#46

In my humble opinion Dixon is one of the finest writers going. Yes, there are recurring themes mined from his personal life (his wife's illness, his daughters, his New York and Baltimore residences) reworked in all his books, but I never grow tired of his stuff because that curiously engaging voice pulls me right along. Old Friends tells the story of Irv and Lenny, two writers who meet in middle adulthood and grow old as best friends. Lenny descends into dementia and Irv is confronted by his own mortality. It's a sad book, but also funny and manic like all Dixon's novels.

Read this one tonight at the Service Desk, giving an indication of how much work there was to be done.