Paper Trails : True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which Are Not About Marriage
Author(s): Pete Dexter
In the 1970s and '80s, before he earned national acclaim for his award-winning novels, Pete Dexter was a newspaper columnist. Every week, in a few hundred words, Dexter cut directly to the heart of the American character at a time of national turmoil and crucial change. With haunting urgency, his columns laid bare the violence, hypocrisy, and desperation he saw on the streets of Philadelphia and in the places he visited across the country. But he reveled, too, in the lighter side of his own life, sharing scenes with the indefatigable Mrs. Dexter, their young daughter, and a series of unforgettable creatures who strayed into their lives. No matter what caught Dexter's eye, it was illuminated by his dark, brilliant humor. Collected here are eighty-two of the best of those spellbinding, finely wrought pieces—with a new preface by the author—assembled by Rob Fleder, editor of the bestselling Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Book. Paper Trails is searing, heartbreaking, and irresistibly funny, sometimes all at once. As Pete Hamill says in his foreword, these essays "are as good as it ever gets."
Review(s):
“[A] literary feat—when Dexter gets going he crawls under the skin and stays there.”
[Dexter’s pieces] read like finely honed short stories....Their spare, haunting scenes echo Hemingway, their insights Faulkner.
PAPER TRAILS is what great newspaper writing is all about.
“Pete Dexter is a master story teller in all forms... This is the work of a great American writer.”
“A jewel box of muscular writing…”
Superb...Remarkable...The simple clarity of [Dexter’s] prose is like an Edward Hopper painting.
With authority and a strange grace, Dexter has crafted a powerful true portrait of the underbelly of the American Dream.
“Lovers of fine writing ought to give a serious consideration to Pete Dexter’s new book.”
“Paper Trails is a master class in tight, effective writing.”
“The author’s true eye for detail makes for easy reading.”
ISBN: 9780061189364