This tale of a book-loving tough guy in a decimated Manhattan is "like Motherless Brooklyn dosed with Charlie Huston . . . Delirious and haunting" (Megan Abbott, author of Give Me Your Hand).
After a flu pandemic, a large-scale terrorist attack, and the total collapse of Wall Street, New York City is reduced to a shadow of its former self. As the city struggles to dig itself out of the wreckage, a nameless, obsessive-compulsive veteran with a spotty memory, a love for literature, and a strong if complex moral code (that doesn't preclude acts of extreme violence) has taken up residence at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Forty-second Street.
Dubbed "Dewey Decimal" for his desire to reorganize the library's stock, he gets by as bagman and muscle for New York City's unscrupulous district attorney. He takes no pleasure in this kind of civic dirty work. He'd be perfectly content alone amongst his books. But this is not in the cards, as the DA calls on Dewey for a seemingly straightforward union-busting job.
What unfolds throws Dewey into a mess of danger, shifting allegiances, and old vendettas, forcing him to face the darkness of his own past and the question of his buried identity . . .
"The Dewey Decimal System is proof positive that the private detective will remain a serious and seriously enjoyable literary archetype." â??Pop Matters… (plus d'informations)
This is one of those books that is perfect for what it is - A violent romp through a futuristic New York after it has been hit by terrorism and disease. Our Anti Hero, a man of mystery, even to himself, with a severe case of OCD is a man who can make people disappear. When this gets him involved with Ukrainian Gangsters and missing religious artifacts, he gets beat up, shot at, beat up again, all while surviving a city of New York that is more refugee camp than bustling city.
As for the story itself, as I said, its fun, but violent. You aren't going to find a book of literary value. However, its written well, Dewey is an interesting character, what with his "system" and pills that he needs just to survive. It really is the perfect beach read. ( )
Not at all what I through it will be. What I got is a crime busting thriller. The writing is fast and to the point. At times the writing works well with the fast-past action and other times it feels choppy. Especially when transferring from scene to scene.
The story is set in a dystopian New York City. The way it describes make it feel hollow and empty. New York shouldn’t feel so eerie, which is done well. ( )
It may be weird to say that I am a fan of dystopian near-future settings. I have a morbid fascination with bleak, sparse landscapes and crumbling infrastructure; I remain hopeful that I will never have to live in such a world, but constantly wonder what type of person I would be if I survived in one.
In "The Dewey Decimal System", Larson creates an instantly engaging survivor as a protagonist, and a compelling city in ruins around him. Larson's staccato, fragmented style makes this a quick and brutal read with plenty of physical and emotional carnage. I only wished for more scenes in the New York Public Library, yearning for more details of this post-apocalyptic information age that seems entirely devoid of the 'net. ( )
And I wake, gasping and flailing at the hooded shapes that recede swiftly with my sleep, the report of the gunshot ricocheting off my skull and out into the great hall of the Reading Room.
This tale of a book-loving tough guy in a decimated Manhattan is "like Motherless Brooklyn dosed with Charlie Huston . . . Delirious and haunting" (Megan Abbott, author of Give Me Your Hand).
After a flu pandemic, a large-scale terrorist attack, and the total collapse of Wall Street, New York City is reduced to a shadow of its former self. As the city struggles to dig itself out of the wreckage, a nameless, obsessive-compulsive veteran with a spotty memory, a love for literature, and a strong if complex moral code (that doesn't preclude acts of extreme violence) has taken up residence at the main branch of the New York Public Library on Forty-second Street.
Dubbed "Dewey Decimal" for his desire to reorganize the library's stock, he gets by as bagman and muscle for New York City's unscrupulous district attorney. He takes no pleasure in this kind of civic dirty work. He'd be perfectly content alone amongst his books. But this is not in the cards, as the DA calls on Dewey for a seemingly straightforward union-busting job.
What unfolds throws Dewey into a mess of danger, shifting allegiances, and old vendettas, forcing him to face the darkness of his own past and the question of his buried identity . . .
"The Dewey Decimal System is proof positive that the private detective will remain a serious and seriously enjoyable literary archetype." â??Pop Matters
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As for the story itself, as I said, its fun, but violent. You aren't going to find a book of literary value. However, its written well, Dewey is an interesting character, what with his "system" and pills that he needs just to survive. It really is the perfect beach read. (