Pete Dexter

The Profile

Pete Dexter is an American novelist and former journalist, author of Paris Trout (published in Italian as Il cuore nero di Paris Trout). Paris Trout won the National Book Award for Fiction.

Paris Trout (originally published 1988) won the National Book Award for Fiction. The novel is set in 1950s Georgia and deals explicitly with racism, violence, and small-town injustice. The book was adapted into a 1991 film of the same name starring Dennis Hopper, Ed Harris, and Barbara Hershey (mentioned in the review).

A close, unsparing reading of Paris Trout highlighting its brutal depiction of racism and small-town violence. The review praises sharp dialogue and detail, notes the book's National Book Award, and warns sensitive readers about the harrowing ending. Recommended to readers of dark American literary fiction.