Pete Dexter, Redux

I recently wondered out loud (I know my audience is pretty much myself) about Pete Dexter.
I did not like, very much, the recent film "God's Pocket," but I thought I would read Dexter.
I tried "Paris Trout" (they give National Book Awards for that?  I read this the same week that I finally read
"Goodbye, Columbus"--Roth's excellent first book), and then I read "The Paperboy," and yet, I read on and
read "God's Pocket."

The version of the book that I borrowed from the library (could not find the book in any store, at all) has a quote on the cover, from Richard Price.  This, I thought, is a good sign: Price is one of the best dialogue writers alive today.  (Or so I think.)

"God's Pocket" suffers from the same limitations as his other books--the characters are mostly flat, and distant.  I find it nearly impossible to understand who they are, what they are thinking or why they do the things they do.  But, the dialogue in this book is as good as a Price book, which is saying a lot (or so I think).

At least the book makes a damn bit more sense than the film and it is a good and strange story.

So, until the new Richard Price book comes out, go read Dexter's "God's Pocket."