The Delivery Man: A Novel (utgåvan 2008)

I literally had to force myself to finish The Delivery Man by Joe McGinniss Jr.. This is a bleak, dark novel filled with loser characters who survive in the underbelly of Las Vegas and are on a one way path to nowhere. One character spends most of the book declaring that he is leaving Vegas but neither the readers or any one else actually believes that he will go.

Chase is a 25 year old wannabe artist who has returned home to Las Vegas. He originally took a job as an art teacher but after being fired spends his time as a driver, delivering the local prostitutes to their appointments. Michelle, a prostitute dreams of making big money and buying herself the security and safety that she dreams of, but most of her money is spend on drugs and booze. She also begins recruiting and training teenage girls for the trade, including one of Chase’s former students, Rachel. Meanwhile Rachel’s teenage boyfriend, is not happy with her choices and he blames Chase for her bad decisions.

I did not enjoy this seedy story, in fact, it made me want to wash my hands every time I picked it up. The Delivery Man wasn’t particularly well written and the characters seemed flat and one dimensional. I was disappointed as I had higher expectations than this poorly written story. I probably wouldn’t have finished this book except that I was reading it for an alphabet challenge but the time spent reading this book was truly wasted. ( )

This was recommended via Bret Easton Ellis on Twitter. I can see why he likes it so much. It just seemed like Ellis fan fiction in terms of style, content etc. If I wanted to read a Bret Easton Ellis novel I would have bought the real thing.

There were some positive signs in the book. I will look out for other works by this author but he certainly needs to further develop his style. ( )

Did not like this book at all. Someone in Vegas gave me this book and I made the mistake of taking it. ( )

I hate Las Vegas so I'm not sure what convinced me to read this book in the first place. A depressing city, a depressing book and a depressing and frustrating ending to this book. The moral of this story: Las Vegas is okay to visit but don't live there.

A novel set in Vegas, centered around high-school and college-age kids, all of whom are involved in drugs and prostitution: not something I would have picked up on my own. It definitely sucked me in though, and I was pulling for Chase to escape the whole way through. The writing is understated and clean. ( )