THE DICK

by Bruce Jay Friedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 17, 1970

The Dick, for all its rasp, is a commiserating projection of a lovable klutz which frisks, as you might expect, the whole contemporary scene in Mr. Friedman's seriocomic fashion which used to seem funnier before we got used to it. Kenneth LePeters (ne Sussman) is a partitioned man with all kinds of problems: more than the sutured new name; or the scar which divides his face; or his existence in the ""world's most dangerous game"" as a PR man, rather than a homicide cop, another cordon; or his separation--in bed--from his wife Claire; or now, as he moves East, still another barrier--his daughter is the only white child in an all-black school ""educated in almost total darkness."" LePeters tries to get her into a private school and fails; he watches his wife's appropriation by a detective now making underground films; he himself has one successful romp which is followed by all kinds of little ""affairlets"" before he leaves the force, retrieves Claire, and takes his child out of school achieving an all togetherness he has lacked before. While some of the humor seems forced, Mr. Friedman has lost none of his remarkable command of the vulgate or the improvised situation which may be sufficient unto the evening for his admirers.

Pub Date: Aug. 17, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1970

Categories: FICTION