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The Pistol Poets. Victor Gischler. New York: Delacourte, 2004. Pp. 1-368. $6.99 (paperback). Harold Jenks wants out of his dead-end life as a gangbanger under the St. Louis drug dealer Red Zach. So when a young man is killed during a mugging, Jenks decides to steal his identity. Soon he arrives in Fumbee, Oklahoma, with a gun, a duffel bag of Red Zach's cocaine, and a letter of acceptance as a graduate student studying poetry. Rounding out the cast of characters are eccentric faculty members, a “relocated” underworld figure with various henchmen, a low-life private eye, and a number of miscellaneous gangbangers and students. Gischler does a good job of weaving various threads and keeping the story going. His action scenes are gritty and not too gory. The characters are completely believable, and the story held my attention. There is nothing technically wrong with this book: I really want to like it. It's not bad; I just didn't care for it. None of the characters are genuinely likable, and few, if any, are innocent. Well, the crazy old professor living on the fifth floor of Albatross Hall who throws keggers is pretty innocent, and kind of cool, but I never felt I connected to him. Also, I wished the book would pay a little more attention to academics, not just behind-the-scene politics and backbiting. In all, I'd have to say this is a guy book.
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