What Jonathan Lethem did for Brooklyn, Matt Burgess does for Queens in this exuberant and brilliant debut novel about a young drug dealer having...
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Aug 11, 2011
Many authors miss the nuances of the world they create. The tension of whats unsaid between two lovers. The witty, playful banter that captures the strength of the relationship of two brothers. The physical gestures that demonstrate the dominance of one person over another. Matt Burgess captures dialogue with the best of them. His characters are complex. In relationships between father and son, brothers, and lovers, he alternates between moments of fear, moments of trust, and moments of love. It
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Apr 27, 2011
Mpattock
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Like a "West Side Story" set in 2011, "Dogfight: A Love Story" takes place in New York City against a backdrop of mixed ethnicities, and is driven by youth rivalries and a high-risk love affair. But while WSS was the dramatic vision of mature artists distantly fascinated by youth gangs of New York, DLS is by a 28-year-old who grew up, one might say, on location.
The story unfolds over a weekend in Queens, during which 19-year-old Alfredo Batista, a small-time dru More...
The story unfolds over a weekend in Queens, during which 19-year-old Alfredo Batista, a small-time dru More...
Apr 03, 2011
Maria
rated it: 
Dogfight, A Love Story: An Adventure of Crime, Love and Loyalty
Dogfight, A Love Story, by Matt Burgess narrates the unique relationship of two drug dealing brothers. This story is set in the New York borough, Queens in 2002 over the span of Father’s Day weekend. Our heroic protagonist is Alfredo Batista, a 19-year old drug dealer, who does not enjoy his gangster lifestyle. This suspenseful novel unravels Alfredo’s best efforts to make something out of himself and please his older bro More...
Dogfight, A Love Story, by Matt Burgess narrates the unique relationship of two drug dealing brothers. This story is set in the New York borough, Queens in 2002 over the span of Father’s Day weekend. Our heroic protagonist is Alfredo Batista, a 19-year old drug dealer, who does not enjoy his gangster lifestyle. This suspenseful novel unravels Alfredo’s best efforts to make something out of himself and please his older bro More...
Mar 29, 2011
Destiny
rated it: 
More like "A Like Story"
Dogfight, A Love Story by Matt Burgess, in my opinion was “OK.” I say that because, overall, I have mixed feelings about the novel. On one hand, I think “Matt Burgess is a great writer. He sure knows how to keep a reader’s attention.” Then on the other hand, I think “Can I have a better story, please?” The story has pot More...
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Dec 30, 2010
I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I loved it. I loved the setting (Jackson Heights, Queens), and I felt it was portrayed very realistically. I also loved the characters. Alfredo, Tariq, Isabel, and all of the lesser characters were so vivid in my mind.
But. I had two major problems. The first is the subtitle, cover, and general tone of the descriptive copy of the book. None of that is necessarily the author's fault, but I felt like the book was portrayed as a ma More...
But. I had two major problems. The first is the subtitle, cover, and general tone of the descriptive copy of the book. None of that is necessarily the author's fault, but I felt like the book was portrayed as a ma More...
Oct 23, 2010
Molly
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I pre-ordered this book because it was written by a friend, and I wanted to support his work. Although I didn't know what to expect, I know that I did not expect to be totally blown away by Burgess's talent. The fast-paced, cleverly-plotted novel is told in the visceral and vivid present tense by an at-first disjunctive-but-ultimately-appropriate third-person limited (and at times omniscient, if that's possible) narrator. While the plot takes place in Queens, the outer borough is less a backd
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Sep 17, 2010
Meg
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Lyrical, wonderfully authentic prose steers Dogfight, A Love Story. The characters, a delightfully diverse lot, each have their own distinct voice, whether we're listening to Alfredo's constantly-fretting mind, Isabel's down-to-earth daydreaming about "the movie version of her life," or Tariq's interpreting his actions through Qur'anic text. It's the language of Queens, NY, the language of the streets: there's no superfluous moralizing narrative voice that breaks in with high-toned pro
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Dec 21, 2010
Ryan
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With an aggressively playful and meandering voice, Burgess takes us through a sweeping view of a neighborhood in Queens. We start with Alfredo, a skinny and anxious drug dealer, but are quickly thrust into a wide cast of characters that ranges from russian immigrants, to a newly released inmate, to Alfredo's pregnant girlfriend, and beyond. Alfredo's must deal with his brother Tariq's (formerly Jose Jr. before a prison conversion to Islam) release from prison. Isabell, Alfredo's now pregnant
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Apr 24, 2011
Danna
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Matt Burgess nails his first novel, this book is great. While he plays up stereotypes and cliches, he does it in a creative way and with an electric story. Dogfight, a Love Story is reminiscent of the Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - it has a Latin flavor, with vulgar undertones, and a look into the streets of Queens. Burgess is witty, clever, and has a unique writing style. I read this book in a weekend, I was wrapped up in the characters and the story and really had no idea how it wo
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Aug 30, 2010
Kasa
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This is advertised as the first real Queens Novel, set in that Borough with its large immigrant population coexisting side by side, imparting an international alphabet soup quality to the story and the characters. Nobody writes so well about New York as her inhabitants, and Burgess is a welcome addition to this group. Yes, Jonathan Letham writes knowingly and lovingly about Brooklyn, but this novel seems to owe as much to Richard Price's Lush Life as to anything else, or any of Pete Hammill's
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Nov 06, 2011
Abraham
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Man, I've really lucky with and have been reading some great novels recently. Dogfight centers around a few harrowing days in the life of Alfredo Batista, a small time drug dealer with worries, lots of worries. His brother is about to get out of jail, some russians might be after him, his girlfriend is about to have a baby, his best friend is a drug addicted weirdo, and he needs to beg/borrow/steal a goddamn pitbull. Within all of this madness is an ode to New York. Dogfight is electric written,
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Mar 22, 2011
Peter
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Full Disclosure: This writer is a friend of mine, and I may be influenced by the fact that he has purchased beer for me on occasion. Though, I'm pretty sure whether or not someone has bought me a beer has little influence on how much I like their book. But still, it's nice when someone buys you beer, isn't it?
