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Start giftingSay Nice Things about Detroit
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Learn moreA novel about second chances from a writer of “stirring, poignant, and quietly profound” work (Wally Lamb)
Twenty-five years after his high school graduation, David Halpert returns to a place that most people flee. But David is making his own escape—from his divorce and the death of his son. In Detroit David learns about the double shooting of his high school girlfriend, Natalie, and her black half-brother, Dirk. As David becomes involved with Natalie’s sister, he will discover that both he and his hometown have reason to hope.
As compelling an urban portrait as The Wire and a touching love story, Say Nice Things about Detroit takes place in a racially polarized, economically collapsing city that doesn’t seem like a place for rebirth. But as David tries to make sense of the mystery behind Natalie’s death and puts back the pieces of his own life, he is forced to answer a simple question: If you want to go home again, what do you do if home is Detroit?
Scott Lasser, a native of Detroit, has worked for the National Steel Corporation and Lehman Brothers. He is the author of several novels, including Battle Creek, and currently lives in Aspen, Colorado, and Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Kenerly, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, earned a BA at Olivet College. A longtime member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he has acted in more than twenty seasons, playing dozens of roles.
Reviews
“You’ll love Scott Lasser’s style. His book spans a few years but keeps moving with dialogue that’s natural and alive: whites and blacks in Detroit, a setting you come to know and can feel what it’s about. I know; I’ve been here most of my life.”
“Lasser’s spare but intense tale is a smart, intimate homage to the power of second chances.”
“Detroit is autumnal in this quietly moving novel of place…The complex divisions of Detroit are introduced obliquely and effectively through the characters…Lasser composes his sympathetic cast into tableaux that are meaningful, even emblematic, but that, even when highly dramatic, aren’t forced. His restrained portrait of Detroit evokes real pathos.”
“This is a sharp, clear portrait of who we are now. Scott Lasser continues to shape a very distinct literary map.”
“Second chances, though always welcome, are not necessarily delivered in recognizable packages. One can go home again, but it’s a lot of work. Readers will savor this fast-paced tale of redemption in one sitting.”
“In a city famous for ruin, a pilgrim’s tale of rebirth and renewal: Scott Lasser’s narrative gifts are abundant, his characters a compelling and convincing lot. Say Nice Things about Detroit, while true to life’s damages and sadnesses, is nonetheless a joyous, vital read.”
“Scott Lasser’s new novel is a moving, fast paced, economical story of race, crime and hope. Weighted by the death of his son and the end of his marriage, David Halpert, a young lawyer, returns home to the chaos of a dying Detroit to discover a love affair and his own brush with violence as the book rushes to its stunning conclusion.”
“Though he’s chosen to set the novel’s main action in 2006, with some of Detroit’s worst days still ahead, Lasser effectively highlights the racial and economic tensions that have plagued the city for decades…This appealing story may prompt some to hope it will receive the chance at redemption that Scott Lasser so generously extends to his characters.”
“Lasser’s setting ranges from the dingy ’hood to the ritzy ’burbs, so by the end we get to know the city almost as intimately as we know the characters.”
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