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Patchworks
AMERICA’S NEXT GUN MASSACRE IS IN-EVITABLE, UNLESS GOVERNMENT INTERN GABRIEL DUNNE CAN MAKE A MIRACLE OF HIS ODD JOBS IN WASHINGTON, DC.
Gabriel Dunne’s federal internship has him tracking gun violence in America. But before he can start, his boss Chloe tasks him with planning her wedding; Parker wants help seducing their fellow intern; security chief Hubbard hounds him about expired passwords; the shredder guy needs saving from his deadly machine; and Congress threatens a government shutdown that’ll send them all packing. When a colleague is victimized by just the kind of violence their office exists to prevent, these ordinary bureaucrats must fight back, or become statistics in America’s next mad shooting spree.
“I should tell you this right now. I don’t think it’s going to stick. Your report won’t get past Dvorak, never mind Ms. Marci. And the seventh floor…” She shook her head. “But I do want to say this. You’re the first person to stand up to those arrogant, racist pricks at the NRA and K Street by at least putting truth to paper.” She nodded before turning away. She stopped.
“And if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I still have to get it all down. I still have some work to do. But I thought, even before you said so, I knew the chances of getting it through were slim. So, if there’s another way…”
LaRhonda smiled. “You a very discreet young man. Talk like that, you may not need those supplies very long. Destined for things greater than this office.”
“Or my demise.”
“It’s a lose-lose world.”
“A lively, moving book in the tradition of Joseph Heller… this page-turner has great heart.”—Tony D'Souza, author of Whiteman and Mule.
“One of those need-to-read books — Ben East, with a penchant for authentic dialogue, acerbic commentary on the government's inability to govern, and a searing end-game, serves up an indictment and, ultimately, a call to arms.”—Karl Luntta, author of Know It by Heart and Swimming.
“East constructs narratives as a cinematographer might, only cinema would not pack the same wallop with tone-perfect lines ‘The shredder guy in the no-water room whose name nobody could remember…’”—Daniel Whitman, author of Answer Coming Soon and Blaming No One.
“Powerful and funny and horribly relevant.”—Preston Lang, author of The Sin Tax and The Blind Rooster.
“A tragicomic requiem for America—a once shining dream of democracy that has fallen prey to its own bureaucratic government that operates ‘besides the people, despite the people, and against the people.’ ”—David Suarez Gomez, author of Heaven Is Coming Home.
Gabriel Dunne’s federal internship has him tracking gun violence in America. But before he can start, his boss Chloe tasks him with planning her wedding; Parker wants help seducing their fellow intern; security chief Hubbard hounds him about expired passwords; the shredder guy needs saving from his deadly machine; and Congress threatens a government shutdown that’ll send them all packing. When a colleague is victimized by just the kind of violence their office exists to prevent, these ordinary bureaucrats must fight back, or become statistics in America’s next mad shooting spree.
“I should tell you this right now. I don’t think it’s going to stick. Your report won’t get past Dvorak, never mind Ms. Marci. And the seventh floor…” She shook her head. “But I do want to say this. You’re the first person to stand up to those arrogant, racist pricks at the NRA and K Street by at least putting truth to paper.” She nodded before turning away. She stopped.
“And if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I still have to get it all down. I still have some work to do. But I thought, even before you said so, I knew the chances of getting it through were slim. So, if there’s another way…”
LaRhonda smiled. “You a very discreet young man. Talk like that, you may not need those supplies very long. Destined for things greater than this office.”
“Or my demise.”
“It’s a lose-lose world.”
“A lively, moving book in the tradition of Joseph Heller… this page-turner has great heart.”—Tony D'Souza, author of Whiteman and Mule.
“One of those need-to-read books — Ben East, with a penchant for authentic dialogue, acerbic commentary on the government's inability to govern, and a searing end-game, serves up an indictment and, ultimately, a call to arms.”—Karl Luntta, author of Know It by Heart and Swimming.
“East constructs narratives as a cinematographer might, only cinema would not pack the same wallop with tone-perfect lines ‘The shredder guy in the no-water room whose name nobody could remember…’”—Daniel Whitman, author of Answer Coming Soon and Blaming No One.
“Powerful and funny and horribly relevant.”—Preston Lang, author of The Sin Tax and The Blind Rooster.
“A tragicomic requiem for America—a once shining dream of democracy that has fallen prey to its own bureaucratic government that operates ‘besides the people, despite the people, and against the people.’ ”—David Suarez Gomez, author of Heaven Is Coming Home.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2017
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About the author
B.A. East
2 books9 followersAuthor and diplomat Ben East published Two Pumps for the Body Man as a Bush-Cheney era black comedy set in Saudi Arabia. Two Pumps does for American diplomacy and the War on Terror what Catch-22 did for military logic during the Second World War: The enemy can’t kill us if our institutions kill us first.
