Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues is a novel written by Michael Crichton, his ninth published novel. Authorship credit is shared with his brother Douglas Crichton, resulting in the only time the pseudonym Michael Douglas was used. It was originally published in 1970. It was serialized in the December 1970, January 1971 and February 1971 issues of Playboy magazine.
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Michael Douglas |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 1970 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 222 |
| ISBN | 0-394-42168-X |
| LC Class | PS3554.O83 |
| Preceded by | Drug of Choice |
| Followed by | Grave Descend |
Plot summary
editIn order to hook up with his new California girlfriend, a Harvard graduate involves her in an ill-fated plan to smuggle a suitcase full of marijuana bricks from Berkeley to Boston.
Background
editCrichton wrote the book with his brother, then 19 years old. He said he wrote it "completely from beginning to end". Then his brother rewrote it from beginning to end, and then Crichton rewrote it again.[1]
Crichton said the novel was "interesting to me because it attacks what is to most people a puzzling area. What really happens to nice, middle-class, well-educated, suburban, bright kids who get into drugs? Why do they get into the position of having these experiences? The book is not sociology; it's fiction, but it pokes at some of these things."[2]
Reception
editThe critic from the Los Angeles Times called it an "unremarkable tale" with a "paucity of plot" but thought the ending was "exciting".[3]
Film adaptation
editA film version of the book was released in 1972. It was an American independent film directed by Paul Williams. It stars Robert F. Lyons and features John Lithgow in his film debut in the supporting role of John, the campus drug dealer. Barbara Hershey appears in the role of Susan, the novice drug-courier who loses the bag of bricks on a cross-country flight from Berkeley to Boston.
References
editExternal links
edit- Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues at IMDb
- Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972) at The New York Times Movie Review
 | This article about a 1970s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |
| | This article about an American novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |