Newport in the 1950's when sailors and fishermen ruled over Thames Street. The rich, from their mansions on Bellevue Avenue controlled it all. JD O'Donnell, the unofficial mayor of Newport, held a monopoly on the lobster business as well as control over the city government. The Chief of Police reported directly to JD. No one stood in O'Donnell's way. Those that dared, suffered fatal consequences.
Little Joe Silvia awakes in the back storeroom of Mcgee's Bar. (Page 88)
Little Joe lifted himself up and sat on the edge of the cot. He felt sick to his stomach, it felt tight and sore. Somewhere during the night's activities he must have puked his guts out. Damn if he could remember. Standing
he balanced himself and slowly made his way out of the storeroom, past the bar and into the toilet. The stink of the previous night's cigarette smoke and piss splattering rose to greet him as he entered. He leaned over the
toilet bowl and gagged. Nothing came up. He either didn't eat, or if he did, he had already puked it out.
The pain in his head started to diminish as he stood over the bowl pissing. He belched, lifted his right foot slightly off the
floor and farted. It was as though, as he passed gas, the pain in his head subsided. Although there was a sink in the toilet, there was no running water connected to it. Making his way to the back of the bar, he removed a bunch
of dirty ashtrays away from the bar sink and dipped his hands into the standing water. Bending over he splashed water over his face. The coolness of the water making contact with his skin refreshed him immediately.
Excerpt
Little Joe Silvia awakes in the back storeroom of Mcgee's Bar. (Page 88)
Little Joe lifted himself up and sat on the edge of the cot. He felt sick to his stomach, it felt tight and sore. Somewhere during the night's activities he must have puked his guts out. Damn if he could remember. Standing
he balanced himself and slowly made his way out of the storeroom, past the bar and into the toilet. The stink of the previous night's cigarette smoke and piss splattering rose to greet him as he entered. He leaned over the
toilet bowl and gagged. Nothing came up. He either didn't eat, or if he did, he had already puked it out.
The pain in his head started to diminish as he stood over the bowl pissing. He belched, lifted his right foot slightly off the
floor and farted. It was as though, as he passed gas, the pain in his head subsided. Although there was a sink in the toilet, there was no running water connected to it. Making his way to the back of the bar, he removed a bunch
of dirty ashtrays away from the bar sink and dipped his hands into the standing water. Bending over he splashed water over his face. The coolness of the water making contact with his skin refreshed him immediately.
Professional Reviews
writers Digest
Author: Edward T. Duranty
Title: NEWPORT: Category Genre Fiction
WRITER’S DIGEST 13th Annual International SELF-PUBLISHED
BOOK AWARDS. (AWARD GIVEN 4) 1 to 5
Judge’s Commentary
What did you like best about this book?
The two strongest points of Newport are its complex plot and the variety of interesting characters. Edward T. Duranty does a fine job of creating a landscape that echoes the range of human beings -- complete with failings, flaws and mixed motives -- that one would find in a "real-life" city. He successfully combines crime drama with political thriller, and then mixes in a healthy dose of social satire. The book reads something like a Tom Wolfe novel. He is especially gifted in the writing of realistic dialogue that is appropriate to each character's socioeconomic and geographic background, career description, and emotional makeup.
London: Lashed, Lacerated, Lampooned and Lambasted satirizes 18 popular Jack London novellas with adult content and language and the work is author Jay Dubya's 37th published hardcover/paperback book.
