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House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions (Hardcover)

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3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dickerson was a struggling 20-something with a creative writing M.F.A. when he submitted a writing portfolio to Hallmark in part because he had an idea for a novel set at a greeting card company. He takes the job of writing those cards, but what seemed like a natural outlet for his highly verbal sense of humor quickly degenerates in a profoundly alienating environment, where his self-acknowledged ridiculously intense and enthusiastic personality rubs almost everybody the wrong way. The tone is set early—Oh Jesus, I just sent out a cry for help, Dickerson thinks at his first holiday party, and everybody heard it, and no one is coming to save me. His personal life isn't any better, as he struggles to maintain a long-distance relationship with the only woman he's ever dated while coping with the frustration of being a 28-year-old virgin. The behind-the-scenes material is diverting (you'll never be able to read the word special on a card again without smirking), but it's the broader drama of the profoundly un-corporate Dickerson's doomed efforts to fit into the corporate world that gives the memoir its staying power. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review

"The only thing Dave Dickerson does better than poignant, funny greeting cards is this poignant and funny first book. A wordsmith, a charmer, and a witty self- effacer, Dickerson proves himself a gifted narrator of hilarious, compassionate prose."
- Sara Barron, author of People Are Unappealing

"House of Cards is hilarious and amazing. What a marvelous relief it is to discover, at long last, that there's life on other planets, specifically Planet Dickerson in the galaxy HooBoy! It's amazingly wonderfully weird."
- Bob Shacochis, National Book Award-winning author of Easy in the Islands and The Immaculate Invasion
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (October 1, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594488819
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594488818
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,286 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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David Ellis Dickerson
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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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3.8 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A funny, tender, and mildly disturbing memoir, September 21, 2009
By Silicon Valley Girl (Sunnyvale, CA USA) - See all my reviews
  
For a 28-year-old man, ex-fundamentalist David Ellis Dickerson has remarkably little life experience. After getting his master's degree, he's only ever worked at one job, as a clerk at a government agency. He got engaged to the first woman he ever dated. Worst of all, he's a virgin.

What he's good at, and loves doing, is writing word puzzles and funny poems. When he gets the chance to work at the Hallmark greeting card company, he thinks he's found the perfect job. So he moves hundreds of miles away from his family and fiancee and, for the first time in his life, tries to fit in in the corporate world.

You can pretty much guess what happens next. Between his own quirkiness and the vagaries of corporate culture, David has a tough time at Hallmark. He does make some good friends. He also alienates several bosses and has an excruciatingly hard time figuring out the unwritten rules at his new workplace.

This is a well-written, cleverly observed, and very funny book. I also found it mildly disturbing, because I think Dickerson sometimes reveals more about himself than he realizes. It's still not clear to me, for instance, that he understands how deep the divide was between his own "romantic" but essentially self-centered fantasies about his relationship and his fiancee's actual needs and desires. And it takes the poor guy forever to figure out that some of his perfectly innocent habits are annoying the crap out of his patient but uncommunicative coworkers. At many points in the book, I felt simultaneously sympathetic and incredibly irritated with him.

Ultimately, though, I think Dickerson's perhaps unintentionally unsparing portrait of himself is what makes this such a good book. This was a one-day read for me; I picked it up and almost literally didn't put it down until I finished it. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys funny memoirs about quirky people.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Funny, with a chance of meatballs, September 20, 2009
By Linda Bulger (Avon, Maine) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      

Picture yourself choosing a birthday card. Imagine that you're roaming the racks and picking up one card after another. You browse the humor section, the religious section; you see photos, cartoons, all sorts of cards. Some make noise or have moving parts, or are die-cut. But on this imagined shopping trip, what if they all had the same sentiment inside?

Reading House of Cards: Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions was a bit like that for me. Some parts made me reach out eager to pick them up and be entertained. Yes, great intro, then flip it open and ... oh my goodness, more of the same.

Author David Ellis Dickerson is a very funny guy, and his wordplay is to die for. I thoroughly enjoyed his verses and cryptic crossword work. Dickerson landed what seemed like the perfect job for his talents: writing for Hallmark Cards. I would have appreciated a clearer look at the systems and processes of Hallmark--and possibly more about his avocation as a puzzle-maker. Dickerson, though, is like the nerdy kid who throws himself in front of the camera every time, making monster faces. Granted, House of Cards is a memoir so by definition it's ABOUT him, but ... maybe he's a bit too invested in being annoying, to the detriment of this book.

Dickerson was raised as a fundamentalist Christian and converted to Catholicism as an adult. At twenty-seven he was a virgin, he and his fiancee having decided to "just say no" until they married. He plays the humor card repeatedly in telling this part of the story, and frankly, it was just TMI for me. It contributes heavily, as you might imagine, to his sense of stress and dislocation in the Hallmark job. The focus on his sex life, and what seemed like ridicule of himself and the systems and staff of Hallmark, got in the way of my full enjoyment.

