Sleazy Dirt
Sleazy. I doubt journalist and author Mark LaFlamme will object to my using this adjective to describe him, although I don’t intend it as a compliment. LaFlamme, crime reporter and columnist for the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal describes himself on his web site as an unrepentant chain smoker who prefers to hang out with street drunks and prostitutes rather than hang around the newsroom. And LaFlamme’s latest novel, Dirt An American Campaign, certainly has some pretty sleazy elements, most notably a deranged grief ridden young husband who steals his wife’s body from a mortuary and sets off on a wild escapade with the corpse.
Sleazy. It’s also an adjective that has been applied to what used to be called vanity publishing, back in the days before print on demand services made it possible for people who are not rich to self-publish their manuscripts. Let me be clear that I have nothing against smokers or authors who self-publish. And the book isn’t horrible. It just isn’t very good, and I found myself frequently wishing as I read it that I was reading something else. While it is listed in Worldcat, Dirt is not available from any public library anywhere in the world, nor is it available from Powell’s. It can be purchased from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Book Locker, the print on demand service. My advice–save your sixteen bucks. Not Recommended.
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1Book Calendar
wrote on 5 December 2008 at 12:14
It is nice to see a not recommended book. It shows a certain character. Most people refuse to write about things which they can’t stand or take. The hardest book I ever attempted to read was The Mad Man by Samuel R. Delany. It was a dystopic novel where the object was to offend you as much as humanly possible (the book was about a homeless insane man who used drugs, was promiscuous and had AIDS). I couldn’t get past the first chapter. This sounds similar. This is not done very often. It is a literary style that occassionally comes up. It is for a very small crowd of people…
2Alan
wrote on 5 December 2008 at 20:23
Yes, it does sound somewhat similar, though I read fully two thirds of it, all the while Hoping it would get better. On the surface, the premise Sounded interesting: ‘The son of a US Presidential candidate does something shocking and strange and his father (and his father’s staff) must find and stop the son to protect the family’s name’ It was a very New England story, set primarily in New Hampshire , Vermont and Maine, but rather than quaintly creepy (like Stephen King or maybe Peyton Place) it is just bizzarly unappealing in LaFlamme’s novel. Given my fairly high level of interest in politics, a better writer could have left me typing ‘not to be missed’ rather than ’save your money’ with some variant of this story.
I am, honestly, a little bit afraid that the publicists will take me off their lists for writing negative reviews, but I believe that my credibility is my most valuable asset as a book reviewer and I Really will Not recommend a book if I don’t like it or think that my reader will probably like it. Thanks for your kind words, BC, I really appreciate it.
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3Alan
wrote on 5 December 2008 at 20:38
The two books do sound a bit similar. I read fully two thirds of this book, continually hoping that it would get better, but it just didn’t and finally I decided the only recourse was to publish a bad review. Had I not promised the publicist who sent me the review copy to post a review of the book on a particular date, I probably would not have even tried to read more than the first chapter, and would not have published a review of it at all. To be perfectly honest, I am a little concerned that if I publish negative reviews the e-mails from publicists and the review copies will stop. That would be a shame, though I could live with it. But I definitely will Not recommend books that I don’t like or honestly believe that some target audience probably would like. My credibility is my number one asset, imho, and I intend to maintain it.
Thanks for your kind words, BC. It means a lot coming from you.
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4pussreboots
wrote on 23 December 2008 at 3:43
It’s nice to know I’m not the only one writing a negative review. Don’t worry about the publicists taking you off their lists. I’ve been doing these reviews now for about 18 months and I’ve written a number of negative reviews. The book offers till keep coming. The good ones will appreciate your honesty because your positive reviews will actually mean something.