Dodgers

Review "The book is a mashup of rite of passage and road trip, with the four main characters at odds not only with each other, but also with a country that is entirely alien to them. The quiet, watchful East, at once world-weary and naive, is a heartbreakingly believable character." --The Guardian"Not only is the fast-paced and masterfully plotted Dodgers one of the greatest literary crime novels you will read in your lifetime, Bill Beverly has also created, in the teenage boy, East, one of the most unforgettable and heartbreaking characters ever encountered in American fiction"--Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff and The Devil All the Time "An excellent book . . . Imagine the young corner boys from The Wire on a road trip across the USA"--James Brown, Sabotage Times "Dark, edgy and riveting and, for all that, deeply, humanly serious, Dodgers is white knuckles for the mind"--Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain "This intense, dangerous debut is tipped for major awards"--Sunday Express "An important literary crime novel written in street prose which you can expect to be vying for awards soon"--Crime Scene Magazine "Akin to William Gibson in its staccato blizzard of sentences, each as taut and tight as a drumhead, and reminiscent of James Ellroy in its sense of social injustice and of a life and upbringing etched caustically across the pages. A compelling debut"--Luke McCallin, author of The Man from Berlin and The Pale House "Dodgers is a wickedly good amalgamation of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Clockers that stands firmly on its own as a remarkable debut. A harrowing road trip into the heart of America that will shock you, move you, and leave you marvelling at its desolate poetry"--Richard Lange, author of Angel Baby and The Wicked World "Dodgers is a dark, unforgettable coming-of-age journey that recalls the very best of Richard Price, Denis Johnson, and J.D. Salinger"--Bookateria "Beverly makes his fiction debut with a dazzling crime novel that's equal parts coming-of-age tale à la Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye and travelogue a la Kerouac"--Publishers Weekly "Provocative, gripping, and timely, Dodgers is a riveting read that leaves a lasting impression"--American Bookseller's Association "A terrific novel, urgent, thrilling, and dangerous from start to finish. In East, Mr. Beverly has created a character who stays in the mind after the book is finished, an Odysseus straight out of Compton. His venture into the unknown lands of the American Midwest has a classic, mythic shape and scope. And the writing throughout is lovely, economical and exact. You could read this for the sentences alone"--Kevin Canty, author of Into The Great Wide Open "Dodgers transcends genres. Its main character East, is part Kerouac's Sal Paradise, part Wright's Bigger Thomas, and even part Salinger's Holden Caulfield. The hero's journey is an American story" --Ernesto Quinonez, author of Bodega Dreams"Stunning debut…a dark, haunting, literary crime novel…stark and unforgettable."--For the Love of Words "The prose is tight, the dialogue rhythmic, the pacing fast, the violence measured, and the ending unexpected." --The Financial Times"The dialogue is not just the usual low-life slang between minor criminals; it exposes the real fears and deep sadness of teenagers who grow up in a world of poverty, drugs and violence." --The Times"This is an excellent tale. Beverly places the reader within an alien subculture but his picture is entirely convincing" -- Crime Review "Beverly's writing turns the most banal setting into a thing of beauty." -- Metro "Violent, insightful and beautifully written." -- Paul Connolly, Metro - Books of 2016 "This sweeping coming-of-age story will take you to whole new heights." --Bustle"The writer certainly deserves the acclaim, with his unique narrative voice." --Crime Time"The tension stays high and reflective moments serve only to give the characters