Dog Eats Dog

by Iain Levison

Book Overview

Praise for Iain Levison:

"The real deal . . . bracing, hilarious and dead on."--The New York Times Book Review

"Witty, deft, well-conceived writing that combines sharp satire with real suspense."--Kirkus Reviews

"Levison writes tight, punchy prose, with deadpan humor and savvy."--The Wall Street Journal

Philip Dixon is down on his luck. An escape from a lucrative but botched bank robbery lands him bleeding...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1904738311
• ISBN13: 9781904738312
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Bitter Lemon Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Another Great book by Levison!

I love all of his writings.. and too look forward to his books.. Enjoyed this one as well.. as I am sure anyone would.. he has such a wit and humor that makes his writings so enjoyable. A similar author that everyone must also check out is Aaron Dunlap, "Mind + Body", very similar style of writing.. (currently for free at manybooks.net!) But be sure to read ALL of Mr. Levison's books!

Levison does it again...

I love it. I'm quick to pick up Levison's books as soon as they are published, and I'm never disappointed. Dog Eats Dog is a quick read that keeps you engaged from start to finish.

Smart and Scathing! Can't Put It Down!

(Posting for the second time, hopefully this will show up...) Levison truly earns his "black belt" with this book and in the process may have created his own subgenre: Caustic Crime (?) The characters are spot-on: hilarious, dangerous, sad and fed-up. I enjoyed his other two books about the hell of dead-end jobs and a laid-off worker who becomes an assassin, but this one tops them both. Satiric, but always believable. A caustic condemnation of the way the world works (especially in light of the recent financial meltdown!). There's the intelligent ex-con, Dixon, who resorts to bank robbery because he's smart enough to know that the banks are the real crooks; the female Fed, Denise, whose idealism has rusted over because all she does is protect the "fantastically wealthy and well-insured"; and finally, Elias, the stymied college prof, who will do anything for recognition -- anything. Levison absolutely nails the personas of these characters, from all the stresses and details involved in trying to successfully evade cops to the "ennui" suffered by a female FBI agent trapped in an office full of jerks. The guy certainly did his research. Here's an excerpt that illustrates the book's dark, but telling humor. Elisas is talking about Dixon, the bank robber he's harboring, while lamenting the staid, pretentious world of academia (hilarious!) as represented by his girlfriend, Ann: "This maniac [Dixon] was a less intrusive guest than Ann's friends. Perhaps Elias would invite him over one day when Ann came back. If she came back. That would be a fun evening, Dixon running around screaming "f**k" at everyone while they walked around with their wineglasses held high, pinkies extended, discussing the stunning revelations of Salinger's mistress or the latest issue of LitReview Quarterly." Ha! But it's also poignant. The characters are fully realized. We see points in their lives that proved so impacting. The robber's blown relationship with a café waitress and the prof's memories of his mother are especially affecting. And, oh, Iain does an awesome job bringing to life a female character (the FBI agent). Thus disproving the myth that men can't fully capture a woman's POV. In this book, nothing is what it seems and you'll find your allegiances shifting back and forth. And the ending is a true shocker...the sort that really exposes human nature. I myself was rooting for Dixon in the end. The writing style is punchy, direct and captures just the right amount of detail. Never flags. This is one of those "under the radar" books that truly deserves much wider attention. The weird thing though is that I read this book came out in France in translation two years ago and is only now being published in the states. I guess the French still have a taste for Noir... Buy it. Read it. You won't be disappointed if you're any fan of the crime genre or simply looking for a kick butt read that peels back the truth on "good guys" and "bad guys

An original and creative thriller

When a teacher goes too far with a student, consequences are to be expected. And sometimes they aren't what one would expect. "Dog Eat Dog" follows bank robber Dixon as he flees to a quiet town in New England where he finds a Professor White with a high school student. Using his savvy and lack of morality, he blackmails White into doing his bidding, including hiding him from the cops. Dixon thinks he's safe for now and enjoyed several hundred thousand for his hard work, but a certain FBI agent won't give up and Professor White isn't as dense as he seems. "Dog Eat Dog" is an original and creative thriller, sure to please readers who want a story of intrigue and suspense.

A satirical look at modern society

Phil Dixon, on the run after his latest bank robbery, desperately needs a place to stay. When he spots young college professor Elias White naked with his clearly underage neighbor, Dixon knows he's in, and he really, really wants to be in. He's determined to get out of his criminal lifestyle with this money, but he has to recover from his gun wound first. What Dixon doesn't expect is just how well that lifestyle will click with Elias, and this unexpected encounter leads to some unlikely consequences for both parties, especially when FBI Agent Denise Lupo comes to town, hunting Dixon down. I didn't expect that this book would be hilarious, but it often is. It adds in little touches of sarcasm on nearly every page, sardonic commentary on the way we live. This is at its heart a critical look at our world - everyone is out for themselves, and the best men (or women) win no matter what it takes. I was expecting a mystery, but I got so much more out of this. It's a great story with a message. I enjoyed it throughout and the plot consistently surprised me as I found I was misled and turned just slightly off track so that Levinson could really deliver his message. In Levinson's world, you just have to be clever and wily to get by - not smart or hard-working. It's a depressing theory, but he delivers it in such a way that you don't mind. You're too busy having fun, and only when the book ends do you ponder this deeper message. Or so it went for me. This is a really entertaining book with a more fundamental level of meaning. I read it in a day. I'd recommend it to anyone seeking a quick, satirical read.