Paper Trails: True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which Are Not About Marriage [Hardcover]

Pete Dexter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

In the 1970s and 1980s, 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 for the first time are eighty-two of the best of those spellbinding, finely wrought pieces—with a new introduction by the author—assembled by Rob Fleder, editor of the bestselling Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Book. Paper Trails is searing, heart-breaking, and irresistibly funny, sometimes all at once. As Pete Hamill says in his foreword, these essays "are as good as it ever gets."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this sprawling collection of finely etched prose, noted novelist Dexter (Paris Trout) lays bare the darker workings of the human experience. Assembled mostly from his newspaper columns for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Sacramento Bee, these short pieces chronicle the often violent, sometimes tender foibles of the denizens of America's lower socioeconomic strata. Senseless crimes are committed, alcohol flows like water and lives are damaged beyond repair. In clipped, world-weary prose, Dexter writes of Joline, a prostitute working the streets of West Sacramento—"The rent is $95 a week, and she still owes the manager fifty. She says that is two dates, maybe three. Joline is twenty-three years old. She says she'll have it in two hours." The stories are imbued with the spirit of the ink-stained old school journalist. While not all the tales are of degradation and mishap—Dexter writes tenderly of his wife and child—the self-inflicted woes of the less fortunate stay with you. "Mummers Day on Two Street: The body is laid out on the corner. The pink dress is pulled up around the neck, which is painted green. The eyes are partly open; but when you look into them all you see is white." With authority and a strange grace, Dexter has crafted a powerful portrait of the underbelly of the American Dream. (Feb.)
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Review

“Compact and illuminating…” (Sunday Oregonian )

[Dexter’s pieces] read like finely honed short stories....Their spare, haunting scenes echo Hemingway, their insights Faulkner. (Cleveland Plain Dealer )

“A book full of good reading…” (Rocky Mountain News )

“Lovers of fine writing ought to give a serious consideration to Pete Dexter’s new book.” (Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

“Paper Trails will stir nostalgia for those who remember a time when newspapers prided themselves on cutting loose, colorful writers…” (Columbus Dispatch )

With authority and a strange grace, Dexter has crafted a powerful true portrait of the underbelly of the American Dream. (Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

“[A] literary feat—when Dexter gets going he crawls under the skin and stays there.” (New York Times Book Review )

PAPER TRAILS is what great newspaper writing is all about. (Washington Post Book World )

Superb...Remarkable...The simple clarity of [Dexter’s] prose is like an Edward Hopper painting. (New York Sun )

“Laugh-out-loud stories…Ideal for... writers and any book lover who appreciates a good story.” (Library Journal )

“The author’s true eye for detail makes for easy reading.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“Pete Dexter is a master story teller in all forms... This is the work of a great American writer.” (Michael Connelly )

“A jewel box of muscular writing…” (Denver Post )

“Paper Trails is a master class in tight, effective writing.” (St. Petersburg Times )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 1 edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061189359
• ISBN-13: 978-0061189357
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #568,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PETE DEXTER'S UNIQUE STORIES OF LIFE, February 12, 2007

By 

RBSProds "rbsprods" (Deep in the heart of Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Paper Trails: True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which Are Not About Marriage (Hardcover)

Four FASCINATING Stars! National Book Award-winning writer Pete Dexter wrote kaleidoscopic newspaper columns and magazine articles on his observations of life, love, marriage, death, and everything in between in preceding decades. These 82 vignettes are unique and engrossing, coming from multiple sources Iike Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Redbook, Inside Sports, Philadelphia Daily News, and the Sacramento Bee, focusing on many locations around the country. Although somewhat dated, this book proves the timeless phrase "The more things change, the more they remain the same": case in point, Dexter's 'O. J. Simpson vs the press' viewpoint is right on the money, as O. J. once again regretably rises to the attention of the world.

In the great tradition of writers like Jimmy Breslin, Mr Dexter writes with a keen eye, sardonic wit, and a gift for detail and opinion in rough-edged, highly-descriptive, and presumptive prose. The stories keep coming, letting the reader sometimes read between the lines and fill in missing details: here's how he describes how he rushed from Florida to Philadelphia in mid-winter to accept a much-needed new job: "I arrived three days later with one pair of boots, no coat, running as close to empty as I've ever been", a whale of a winter image in 21 words. You fill in the rest; unshaven, dirty laundry in the back seat? The book is loaded with these.

The specific stories are varied: a salute to a TV newsman murdered on his knees in a foreign country (no, not that newsman and not that country!), the escapades of two friends nicknamed Low Gear and Minus (no kidding!), a mother cat in a dangerous world, a beer throwing contest (seriously!), police stories, courtroom stories, stereotypical views on race but with an underlying fairness and fondness for all men, a paper bag that should have been left alone, murders that could and should have been avoided, an old boxer one should stay away from, and the Brian Spencer-involved murder case that he peels back like an onion. The stories run from the truly interesting to the mundane, but things are never boring based on the grittiness and uniqueness of Mr Dexter's vignettes of life. It may take a couple of stories to get your bearings, but by then he's pulled you into his world. Definitely Recommended!! Four INCISIVE Stars!

(Note: this review is based on an eBook digital download in secure eReader format.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, fun, sad, poignant ..., March 15, 2007

By 

Charlie Stella (Fords, New Joisey) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Paper Trails: True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which Are Not About Marriage (Hardcover)

Dexter is truly one of America's greatest writers ... this collection is impossible to put down. If the first piece doesn't grab your heart, you don't have one. This is every bit as good as his novels ... and those are masterpieces.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blast from Past, January 25, 2008

By 

James Donovan (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paper Trails: True Stories of Confusion, Mindless Violence, and Forbidden Desires, a Surprising Number of Which Are Not About Marriage (Hardcover)

I remember Pete from his time at the Philadelphia Daily News. It truly was a different era. We still have columnists, but Pete was something special. Many of the columns collected here have the power to break your heart. Those that do not will make you laugh, or perhaps think. If you suppose that you can peg Dexter as a typical left wing demagogue then you must read his thoughts on the LA riots, and O.J. Simpson. This is a man who is dedicated to the notion of equality, and will brook no excuses for bad behavior. This book is like eating popcorn if you were eating popcorn that was extremely filling and had super nutritive qualities.