Dickerson, an NPR contributor, is brilliant and funny and there's lots to enjoy here. I'm hoping that his next book is just as brilliant and funny but with less self-deprecation. For me, three stars with the promise of a sunnier day next time.

Linda Bulger, 2009
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars An exceptionally well-written and quirky memoir, September 25, 2009
This book is an entertaining memoir about an eccentric yet likeable dude. As you can probably glean from the title, the great majority of this book is focused on David Ellis Dickerson's time as a Hallmark employee in his late 20s. He details the various jobs he held there, the great friends he met, the crazy bosses he answered to, his relationships, and his lessons of growth and self-discovery.

When I read the description of this book, I was skeptical: "Wait, he is (or was?) an evangelical Christian? But he's a regular contributor to NPR? And he's funny? AND he got his doctorate at FSU, my alma mater? Hmm... this could be interesting." It turned out to be a great read. Without including any spoilers in this review, it's important to note that Dickerson, despite his intensely religious upbringing, is now a modern liberal man: highly educated, critical of fundamentalism, strongly feminist, and an LGBT ally. (I personally breathed a sigh of relief upon discovering this information, but it might be off-putting to some readers.) Apparently, many people find Dickerson insufferable because, as a true academic, he tends to "inform people against their will." However, I found him to be earnest and endearing; you can't help but identify with at least some little part of him.

The first 50-60 pages of the book are a little slow, but then it picks right up, and from that point I couldn't put it down! Dickerson is an extremely gifted writer, poet, puzzle-maker -- a veritable wordsmithing genius -- with a staggering lexicon and impeccable grammar. It's truly a joy to read such high-quality writing. He includes many original poems, cartoons, letters, and greeting card text. Even at a solid 370 pages, this memoir surprisingly easy to get through because Dickerson's writing is superb, and the story itself is engaging and suspenseful.

During one chapter in the middle, Dickerson takes the reader through the actual process of writing a greeting card. It's fascinating and highly entertaining to read his different brainstorms, watch where he takes these ideas, and then see how the final card would end up.

Although the author begins his journey as a virgin and an evangelical Christian, there is surprisingly quite a bit of sex (and theorizing about sex, including what some might consider graphic language) in this memoir. Some readers may feel that Dickerson is oversharing; however, I got the impression that he wears his heart on his sleeve, and to not include such private, intimate details would be to create an incomplete picture of himself and his life at that time.

Those who dislike reading descriptions of various sex acts, profanity, the occasional liberal rant, and serious (if infrequent) criticism of fundamentalism -- peppered intermittently with a poem in flawless iambic pentameter -- probably would not enjoy this book very much. However, if those elements sound like they make for a great read, then you won't be disappointed! I highly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys funny, slightly eccentric, well-written memoirs.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
Iheard the author speak on NPR and decided to buy his book. However, it did not live up to its hype about life within Hallmark Cards. Read more
Published 9 days ago by Patricia Ann Littlefield

3.0 out of 5 stars Evangelical Christians and Hallmark Executives Beware!
I ordered this book to review for Vine,
The premise sounded funny and I thought it'd be SO FINE,
But now that I'm finished I have to say,
It's not what I... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Stanley Cup

2.0 out of 5 stars Self-indulgent and needlessly profane
I actually finished this book, but it was a bit painful. There are a few parts that offer an inside, and even mildly amusing, look at writing greeting cards and some surprisingly... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Amanda Hamm

5.0 out of 5 stars A poignant memoir that will make you laugh out loud
This book is very funny, poignant, and technically well-done. The smartest, most enjoyable memoir I have read since "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. Lacasse

5.0 out of 5 stars An honest, painful, hilarious, and engaging memoir
Life, love, sex, faith, work, corporate America, fundamentalist Christianity, academia, family - few subjects are not touched upon in this incredibly well-written memoir. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sebastian Montgomery

4.0 out of 5 stars An honest and amusing read
I have always thought it would be fun to write greeting cards or even captions for the 'Weekly World News', here is someone who has done this himself. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stephanie Manley

3.0 out of 5 stars Non-professional reviewer says "Worth the read."
This book had all of the right elements; memoir, sex (or lack thereof), fundamentalism gone awry, insight into a profession not often thought of. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. Hertzler

4.0 out of 5 stars Funny and frank
Readers may know Dickerson from This American Life. The former fundamentalist turned writer is almost disturbingly frank. Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. T. Vancampen

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusual in many ways---honest, bizarre, thought-provoking, odd!
This is a tough book to review. I will say I really did enjoy reading it. The basic story---David Dickerson gets a job at Hallmark Cards. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Suzanne Amara

5.0 out of 5 stars a really great book about a *really* annoying guy
David Ellis Dickerson is one heck of a writer. Why? He managed to make a book about himself- an incredibly annoying, clueless, and self-centered guy (he does *mean* well, though... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chel Micheline

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