Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom

by A.L. Haskett

Book Overview

Bill Fitzhugh, author of Radio Activity, Fender Benders, Pest Control (and others) described Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom best when he said: "As God is my witness, 'Duncan Delaney and the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 096788330X
• ISBN13: 9780967883304
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Jonlin Books
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Of Course It's Not Robbins!

I get a little ticked off whenever someone gets a favorite author and decides that no one else is worth reading. Like some others, I too bought this book because of the comparisons to Tom Robbins only to find it's really not so much like one of Tom's books. Thank God! I love Robbins, I've read every one of his books, but hey-zeus creesto, just because I like pistachio doesn't mean I can't enjoy a little rocky road every now and then. Robbins always makes me smile and makes me think long after I've put one of his books down, but Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom made me laugh out loud in more than one place. I will not be forgetting Duncan or his best friend Benjamin Lonetree for a long time, even if neither had me thinking particularly deep thoughts. This book is about feelings, love, jealousy, and maybe a bit of redemption. Don't expect Tom Robbins, cuz you won't get it. But you will get a good, satisfying read.

Fun in the West

Delightful, picaresque characters, snappy dialog, some truly funny moments, and a pace that never leaves you flat-footed: Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom is comic circus of strippers and bikers, cowboys and Indians, and fine art. How could you go wrong? I hope Haskette writes another soon, it's always good to know you can go to the shelf and find a funny book. Warning, this book contains bikers and strippers, lots of them, so there is violence and women who derive much of their identity from their physical appearance. Have fun, but don't whine. You have been warned.

A BRIGHTLY WRAPPED JEWEL

Haskett's debut novel is a brightly wrapped present, mixing numerous conventions--road trip, love story, coming of age, portrait of an artist, dark comedy--into a multi-layered celebration of life. That this melange is successful, leaving the reader with the feeling of discovering a shiny, perfectly crafted jewel, is a testament to Haskett's craft: the sure, fluid, and precise writing of an author confident of his voice and his vision of what makes us all tick. Beginning in Wyoming, the story takes Duncan Delaney, the hero cowboy painter, and his fiercely loyal Native American side kick, Benjamin Lonetree, to the streets of Los Angeles, where they meet with a cast of other unforgettable characters--bikers, strippers, cops, robbers, agents, hobos, convenience store owners, and personal injury lawyers--in a melting pot of adventure, comedy, love, crime, art, tragedy, sex, and violence. On its surface, this highly entertaining story drives the novel through a series of scenes, some hysterically funny, others so touching as to make one cry, that would make this novel a worthwhile read for anyone. At the same time, however, Haskett deftly weaves into his plot a complex exploration of appearance and reality, the necessary joys and sorrows of human relationships, and the value of cultural diversity, that serves both as an uplifting reminder that life should involve excitement, discovery, laughter, and tears, and a timely warning about the dangers of stasis, assumptions, and prejudice. This novel serves as an introduction to a serious and very talented new author.

A Truly Original Story

There are two things you need to know. First, I am a friend of the author. Second, thank God he wrote a great book that kept me reading start to finish. Now I don't have to avoid him for the next 20 years.The characters are fresh and come from a place of which I have little familiarity. He vests his players with interesting personalities that I come to know and care about. Next he takes them to a place that I know all too well and paints it in a way I've never quite seen it before. The author's intimacy with all of his characters, and his right on descriptions about the world around them, made me feel I was a participant in each scene, not just a witness to the parade. For most of my adult life, writers have seemingly taken the same 10-12 fictional storylines and re-written them in different places and times, often entertaining, but usually familiar. In the past year, "Being John Malkovich" and "Nurse Betty" are examples of truly one of a kind stories. Duncan Delaney falls right into that category of unpredictabiliy. Read it, enjoy it, and hope there is another one in the making.

Duncan Delaney a great read

Enormous fun. The characters are fresh, the dialogue sparkles. The book is extremely funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny yet still manages to be also tender, and touching. It creates then sustains a wonderful rhythm; the plotting is clever with plenty of twists and surprises. Above all there's a freshness and exuberance to the writing that made me very sorry to see the book end.