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Lorenzo Brown is trying to stay straight. Being an ex-convict, this is no easy job. Things are however looking up. Brown has a job with the Humane Society, a small flat that he shares with Jasmine a dog that he saved and most importantly, he is making an effort to be part of his young daughter's life; a very difficult dilemma since he hasn't been able to talk to her since his return from jail. There is also his probation officer Rachel Lopez who has her own problems. A chronic alcoholic, she is constantly putting her own life at risk. She cruises bars for sex and if one did not know better one would believe that she was a prostitute instead of the dedicated parole office that she is. Staying out late until she becomes satisfied and drunken, Lopez constantly wakes up with a hangover that is becoming harder to conceal. Things are not that straightforward in DRAMA CITY. Pelecanos would be doing all his readers a disservice if this were the case. When a turf war erupts and the street gangs are battling it out with one another, a number of them are murdered. Lorenzo is finding it increasingly difficult to stay on the sidelines especially when he is caught up in illegal brutal animal fights. When Rachel is assaulted and left for dead Lorenzo, who was also in the neighbourhood, risks everything when he decides that something needs to be done. DRAMA CITY is a compelling read and an atmospheric, thought-provoking look at a desperate struggle and attempts to survive in the inner city. The good thing about this author -- and it is one of the reasons why I enjoy reading his books so much -- is the fact that he does not concentrate on any one particular crime. This is why he is considered one of the best in the business. It is not only in the way in which he writes his novels and in this case showing how difficult it is to stay clean especially when you go back to the neighbourhood that led to your downfall in the first place; but also the fact that he constantly manages to write thought-provoking and scintillating tales that never cease to amaze. Furthermore, in DRAMA CITY he has done a superb job in holding the readers attention by switching back and forth within the chapters as he tells both Rachel's and Lorenzo's stories. Read and be prepared to place yourself in the hands of a gripping and painful novel that will make you question the society that you live in.
Reviewed by Ayo Onatade, March 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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