The Dramatist: A Novel by Ken Bruen

This was another Jack Taylor novel by Ken Bruen. The detective story itself is good, but it is the writing that captivates me, as well as the literary references that he frequently makes. For example, the entire plot is built around the murderer's fascination with J.M. Synge, an Irish writer who lived from 1871 to 1909, and Bruen repeatedly refers to his books. Bruen quotes Scott Peck in People of the Lie: “For evil arises in the refusal to acknowledge our own sins.” He quoted James Lee Burke from Jolie Blon’s Bounce: “But this was no ordinary AA group. The failed, the aberrant, the doubly addicted and the totally brain fried whose neuroses didn’t even have a name found their way to the ‘work the steps or die motherfucker meeting.’” Mostly, this is a book about life in Ireland and Taylor’s fight with alcohol, coke and cigarettes. Bruen wrote about one man with cirrhosis, who Taylor went to visit shortly before his death. The Dublin guy said, “Jack, I’d rather be dead than teetotal.” Taylor mused, “Got his wish.” In reference to Taylor, he wrote, “I didn’t know much about humility but I was well versed in humiliation.” This was a very quick read, totally enjoyable even though the plot itself was not totally gripping. I’m a Bruen fan.