Paris Trout (Contemporary American Fiction) (Paperback)

by Pete Dexter (Author) "In the spring of that year an epidemic of rabies broke out in Ether County, Georgia..." (more)
Key Phrases: five safes, Paris Trout, Henry Ray, Carl Bonner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In this novel of social drama, a casual murder in the small Georgia town of Cotton Point just after World War II and the resulting court case cleave open the ugly divisions of race and class. The man accused of shooting a black girl, a storekeeper named Paris Trout, has no great feeling of guilt, nor fear that the system will fail to work his way. Trout becomes an embarrassment to the polite white society that prefers to hold itself high above such primitive prejudice. But the trial does not allow any hiding from the stark reality of social and racial tensions. Dexter, a former newspaper columnist, is also the author of Deadwood and God's Pocket. Paris Trout won the 1988 National Book Award.

From Publishers Weekly
In what PW described as "an expertly crafted and bleakly fascinating tale of social conflict and madness in the deep South," the eponymous protagonist of this National Book Award-winning novel murders a black child while collecting a debt and is astounded that he is prosecuted for the crime. 50,000 first printing .
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140122060
• ISBN-13: 978-0140122060
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,443 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling tale of racism, murder and hypocracy, January 4, 2000

By	Doug Vaughn (Washington, Dc USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

There is no question that Dexter is a wonderful wordsmith. He knows how to arrange language for the effects he wants. What makes this book much better than just a well written, literate story of racism and murder, however, is the vivid picture Dexter draws of the main character, Paris Trout, and the townspeople who tolerate him. Trout is a sociopath who inspires fear in all those around him. His brutal and selfish actions, however much despised by his peers, are tolerated rather than confronted. The portrait of his wife - equally vivid - is a sobering and sad picture of someone struggling to make a stand for herself. Much of the tension in the book comes from the relative inarticulateness of the characters and the sense of something horrible underlying the action.

This book is a step up from most sterotypical stories of redneck racists in small Southern towns. Dexter writes with the authority of someone who knows the place, knows the language and knows these people. When finished with the book, the reader feels that he knows them too. A reading experience that's hard to forget.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I'm not ashamed. I did what was right.", June 12, 2005

By	Mary Whipple (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The National Book Award Winner from 1988, _Paris Trout_, based on a real murder and subsequent trial in Milledgeville, Georgia, is a tale of racism, abuse, bribery, injustice, and most of all, arrogance. Paris Trout, a white shopkeeper in Cotton Point, Georgia, makes his own rules, paying little attention to other laws as he sells used cars (on which the rust is hidden under new paint), terrorizes the black community into repaying loans with high interest, and uses trickery to avoid claims on the insurance policies he sells.

When the older brother of 14-year-old Rosie Sayers refuses to pay for a damaged car that Trout has sold and insured but will not fix, Trout and an accomplice decide to use him as an object lesson. Going to Henry Ray's home, Trout shoots little sister Rosie to death and leaves Mary McNutt wounded with four bullets. Surprisingly to Trout, he is put on trial, where people are bribed and the outcome is uncertain, despite eyewitnesses. The crime and trial take up the first half of the book, while the effects of the trial on Trout's defense attorney, Harry Seagraves, the increasing madness of Trout, and the town's growing impatience with Trout's behavior occupy the second half.

Dexter manages to give new life to a story of bigotry which has been told many times, creating in Rosie a particularly vulnerable and sad child, and in Harry Seagraves a lawyer who faces a crossroads--as a lawyer, husband, and man. Paris Trout, however, remains a bigoted stereotype, which reduces important aspects of the plot to "good guys" vs. "bad guys." Dexter's earthy tone creates an atmosphere that vibrates with emotion, however, and his brilliant selection of revealing details create innumerable symbols that develop the themes, poison being the most obvious symbol--Rosie's poisoning by a rabid fox, Hanna Trout's poisoning by physical and sexual abuse, and the town's poisoning by Trout's attitudes.

Dramatic, bloody, and horrifying, this novel shines a spotlight on a town which resembles a large snake that has been run over and is now "stuck to the highway with her own gum." As the town begins to free itself from Paris Trout, his power, and the attitudes he represents, the reader knows that Trout, too, is only a symbol, that real change will take generations. Mary Whipple

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follow Dexter if you dare!, January 21, 2000

By	"pegmarsh" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

In the mood for a nice little murder story? Well, don't look here. This tale of murder is as bad as they come; there is no subtlety, no ironically cute plot twists. Author Pete Dexter takes readers by their hands and whispers, "Come follow me if you have the courage, and I will show you the depravity of man." This brutal, unblinking honesty has become Dexter's trademark, and few writers can match his skill. "Paris Trout" is a novel readers will have a hard time walking away from once they've finished the last sentence. Dexter's prose is so powerful that audiences may catch themselves actually feeling sorry for Trout, the story's main character. Few times in fiction has a character been so convinced of his own righteousness, so obsessed with his own cause, while he sets out to destroy all those who have betrayed him.