Review An unforgettable, unshakable novel. The New York Times Book Review The writing, the characters, and the plot are so compelling that you can't help but stay with the book until its conclusion. Washington Post Book World There has been no antiwar novel . . . quite like Larry Brown'sDirty Work. The New York Times One of the most powerful antiwar novels in American literature. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution A marvelous book . . . Brown's swift, intuitive dialogue explodes like a land mine and leaves the reader dizzy with shock. The Kansas City Star A real knockout. New York Newsday A powerful and original work all its own that moves along in short, staccato chapters with indisputably authentic language. The New York Times Stunning power . . . Dirty Workmakes the human cost of war achingly real. USA Today An unsparing book, at once brutal and compassionate, horrible, yet funny, too. The Philadelphia Inquirer Courageous . . . It's hard to imagine a more powerful effect than the one Brown creates with his attentive, unsparing prose. St. Louis Post-Dispatch [Brown] has created two fully realized, believable and often very funny characters . . . No one who reads this book is likely to forget them. The Houston Post A novel of the first order . . . A gem. The Washington Post" Synopsis Looks at the world through the eyes of Walter Brown, a fireman in Oxford, Mississippi, as he reminisces about his youth.
A**S
A powerful dual narrative work
As far as Brown's books go, I'd place this as my second or third favourite that I have read. The back stories of each character and the way they are explored is interesting, and some parts of the book had me hooked. As with his other books (and this is a complaint from many), the repeated focus on beer and cigarettes may get a little repetitive to some. However, this is an essential component of his view of the South, so one can see why these references slip into much of his work.This does not rival Joe as a page-turning novel for me, but it is a good debut novel, and casts a stark image of war and the effect that it has on those that are wounded in conflict. The inner and outer monologues of the characters as they share their storeis in alternate chapters is an effective and different technique in this dual narrative. For this reason, it is quite different to Joe, Fay or Father & Son, and I would recommend it to fans of Larry Brown and people who enjoy Southern American literature.
J**N
Probably the best anti-war novel I have read
Probably the best anti-war novel I have read, and that includes All Quiet on the Western Front. Two young men from rural Mississippi, one Black and one White, with the former's belief in God more sophisticated and moving than I thought possible. Insightful description of Basic Training, with the concluding "wisdom" of "don't die for your country, make the other sucker die for his." The sacrifice the white boy makes to the black man is selfless--and not an act that would be condoned by anyone who has a authentic concept of self-hood or courage. Reading this is the best way to detect the crap in shallow patriotic pronouncements
M**E
A very dark read
Im a big fan of Larry Brown but missed this one. A very dark read but you can't put it down.
P**S
Believable characters written superbly on a timeless subject. Powerful, original, and very moving.
Difficult to find words to express how much this short novel moved me...Larry Brown has a way with his writing that takes you right under the skin of his characters. They are so vivid and believable. Dirty Work's two main protagonists are both physically and mentally scarred Vietnam veterans who share adjoining beds in a VA hospital 22 years after their war. Both Mississippians, limbless Braiden is black and faceless Walter is white. Both are from poor and troubled backgrounds. They find rare solace in their ability to confide in each other, something that their lives have usually been barred from.The book is entirely written in the first person with short, punchy, and more or less alternate chapters in the voice of each man - something that I very quickly adjusted to after a tricky opening dozen or so pages... This book is very powerful and deeply affecting, and I'm pretty sure I will return to it again. The subject it addresses is as relevant today as it ever was -"I know where you been, man. I've decided it's all the same. it's just the places and the reasons that change. Or maybe just the enemy. Hell. Let's open us another beer."
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