The ironically named Brotherly Love is a cold, sparse and terrifying, an unrelenting plunge into a nightmare. There is Dexter’s scalpel sharp dissection of character and black humor along the way, but for the most part this the most relentless Dexter I have found yet. A tale of thirty or so years of two mob connected cousins in Philadelphia is told intimately, sparsely, and claustrophobic as opposed to sweeping. Brilliant narrative economy, dialogue, and character and I’m left with question of whether or not Dexter is a realist or a surrealist. Or his ultra magnified exploration of character revealing how much both sides of the coin are the same. 

Brotherly Love

into small-time intimidation and the trappings of a union prince. Neither, however, can outrun the logic of violence as they’re dragged into a world of bad blood and a chilling cycle of betrayal and retribution.   Praise for Brotherly Love   “A first-rate novel and a masterly evocation of that undercivilized and unfree America . . . The grace and confidence of [Pete Dexter’s] prose conveys absolute authenticity.”—The New York Times Book Review   “Enviably artful work—carefully wrought, canny in its insights, sly in its presentation, sneaky in its revelations.”—Chicago Tribune   “Extraordinarily poignant . . . Brotherly Love is all bulletproof prose and flinty-eyed bravissimo. . . . But the quieter, sadder aspects of the novel are its strongest points.”—The Boston Globe   “Tautly and often exquisitely written.”—Los Angeles Times

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