His second novel, Patchworks, examines American gun culture in a similar light.
Diplomatic assignments have taken the Connecticut native to India, Washington, Mexico, Ghana, Nicaragua, and Saudi Arabia. He taught literature and composition at the American School of Asuncion in Paraguay; at Brooklyn College Academy in New York; and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi.
His second novel, Patchworks, examines American gun culture in a similar light.
Diplomatic assignments have taken the Connecticut native to India, Washington, Mexico, Ghana, Nicaragua, and Saudi Arabia. He taught literature and composition at the American School of Asuncion in Paraguay; at Brooklyn College Academy in New York; and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2017
Today I woke to the all-too-familiar tragic news of yet another mass shooting. Sadly, we all know what will happen next: politicians will sputter, talking heads will bloviate, and the next thing that gets done about gun control will be – absolutely nothing.
Such is the subject of Ben East’s hard-edged new novel, Patchworks. The narrator, Gabriel “Gabe” Dunne, is a Washington, D.C. intern, stuck in a rather unglamorous position. Overly awed by his soon-to-be-married supervisor Chloe’s magnificent breasts, and sufferer of unrequited lust for a local divorcee named Darlene, Gabe is something of an enigma.
Interestingly, Gabe’s fellow characters often think of the archangel when they hear his name, though the messenger of God called Gabriel is traditionally a female angel. On the surface, Gabe seems to be the closest thing D.C. has to a Boy Scout. But his private thoughts, conveyed only to the reader, reveal him as a reluctant admirer of the casual playboy in the office, a rakish troglodyte with the oddly bookish name of Harcourt. Gabe describes Harcourt, perhaps ironically, as a born winner who “deserved to win.”
So is Gabe something of an angel, as his co-workers seem to see him? Or is he just another self-deluded do-gooder, a prototypical unreliable narrator with a powerful lust for heavy-bosomed women…women like Chloe, whom he sees as a “blonde sweetheart posing as professional?”
Full review at https://msahno.com
Such is the subject of Ben East’s hard-edged new novel, Patchworks. The narrator, Gabriel “Gabe” Dunne, is a Washington, D.C. intern, stuck in a rather unglamorous position. Overly awed by his soon-to-be-married supervisor Chloe’s magnificent breasts, and sufferer of unrequited lust for a local divorcee named Darlene, Gabe is something of an enigma.
Interestingly, Gabe’s fellow characters often think of the archangel when they hear his name, though the messenger of God called Gabriel is traditionally a female angel. On the surface, Gabe seems to be the closest thing D.C. has to a Boy Scout. But his private thoughts, conveyed only to the reader, reveal him as a reluctant admirer of the casual playboy in the office, a rakish troglodyte with the oddly bookish name of Harcourt. Gabe describes Harcourt, perhaps ironically, as a born winner who “deserved to win.”
So is Gabe something of an angel, as his co-workers seem to see him? Or is he just another self-deluded do-gooder, a prototypical unreliable narrator with a powerful lust for heavy-bosomed women…women like Chloe, whom he sees as a “blonde sweetheart posing as professional?”
Full review at https://msahno.com
February 26, 2018
East, with Patchworks, has written a novel unfortunately ever-relevant. I don't know if it is the most tragic comedy or the most comedic tragedy I have read. Beautiful in its depiction of ugliness -- both in our governments and in ourselves. East is unsparing. This book requires a stiff drink, or several, for the mirror it holds up to our society is not sympathetic.
Read it, then talk to people about it, preferably over whisky.
Read it, then talk to people about it, preferably over whisky.
February 12, 2018
Gabriel “Gabe” Dunne, the narrator of this novel, is an idealistic young intern for a federal government agency in Washington, D.C. Even though he has been assigned to track gun violence in America, Gabe soon finds himself saddled with a number of odd tasks, such as helping his boss Chloe plan her wedding and helping fellow intern Justin pick up an attractive co-worker.
Gabe eventually becomes disillusioned when one of his co-workers is cruelly victimized—twice—by gunmen. The shift in Gabe’s outlook is convincing and true to life, and the stifling bureaucracy of the office he works in is described in great detail. Gabe’s co-workers are an interesting and colorful bunch of personalities, and the plot has enough twists and turns to hold the reader’s attention.
Kathleen Jones, author of Love Is the Punch Line
Gabe eventually becomes disillusioned when one of his co-workers is cruelly victimized—twice—by gunmen. The shift in Gabe’s outlook is convincing and true to life, and the stifling bureaucracy of the office he works in is described in great detail. Gabe’s co-workers are an interesting and colorful bunch of personalities, and the plot has enough twists and turns to hold the reader’s attention.
Kathleen Jones, author of Love Is the Punch Line
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews