- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (July 12 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1400079713
- ISBN-13: 978-1400079711
- Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 2.1 x 20.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 295 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #99,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
In 1876 William "[Buffalo] Bill" [Hickok] and Charley Utter rode into Deadwood, a hellish frontier settlement in the Black Hills. Bill died there, victim of a possibly demented assassin. Fortunately, this is mostly the story of his constant companion, Charley, a man of sapient insight and, though less famous than his friend, of extensive and varied experience. Charley, Bill, their acquaintance the Bottle Fiend, and later Bill's widow Agnes and mourner Calamity Jane saw some remarkable things in Deadwood and raised considerable Cain. By turns heroic, ludicrous, vicious, pathetic, and infuriating, the exotic citizens of Deadwood grab the reader's interest immediately and never let go. Highly recommended for its deadpan, offbeat, credible frontier anarchy. Edwin B. Burgess, U.S. Army TRALINET Ctr., Fort Monroe, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“If you want to call Deadwood a Western, you might as well call The House of Mirth chick lit. Dexter looked at the dark, twisted, ridiculous doings of Bill Hickok and company, said to himself, ‘I recognize that!’ and gave us a world-class entertainment.” —Jonathan Franzen, author of The Corrections
“Unpredictable, hyperbolic and, page after page, uproarious; a joshing book written in high spirits and a raw appreciation of the past.” --The New York Times Book Review
“Splendid. . . . Rumor put straight. . . . A carefully researched knitting of events into their most dazzling fabric.” --The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Deadwood may well be the best western ever written.” —The Washington Post Book World
"What deepens and darkens [Dexter's] writing, so that art is the precise word to describe it, is a powerful understanding that character rules, that we live with our weaknesses and die of our strengths." --Time
"Dexter is a master of colloquial poetry, of moods revealed through gestures and settings." --Playboy
"One of the greatest American writers... a storyteller who cuts straight to the nerve." --Scott L. Turow
"Dexter's strongest suit is his exquisite understanding of the finely meshed engines of greed, appetite, and interest." --The New York Times Book Review
"Great, eccentric characters....Dexter's writing is a living thing." --USA Today
“Unpredictable, hyperbolic and, page after page, uproarious; a joshing book written in high spirits and a raw appreciation of the past.” --The New York Times Book Review
“Splendid. . . . Rumor put straight. . . . A carefully researched knitting of events into their most dazzling fabric.” --The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Deadwood may well be the best western ever written.” —The Washington Post Book World
"What deepens and darkens [Dexter's] writing, so that art is the precise word to describe it, is a powerful understanding that character rules, that we live with our weaknesses and die of our strengths." --Time
"Dexter is a master of colloquial poetry, of moods revealed through gestures and settings." --Playboy
"One of the greatest American writers... a storyteller who cuts straight to the nerve." --Scott L. Turow
"Dexter's strongest suit is his exquisite understanding of the finely meshed engines of greed, appetite, and interest." --The New York Times Book Review
"Great, eccentric characters....Dexter's writing is a living thing." --USA Today
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not the same as HBO's Deadwood, but a riveting read,
By Booked4Life "booked4life" (middle america) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Deadwood (Hardcover)
I read this book after becoming interested in Deadwood via HBO's series of that name. Since Deadwood is a real place, and since both the book and the television series are based on the real place, many of the characters are common to both. They do not, however, have much more in common besides their names and some shared historic events. Pete Dexter is a fine writer, and in Deadwood he has written a particularly fine novel. Much of the novel centers on the relationship between Wild Bill and his friend Charlie Utter. Other characters whose stories are explored include Charlie's friend, the soft-brained, Bottle Fiend, Wild Bill's widow Agnes Lake, Sheriff Seth Bullock and his partner Sol Star, a beautiful and tragic Chinese singer and prostitute named China Doll, and the always surprising Calamity Jane. Well worth reading, whether or not you like Deadwood, the TV series.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compassionate, with beautifully drawn characters,
By
This review is from: Deadwood (Paperback)
Dexter's ability to marry character and language is delightful. He is one of those rare writers who can portray deep emotion without slipping into the sentimental. Yes, the book might be subtitled, "Camp Crusty" due to profanity and sexual content, but it's also extremely funny and full of compassion. Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Weak eyes and pink gin,
By
This review is from: Deadwood (Paperback)
A great book. It gives such a human dimension to Wild Bill--his blindness at dawn or dusk, his troublesome prostate problems, and his obscession with pink gin. His murder is not the true focus of the book. It is his character, and that of his assassin and Calamidy Jane. It was really good to visit the man behind the myth. In his last days at the No.10 saloon. A very well written book.
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