Anyway, this is a damn good book. It occupies a nice slice of real estate between the occasionally-warring nations of literary fiction and the crime novel. I realize these distin More...
Anyway, this is a damn good book. It occupies a nice slice of real estate between the occasionally-warring nations of literary fiction and the crime novel. I realize these distin More...
Feb 09, 2011
Jeff
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Alfredo is a small time drug dealer living with his pregnant girlfriend in his parent’s house in Queens. He is trying to score some drugs and organize a dogfight to honor his brother Jose’s release from prison and also to soften him up since Alfredo stole Jose’s girlfriend and may or may not have set him up. Jose who converted to Islam and changed his name to Tariq has a list of things that he would like to do upon his release, such as eating two slices of Gianni’s pizza and watching the Met’s g
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Jan 31, 2011
Ferdinand
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I agree with the proponents of this book that the language hummed.
I picked up the book based on the following byline: "Drug dealer welcomes home jailed brother whose girlfriend he impregnated."
I expected a book about a drug dealer whose brother went to jail and who impregnated his brother's girlfriend while his brother was in jail.
In a nutshell, that's what I got. The first hundred pages or so had the drug dealer worrying and preparing for his brothe More...
I picked up the book based on the following byline: "Drug dealer welcomes home jailed brother whose girlfriend he impregnated."
I expected a book about a drug dealer whose brother went to jail and who impregnated his brother's girlfriend while his brother was in jail.
In a nutshell, that's what I got. The first hundred pages or so had the drug dealer worrying and preparing for his brothe More...
Oct 16, 2011
Marisa
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I love stories set in the outer boroughs of NYC. This takes place in Jackson Heights, Queens about a small time drug dealer who gets his brother's girlfriend pregnant while his brother is in jail. The story takes place in two days on the eve and the day the brother is released and the eventual outcome. The story started out very strongly but I started to lose some interest in the last part when the storyline veered toward a character that played a smaller role in the story. I had mixed revie
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Jan 25, 2011
Eliza
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I missed this book when it came out last fall, but it showed up in several end-of-year Best of 2010 lists. I thought it was phenomenal. It was darkly funny and overtly tragic and just overall very real. The action was very grounded in a specific place and time with cultural reminders (such as the Clemens/Piazza grudge) throughout, but they didn't feel heavy or gimicky.
The main character, Alfredo, was quite a star. Even as he made completely wrong, frustrating choices, he was entirely More...
The main character, Alfredo, was quite a star. Even as he made completely wrong, frustrating choices, he was entirely More...
Dec 11, 2010
Charlie
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Dogfight is A Love Story that expresses affection for its characters and its Queens setting — filled with compelling detail, intensity and complex relationships. It's propelled by funny, rich behavioral observations and plot twists that seem natural in retrospect but aren't so apparent as you're being swept along by the story.
The writing is skillful but not slick and has an emotional maturity and insight that kept me re-checking Matt Burgess's age (28 — really?).
I can't say More...
The writing is skillful but not slick and has an emotional maturity and insight that kept me re-checking Matt Burgess's age (28 — really?).
I can't say More...
Apr 05, 2011
Becky
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Well I must say I think a new author has arrived on the sceen & his name is Matt Burgess. Excellent writer with incredible insight. Mr. Burgess is 28 but I feel writes like a more experienced, seasoned author.
That said, read the inserts for what the book is about. I feel this story portrayed life in Queens NY realistically. The different ethnics mixing. How people live their lives to just survive. The book really never had an "ending" for situations to be solved. But More...
That said, read the inserts for what the book is about. I feel this story portrayed life in Queens NY realistically. The different ethnics mixing. How people live their lives to just survive. The book really never had an "ending" for situations to be solved. But More...
