Dodgers

DODGERS

by Bill Beverly

 

Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2017, Center For Fiction Longlist 2017, LA Times Finalist 2016, PEN/Hemingway Finalist 2017

 

Date Read: April 2, 2023

 

Dodgers is not quite a coming-of-age story, not quite a road trip adventure, and not quite any eye opening for inner-city street kids. While all three of those components come into play here, Dodgers is all those plot points, yet none of those plot points. Told through the vantage of Easy, a 16-year old kid from inner city Los Angeles, Easy has been working the streets as a drug lookout since he was 10. He has slowly worked his way up until he managed the outside team of lookouts for a high-volume drug house.

 

One slightly strange day, his world came crumbling down when the police raided the house and the early and a neighborhood girl who was visiting from Jackson was killed right in front of her. Easy is haunted by her memory. Although Easy has been living on the streets for most of his life, he still has a robust conscience. He prefers to stay away from guns, doesn’t steal, doesn’t use and tries to stay away from violence.

 

The opposite is true for Easy’s half-brother, Ty. Ty is only 13 when introduced but has already killed people, knows how to use violence to accomplish specific goals and largely keeps to himself. Easy and Ty don’t have a relationship because every time they are around each other there is conflict. Ty moved out of their mother’s house before Easy did and Easy still has no clue about where Ty lives.

 

At the collapse of Easy’s house, the top-dog in their organization, Fin, summons Easy to his house to discuss what went wrong. Easy has only met Fin a couple of times and is always nervous when he does. Fin has a job for Easy and 3 of his other employees. They are to drive from LA to Wisconsin to kill a judge that is going to testify against Fin in an upcoming trial. Knowing that if he doesn’t agree to this job there is no future for him within the organization, therefore Easy quickly agrees.

 

Fin has very specific requirements for the car journey: no cell phones, no credit cards, no IDs, no guns, no original clothing. Cash is given to them so they don’t leave a trail. Fake IDs are provided so if they are stopped no one will know their names. Guns have been arranged once they get to Wisconsin. New, non-descript clothes will be purchased on their way out of town. With every I dotted and T crossed, Easy, Ty, Michael and Walter pile into a minivan and hit the road.

 

As anticipated, everything that can go wrong on this trip does go wrong. Not long into their journey, when they hit Vegas, Michael gets worked up and decides to briefly stop the journey so he can gamble. Not only are they instructed not to stop, but he will be gambling the group’s money. After causing a scene and being escorted out by security, Michael realizes he parked in a no parking section and their van was in the process of being towed. Having jeopardized their mission, Easy kicks him off the job. They are down to 3.

 

The trio have to deal with the long, slow miles that never end. Freezing temperatures that LA has never prepared them for. Their gun deal falling through. The van being vandalized, with windows and taillights broken and the “N” word spray painted on the side of the van. The constant skirmishes between Easy and Ty that results in Ty not continuing on the journey home (no spoilers) and the incident causes Easy to become a target of the police. Walter and Easy narrowly escape their van being surrounded by cops.

 

They are able to hitch a ride to the airport but only have enough money for Walter to fly home. He convinces Easy to lay low and once Walter’s back in LA, he will wire money back to Easy so he can get home too. This separation causes Easy to embark on a part of life he never knew existed.

 

Easy steals a car and drives it for two days, which is when he knows it will be reported stolen, and ditches it and proceeds on foot. With hardly any money and no real warm clothes, the walk is endless, bitterly cold and exhausting. When he feels he can’t continue any further, he comes upon a small town with only basic amenities. The first thing he really hears in this town is gunfire.

 

The gunfire turns out to be from a paintball establishment along Main Street. And as luck would have it, they are hiring. In need of money and a place to lay low, Easy convinces Perry the owner to give him a shot. Easy quickly becomes Perry/s most trusted and hard-working employee, replacing the other worker who stole and hardly did anything. 

 

During this experience, Easy learns about friendship, community, responsibility and the comfort of not living in constant jeopardy. He never calls his crew back home because he doesn’t want them to know where he is. Throughout his time working there, Easy becomes known for his laid back, fair and chill demeanor and becomes accepted by the regulars that like to play there. The monotony and routine become comforting and Easy settles into making a life there.

 

Easy had thought he would never see his brother again but Ty suddenly comes for him one day. He was sent by the organization to fetch him back home to he can run the business. Fin is now in jail and needs someone to step up. Ty reveals that Fin is his father and therefore trusts Easy the most with his empire. Ty provides a car, cash, a new fake ID and a one-way ticket home. Easy tells him he has a lot of loose ends to tie up at the paintball place and will be a couple of days behind him. In an unsatisfying but also exciting conclusion, Easy shuffles off into the sunset with no intention of going home.

 

I loved this novel, particularly because of the glimmer of hope at the end that Easy has realized he wants something better for himself. He has learned that he can create a future for himself that doesn’t involve drugs and violence or the misery of the addicted. 

 

The one difficulty I had, however, was the language of Easy and Ty. For such young kids, they are incredibly well-spoken and don’t speak in street slang at all. I’m not sure if this is Beverly method for driving home how sophisticated these kids are and how world-wise or just an oversight. I often found it difficult to believe these kids were having the conversations they were having.

 

Overall, this novel is touching, exciting and oddly hopeful. I loved it.