I just finished a doorstopper, Pete Dexter's new book, SPOONER.  Dexter is
noir and bitter, and most of his books involve lots of violence.  This was
tame in comparison to his other books, more nuanced and subtle, and the
characters were very credible.  I found myself increasingly attached to the
characters and that was my main draw.  I also like Dexter's tone:  slightly
ironic and quite tongue in cheek.  He does one liners very well.

Today I started  the galley of John Irving's new book, LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED
RIVER.  It's due for a late October publication.  In Sunday's NYTimes Book
Review, THAT OLD CAPE MAGIC garnered a great review, but the perfect review
is on the front page, about ZEITOUN by Dave Eggers.