Nov 16, 2010
MattyMo
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Excellent. A small-time drug dealer gets in way too deep over a weekend that his poor choices make really bad really fast, but redemption comes as his brains and wits and genuine desire to love and be good keep him ahead of the dangerous OGs nipping at his heels. As tender and hilarious as A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, as violent as Reservoir Dogs, as genuine a love letter to an outer borough as Motherless Brooklyn (forgive the Jonathan Lethem comparison.). The violence toward the e
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Dec 24, 2010
Ayelet
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There is so much tension in this book. The story is set in New York City, the first summer after 9/11, when everyone is still recovering, still on high alert for the possibility of another attack. It is the weekend of the subway series that brings Roger Clemens to bat at Shea Stadium for the first time since he threw a bat at Pizza. Will the Met pitcher hit him? It is the weekend of Alfredo's brother's return home from prison. And as a manifestation of how pregnant the air is with these fear
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Feb 01, 2011
Casey
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Matt Burgess's debut novel, Dogfight, A Love Story (published last September), is a helluva first novel. It takes place over the course of a single weekend in Jackson Heights, Queens, in the summer of 2002. While the plot isn't overly complex or complicated, though it is well crafted, a lot happens in this novel. I'll leave off giving a complete plot summary (I probably couldn't do it justice), but it involves nineteen year-old Alfredo Bautista, a small-time independent drug dealer. Alfredo
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Jun 21, 2011
Joseph
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Picked this up because Burgess is the highest-profile grad of the program I'm attending in the fall, and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it is. Cracking dialogue, a plot that is simultaneously surprising and, somehow, inevitable, with a Dickensian array of fully-imagined characters. It also takes as its background New York's least-celebrated borough -- Queens -- and makes it feel both instantly recognizable and, at times, frighteningly foreign. Equal parts crime novel and coming-of-age
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Nov 17, 2010
Dawn
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I ended up hating this book - wish I'd never picked it up. The story idea wasn't bad - all of the characters have tragic lives - abuse, bullying, disability, drug problems, violence, and on and on. But wit and humor kept the tragedy and hardship company ... for awhile. As a reader, I had high hopes that the characters would persevere, would rise above all the crap in their lives and have a different kind of ending. But the "resolution" which sure didn't evoke feelings of anything at al
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May 22, 2011
Megan
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Dogfight: A Love Story. I was pleasantly surprised to read this and discover it was a really well-written enjoyable book. Lately I've been having a difficult (to put it mildly) time finding a good book. A book that hooks me and keeps me up all hours reading. This book did that for me. It was a real page turner and I think I read it in two days! It's a different story - it doesn't fall into any specific genre - but it's really good. I would recommend it to people who like books out of the norm.
Jul 05, 2011
Alison
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Another nice surprise from the library shelves (although it might be 3.5). It is love story Queens style with a low level drug dealer as the protagonist who is trying to organize a dogfight for his brother's prison homecoming. There is so much tension throughout the book and the characters are great. It is just a story about some kids from Queens so even when they win they are still stuck- the end is this perfect mix of happy and heartbreaking.
Mar 17, 2011
Kimberly
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I LOVED the first half of this book. Alfredo and Isabel were so endearing and so real. However, I found the second half to be a bit disappointing. The action spiraled to an overly dramatic and drawn out scene. Plus, that horrific dogfight is forever embedded in my memory, no matter how hard I try to forget it (on the flip side, that's a complement to the author's skills of description). Overall, though, I'm surprised that this book did not receive more press. It is a beautifully written portrait
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Jul 27, 2011
Amy
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I could have given this book more stars, or less, hard to tell - the writing was great. This author has great talent imo, and in the beginning I was captivated by his characters & their families...but it turned darker, and actually included a dog fight (duh, it's the title, but honestly? I thought the hapless hero would never pull it off), and wimp that I am, I couldn't read it. I prefer 'gritty reality lite' to the real thing.
Dec 20, 2010
Courtney
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Anyone familiar with Queens or Manhattan will smile at the mention of botegas, pizzerias, and other things strictly "New York". The book centers around two brothers, Alfredo and Jose (aka Tariq - his Muslim name he acquired in prison). Alfredo is about to be a teen father with his girlfriend Isabel, who was Tariq's girlfriend before he went off to prison. Alfredo's feelings towards his brother are complex; while he is not looking forward to his arrival and wants to protect Isabel from
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Nov 07, 2010
Marta
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Finally, a book about my borough! The only way to describe this novel is that it was real. You could go to Jackson Heights and actually see everything that's written in this book. The descriptions were so vivid and genuine you could picture everything in your mind and feel as if you were there -- especially the scenes describing one of the local parks. The story itself was amusing and suspenseful, the characters well developed, real and easy to relate to. Definitely worth picking up.
Jun 02, 2011
AnnMarie
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I really enjoyed this book. The story is gritty without being gratuitous, literary without being pretentious--much like the borough in which it is set. Matt Burgess offers believable characters, each with his or her own unique voice--even the background characters are intriguing (but never cartoonish). I think what I like best about it was the way it reflects, rather than explores, life in this specific corner of Queens in the early 2000s: issues of race are acknowledged but never pontificated o
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