Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2012
272 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Twenty-five years after his high school graduation, David Halpert returns to a place that most people flee. But David is making his own escape - from his divorce and the death of his son. In Detroit, David learns about the double shooting of his high school girlfriend Natalie and her black half-brother, Dirk. As David becomes involved with Natalie's sister, he will discover that both he and his hometown have reasons to hope.
As compelling an urban portrait as The Wire and a touching love story, Say Nice Things About Detroit takes place in a racially polarized, economically collapsing city that doesn't seem like a place for rebirth. But as David tries to make sense of the mystery behind Natalie's death and puts back the pieces of his own life, he is forced to answer a simple question: if you want to go home again, what do you do if home is Detroit?
"Starred Review. [Lasser] composes his sympathetic cast into tableaux that are meaningful, even emblematic, but that, even when highly dramatic, aren't forced. His restrained portrait of Detroit evokes real pathos." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. With a serene and steady hand, Lasser's spare but intense tale is a smart, intimate homage to the power of second chances." - Booklist
"Lasser's setting ranges from the dingy 'hood to the ritzy 'burbs, so by the end we get to know the city almost as intimately as we know the characters." - Kirkus Reviews
"Second chances, though always welcome, are not necessarily delivered in recognizable packages. One can go home again, but it's a lot of work. Readers will savor this fast-paced tale of redemption in one sitting." - Library Journal
"This is a sharp, clear portrait of who we are now. Scott Lasser continues to shape a very distinct literary map." - Colum McCann
"You'll love Scott Lasser's style. His book spans a few years but keeps moving with dialogue that's natural and alive: whites and blacks in Detroit, a setting you come to know and can feel what it's about. I know; I've been here most of my life." - Elmore Leonard
This information about Say Nice Things About Detroit was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Scott Lasser, a native of Detroit, has worked for the National Steel Corporation and Lehman Brothers. He is the author of three novels, including Battle Creek, and currently lives in Aspen, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California. Visit him online at www.scottlasserbooks.com.
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