Deadwood (Paperback)

by Pete Dexter (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In 1876 William "[Buffalo] Bill" [Hickok] and Charley Utter rode into Deadwood, a hellish frontier settlement in the Black Hills. Bill died there, victim of a possibly demented assassin. Fortunately, this is mostly the story of his constant companion, Charley, a man of sapient insight and, though less famous than his friend, of extensive and varied experience. Charley, Bill, their acquaintance the Bottle Fiend, and later Bill's widow Agnes and mourner Calamity Jane saw some remarkable things in Deadwood and raised considerable Cain. By turns heroic, ludicrous, vicious, pathetic, and infuriating, the exotic citizens of Deadwood grab the reader's interest immediately and never let go. Highly recommended for its deadpan, offbeat, credible frontier anarchy. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
“If you want to call Deadwood a Western, you might as well call The House of Mirth chick lit. Dexter looked at the dark, twisted, ridiculous doings of Bill Hickok and company, said to himself, ‘I recognize that!’ and gave us a world-class entertainment.” —Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections

“Unpredictable, hyperbolic and, page after page, uproarious; a joshing book written in high spirits and a raw appreciation of the past.” --The New York Times Book Review

“Splendid. . . . Rumor put straight. . . . A carefully researched knitting of events into their most dazzling fabric.” --The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Deadwood may well be the best western ever written.” —The Washington Post Book World

"What deepens and darkens [Dexter's] writing, so that art is the precise word to describe it, is a powerful understanding that character rules, that we live with our weaknesses and die of our strengths." --Time

"Dexter is a master of colloquial poetry, of moods revealed through gestures and settings." --Playboy

"One of the greatest American writers... a storyteller who cuts straight to the nerve." --Scott L. Turow

"Dexter's strongest suit is his exquisite understanding of the finely meshed engines of greed, appetite, and interest." --The New York Times Book Review

"Great, eccentric characters....Dexter's writing is a living thing." --USA Today

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400079713
• ISBN-13: 978-1400079711
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,525 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pin Drop, May 13, 2001

By	vanishingpoint - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadwood (Paperback)

... How come the Wild West is so ...calm in this novel, you ask? Simple. Dexter chooses Charlie Utter as the central character, Bill Hickok's stoic, aloof partner, and it is he and his restrained wit that serves as backbone to this wonderful novel.

The book is split into four parts: Bill, The China Doll (a beautiful Chinese ..), Agnes (Lake, Bills wife), and Jane (Calamity). Bill is gone by the end of his section, which surprised me because I thought this book was about Wild Bill. It is and it isnt. He isnt physically around after the first part, but his legend is everywhere, and it runs through the book.

Ive read Paris Trout and Brotherly Love from Pete Dexter before, and enjoyed this one the most, for it is the funniest. Sometimes its ha-ha funny; other times its more reflective. Its a fine book, one that makes me wish Dexter will go back to novel writing soon.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the same as HBO's Deadwood, but a riveting read, June 17, 2004

By	Booked4Life "booked4life" (middle america) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadwood (Hardcover)

I read this book after becoming interested in Deadwood via HBO's series of that name. Since Deadwood is a real place, and since both the book and the television series are based on the real place, many of the characters are common to both. They do not, however, have much more in common besides their names and some shared historic events. Pete Dexter is a fine writer, and in Deadwood he has written a particularly fine novel. Much of the novel centers on the relationship between Wild Bill and his friend Charlie Utter. Other characters whose stories are explored include Charlie's friend, the soft-brained, Bottle Fiend, Wild Bill's widow Agnes Lake, Sheriff Seth Bullock and his partner Sol Star, a beautiful and tragic Chinese singer and prostitute named China Doll, and the always surprising Calamity Jane. Well worth reading, whether or not you like Deadwood, the TV series.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Deadwood, December 22, 2006

By	Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Pete Dexter's Deadwood hews closely to historical reality. The characters are there from the well-known Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane Cannary to the lesser known but vital Charlie Utter, Hickok's widow, Agnes Lake, the China Doll, and a host of others. The events are there from the murder of Hickok to the great Deadwood fire. Are the characters drawn accurately? It seems so - certainly more accurately than the HBO series of the same name (You won't find HBO's Al Swearengen in Dexter's pages).

Much of the book is taken up with tortured internal dialogues, especially of Hitchcock's buddy Charlie Utter. Many of the characters are at least half insane and in poor Jane's case, well over half. Cruelty is the rule not the exception. Dexter's `Deadwood' is an unhappy place.

By the way, according to a story from the Rapid City Journal newspaper posted on the web page `Deadwood Discovered, the HBO series is not based on Dexter's book and Dexter says he does not watch the show - his loss in my opinion.

Highly recommended.