fist-fight at a funeral and doesn't stop until the final page. Offering a fresh twist of seriously black humor in a genre known more for muted sarcasm, DIRT is a thriller that rewards and delights on many levels.

Unlike most crime fiction heroes, the somewhat hapless Quince Bishop -- an aging slacker and passive romantic living off a family trust fund -- spends most of the novel being pummeled, kicked, and beaten repeatedly (and those are his better days). Paired with self-appointed funeral consumer advocate Marie Castaneda, Bishop accidentally uncovers the dastardly doings of Joel Moss, whose manic-depressive self-loathing is matched only by his disdain for the dearly departed he "inters" at his Palm Grove Cemetery.

Assisting Moss in his shady scheme are Carl Rosen and Billy Guilder, two low-life thugs enjoying a taste of freedom after many years in prison. Guilder's gentle spirit provides for a surprising plot turn, but Rosen's cunning and penchant for violence render him a truly formidable and scary crime villain.

DIRT is more than just another Quentin Tarantino or Dutch Leonard wanna-be crime tale. Author Doolittle plants his action squarely against the backdrop of the funeral industry, and when you're not gaping at the profession's practices, you just might find yourself guffawing. Think Donald Westlake sipping bourbon with Evelyn Waugh while collaborating on a rewrite of THE LOVED ONE and you're in the ball park here.

Doolittle's black sense of humor serves him well -- bad guy Rosen's Achilles' heel is a delightfully painful running gag -- and is punched up by a sleek writing style honed after many years writing horror short fiction. (Stints as a journalist have been valuable, too -- witness Chapter 21, a hilarious account of a funeral home convention told entirely through the notes of a newspaper reporter).

Despite the body count, Doolittle's big heart shines through grandly: after the obligatory sexual encounter, the novel's hero and heroine actually take time to talk to each other about death and religion and watch THE BIG SLEEP on TV. No hip one-liners from too-cool characters here, just two desperate people learning how to reach out to each other.

There's a lot going on beneath the surface of DIRT. The wise reader will take no time digging in.

Rating:
Summary: Down and Dirty
Review: Dirt
Sean Dolittle
2001
ISBN 0-9663473-4-X
Uglytown
Mystery

The opening line of this book is my main selling point when thrusting this book into the hands of hapless strangers on the street. After a stunned glance at the fervor in my eyes and a quick read of said first line, I've got a convert on my hands.

"The trouble didn't seem to start so much as it simply landed, like a hunk of blazing debris." Are you converted? Nonetheless, I shall plod on...

If I tell you I trust in the savvy, fluid humor of this confection for the mind more than I trust my own mother, would you trust me? What if I told you of my jaded past as a reader of trite, already read plots by apathetic authors not-to-be-named, dismantled and set aside by this sardonic, very human novel exposing the lurid underbelly of the undertaking business?

Quince Bishop is yanked into this twisted tale by an ill-spoken "guerrilla" brandishing a gun at a friend's funeral and soon finds himself in an underground world exacting a punishment of frequent beatings as an entrance fee. A beautiful consumer advocate and saucy reporter ex-girlfriend spur him on as he takes on a manic-depressive nemesis and his ganja addled, ex-con sidekick. You and Quince find out more about the funeral industry than you ever wanted to know as he sinks deeper in. How he digs himself out of it is better reveled by reading the book than reading this review. So stop reading this and go buy this book.

And I have one word for the author. More.

Rating:
Summary: Dirt Poor: the quality of this book (One spoiler included)
Review: Having read Dolittle's second novel, BURN, prior to this one, I thought I was in for a surefire treat. The length of time it took me to get through the book should have been my first clue that I was wrong. I kept slogging through it, thinking, this guy's a good writer, I'm just not that into reading right now. But the plot advances slowly, slowly enough that it was hard to keep track of where various characters fit into it. Second, and this is the part of the book I really objected to, Dolittle seems to revel in the antagonist's bad acts. And we're not talking about a fun, clever, kind of bad guy, but a bad guy who's just plain mean, who is allowed to perpetrate extreme acts of violence on anyone in the story who represents decency. Even if the antagonist meets his demise at the conclusion of the story, it is a case of too little, too late. The over-the-top gratuitous violence* prevents the book from having any truly redeeming value--even as escapist entertainment. I rated this one star because a no-star rating was not available--it really should be.

*Having the antagonist kill the blind dog of an elderly widower by breaking the dog's neck served absolutely no purpose in the book--unless the author just gets off on this type of thing--at the point it occurs, we already have plenty of evidence that the antagonist is capable of extreme violence.

Rating:
Summary: Digging through Dirt shows a gem
Review: I picked up this book because the name intrigued me. I'm glad I did. The book itself is beautiful, so I'll be looking for more from uglytown. Sean Doolittle writes some very colorful characters and a has a wonderful ability to turn a phrase that makes the book come alive.

The main character, Quince Bishop, is burying a freind. And the funeral is ruined by protesters. But they are not who they seem as Quince soon finds out by befriending the head of the group they claim to represent, Maria Casteneda. With the help of his ex-girlfriend Quince finds out more about the funeral business than he would every want to know.

I enjoyed this book greatly and hope to see more of Quince and his friends. And I know that I'll be buying Doolittle's next book

Rating:
Summary: Great first novel!
Review: Picking up an unknown author, especially their first novel, you never know what to expect. Dirt however makes you excited to hear what this talented writer will have for you next.

Having talked to Sean Doolittle, he's a very real person and it comes across in his writing. Quince Bishop is a character we could all expect to meet in our local bar. He can take a punch and has a great sense of humor, without being cocky.

Sean Doolittle is a great descriptive writer. When he talks about gyros, you can almost feel the cucumber sauce dripping between your fingers. Yet the guy eating it quickly makes you lose your appetite.

Though it had some slow spots, overall it was very worth buying and reading. Waiting for more in Nebraska.

Rating:
Summary: Great first novel!
Review: Picking up an unknown author, especially their first novel, you never know what to expect. Dirt however makes you excited to hear what this talented writer will have for you next.

Having talked to Sean Doolittle, he's a very real person and it comes across in his writing. Quince Bishop is a character we could all expect to meet in our local bar. He can take a punch and has a great sense of humor, without being cocky.

Sean Doolittle is a great descriptive writer. When he talks about gyros, you can almost feel the cucumber sauce dripping between your fingers. Yet the guy eating it quickly makes you lose your appetite.

Though it had some slow spots, overall it was very worth buying and reading. Waiting for more in Nebraska.