God's Pocket

Book excerpt: NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE In this striking debut from the author of the National Book Award winner Paris Trout, Pete Dexter chronicles a murder and its consequences in the fictional blue-collar Philadelphia neighborhood of God’s Pocket. Leon Hubbard makes other men nervous, talking to himself or anyone who will listen about the things he’s cut with his straight razor. So when he crosses the wrong guy on a South Philly construction site and winds up with his head caved in, everyone is content to bury the bad news with the body. Everyone, that is, except Leon’s mother—and a local newspaper columnist hoping the story will resurrect his career. Only a mother could love a man like Leon. But only an outsider could expect to change anything in God’s Pocket. Praise for God’s Pocket “Riveting . . . a first-class first novel . . . highlighted by superior writing, dialogue that rings true, and a highly believable background.”—Associated Press “God’s Pocket sings, snarls, mugs, wisecracks, buys you a drink, steals your wallet, and takes you home to meet the folks.”—Richard Price “My own favorite among Mr. Dexter’s work remains God’s Pocket, which I continue to admire for its rich, well-nigh Dickensian mixture of verisimilitude, real-life absurdity, horror and romance.”—Robert Stone, The New York Times Book Review “Rollicking . . . a tough Philadelphia neighborhood comes to life in these pages.”—Playboy