Paris Trout
by Pete Dexter
Award: National Book Winner 1988
Nomination: National Book Critics Circle Finalist 1988
Date Read: December 15, 2020
Paris Trout follows the lives of several characters living in a small town whose lives are turned upside down by the killing of a Black girl. Paris Trout, under the guise of collecting on a defaulted debt, hunts down and shoots a young girl in her own home, causing her death. He shoots her Aunt-like figure as well, although she survives her injuries.
Readers follow Paris Trout’s actions and influence as he becomes more and more unglued – threating people with his gun, installing glass on the floor of his rooms, saving his urine and fingernail clippings in case of him being poisoned. He is a ticking time bomb that does eventually go off. I couldn’t help but wonder if Paris was what results in a person being somewhat on the spectrum combined with violent and misogynistic tendencies. He believes he was justified in killing the girl because she was Black. He never feels remorse or shame, just smug satisfaction in living his life according to his own code.
Meanwhile, Paris begins abusing his wife, Hannah. He is physically, mentally and sexually abusive and she finally succeeds in getting him to move out. I thought for sure he would kill her.
Paris’s attorney, Seagrave, represents Paris through his trial but is so disturbed by the killing and Paris’s increasingly erratic behavior that he quits the appeals case, leaving Paris to represent himself. The man should have been put in jail but Paris manages to wriggle out of any repercussions time and again.
Paris Trout is a character-driven novel. While the writing isn’t exquisite, Dexter has a way with character development that is compelling. While I could see how this novel would turn out early on, I appreciated how this one act can cause a ripple effect through a small town.
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