Season of Gene: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Dallas Hudgens (Author)
Key Phrases: fucking bat, limo business, bat bag, Tommy Pumpkin, Lansing Junior, Lansing Senior (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Virginia-based Hudgens (Drive Like Hell) channels regular guy Joe Rice for his rollicking sophomore effort. Gruff, conscientious Joe owns a Washington, D.C., car-detailing service and ticket brokerage, while best friend Gene Dellorso manages a local limo service. Joe's the manager and catcher for the Vicodin-and-beer-fueled Whip Spa Yankees, for which Gene also plays. When Gene, 35, collapses dead at a game, his pre-game confessions of an unsalvageable marriage and a desire to flee for Las Vegas aren't the only secrets he's been hiding: a cavalcade of thugs come crawling out of the woodwork all wanting to claim a 1932 vintage bat used by Babe Ruth that's now worth a cool three million. Things only get worse from there. Though lacking the hyperactive dramatic punch of Hudgens's debut, consistent conflict and a whole heap of mischief keep this lean, amusing novel chugging along. The story is narrated by Rice, and his constant onslaught of conversational expletives may prove a challenge for some, but those ready for a rowdy ride won't be disappointed. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
Joe Rice runs his modest Whip Spa car-detailing business, and he's player-manager of the Whip Spa Yankees. For Joe, life is largely a metaphor for baseball. He and his teammates are all in their 30s, and a pregame meal is two cans of Red Bull and a couple of Vicodins. Then there's Rice's utterly profligate business partner, Gene, the Yankees' slumping slugger, who dies of a massive heart attack sliding home with the go-ahead run. After Gene's death, Joe is tasered by New Jersey gangsters looking for a nearly priceless bat used by Babe Ruth. The Jerseyans tell the still-twitching Joe that the bat was Gene's, and Joe decides that the Babe's bat will mean salvation for Whip Spa and the Yankees, but securing it will pit him against dangerous hoods, his own fecklessness, and his own past. Hudgens (Drive Like Hell, 2004) has scored again. He's given readers an engaging, knowing glimpse of an odd, but no doubt real, world of arrested development. And he knows his baseball. Gaughan, Thomas

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416541489
• ISBN-13: 978-1416541486
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #622,253 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand Slam Read, October 21, 2007

By	Lynn Harris (New York) - See all my reviews

Season of Gene is a grand slam for Drive Like Hell author Dallas Hudgens. If you liked Drive (really, if you haven't already, you should check out this book), and you're looking for another page-turning, funny, fast-paced and edgy book you will not be disappointed. When Joe Rice's business partner, Gene, dies rounding third base, Joe's quiet suburban life takes some unexpected turns,invovling gun-toting gangsters, internet drug scams, and a search for Babe Ruth's bat. Funny, unpredictable and certainly enjoyable, this boisterous and raucous novel will keep you busy turning pages.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Good for So Many Reasons, November 21, 2007

By	A Reader (from Minnesota) - See all my reviews

Season of Gene is an amazing book. Just over 200 pages long and nearly perfectly plotted, the story's real surprise is its two female leads, Joy and Theresa. One is a sudden widow and the other a struggling single mother, and both are drawn with empathy, humor, and above all generosity. Hudgens is a very rare author, whose great comic timing and breakneck pacing co-exist with his ability to perfectly paint small moments of human frailty and decency alike. The book isn't easy to classify, but it is easy to love.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading IS fun!, November 19, 2007

By	C. Gormont - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Loved it. The humor and plot is top-notch and fast-paced, but don't be fooled, the characters find their way into your heart and stay there-even the dead ones. This book is different from Hudgens' "Drive Like Hell," (as different as North and South), but "Gene" is just as funny, heart-breaking, and well-written. Hudgens is an adept storyteller. Great Christmas gift!