Peter Dexter appears at Wordstock on Sunday, October 11, at 3 PM on the Powell’s Books Stage.
Pete Dexter’s eagerly anticipated new novel is out at last, and believe you me, Spooner has been worth the wait. If you’re a fan of Paris Trout and Mr. Dexter’s other novels, this new book will surprise you; the picaresque story tale may have the title character for its linchpin, but it’s his collateral damage that really interests the author.
Spooner the book teems with larger-than-life personalities, but part of Pete Dexter’s wizardry here is that Spooner the man is not one of them. A list of Spooner’s personality defects would be lengthy, and most of the people who surround him are equally fractured. In Mr. Dexter’s universe, however, this is fodder for comedy, not tragedy. For example:
Spooner’s mother lived her life with the certain knowledge that the whole thing—cradle to grave—was an ambush. Spooner didn’t necessarily disagree with that, but had never seen any reason to take it personally.
Fortunately for everyone concerned, Spooner’s stepfather, Calmer (Calmer!) makes it his lifelong mission to watch out for his prodigal stepson. And throughout the misadventures that make up a life, the two develop an abiding filial love – probably without ever really understanding one another.
The writing is breathtaking throughout, yet never showy; you get to take your time with the characters, and relish the black humor that buoys up our perspective on their lives. So well do you get to know them that you will be quietly touched toward the end of the story, when a shift in the book’s tone and emphasis alters the universe Pete Dexter has so carefully created for you.
Read this book.