Роман Патрика деВитта «Додж-Сити»: история беглеца от призыва во Вьетнам

Dodge City Patrick deWitt. Ecco, $28 (256p) ISBN 978-0-06-343811-8 DeWitt (The Librarianist) delivers a keenly observed and wryly humorous road novel of a draft dodger during the Vietnam War. Lee Clarke nurtures few academic ambitions, so being expelled from UCLA for getting caught up in a fistfight only matters because it’s 1967, and expulsion means the end of his deferment status. Sure enough, a draft letter arrives in short order, and Lee recognizes there’s “only one sensible response to such a thing”: head to Canada. He charts a circuitous course that will allow him to visit his dad in his hometown of Concrete, Wash.; his mom in Montana; his brother in Minnesota; and his sister in New York City. Each stop offers an opportunity to say his goodbyes. DeWitt draws each character as comically absurd, yet he makes each portrait feel strangely poignant. Dad, a struggling dog catcher, dognaps to meet his quotas, while brother Harry engages in a little light felony for recreation. The narrative is appropriately zippy, given that Lee’s driving is fueled by a baggie of amphetamines called “white crosses,” which also help with the creeping dread of his unknown future. Lee is also saying his farewells to America, and to the absurdity of a country being torn apart for a war that many people don’t believe in. This elegiac tale is good company for dark days. Agent: Doug Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Sept.) Details Reviewed on: 08/20/2026 Genre: Fiction Compact Disc - 979-8-228-98073-0 MP3 CD - 979-8-228-98072-3 Open Ebook - 256 pages - 978-0-06-343813-2 Paperback - 272 pages - 978-0-06-343814-9