Title: Paris Trout Author: Pete Dexter Average number of words per page: between 50 and 100 STORY: 3 readers have rated this story. Average story rating: 6.87/10.0 ILLUSTRATIONS: 3 readers have rated the illustrations. Average illustration rating: 6.5/10.0

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Book review by: Sophie age: 17 Review submitted on 08/30/2001 at 12:01:08 list all 3 reviews for this book

Story Rating 7.0 out of a possible 10.0

Sophie writes the following about Paris Trout :

Paris Trout by Pete Dexter. Screams, panting, roaring violence echoes through the rickety wooden 20th century house. Rosie Sayers, a 13-year-old African American girl turns back to focus on her pursuer Paris Trout with gun loaded. Somewhere in the house her brother is hiding from Paris, not wanting to pay back his financial debt. Gun shots; violently graphic description delves deep into the reader's mind, leaving the small girl dying on the grass out side their old home, with her mother inside bleeding on the kitchen table. Pete Dexter gives a taste of how prejudices around the early 1900's affected so many African Americans, dramatically. He sets a quick pace following the young girl and her family, and tempts the reader with the ever-questionable Paris Trout and the search for justice in a white supremacist community. Dexter is talented at writing courtroom dramas, giving life to many character's who get caught up morally in the fight for Paris's freedom. Dexter focuses on Paris Trout's marriage and his peculiar paranoia after killing the two women. Lining the top floor of his house with glass and ordering a sheet of iron to be placed under his bed Paris trout sets about his business as usual. Paris states to his lawyer 'It was their own fault, they killed themselves,' a belief he carries with him. The Trial is fed with new and shocking revelations but is dragged out for the proportion of the book. As the trials are being held Dexter shows the deterioration of Paris Trout sanity as he becomes isolated and threatening to his lawyer and the court's jury. Paris is seen as the untouchable man because of his status in society, many times he comes close to being convicted, but the evidence does not seem to be concrete enough. Toward the end of the book it picks up it's pace again and has some twists to build tension. The end of the book is somewhat unsatisfying as it is quite abruptly ended. The moral is clearly stated in the end and shows that human nature and society can be a deadly combination. Review by Sophie P.

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