Spidertown (1996) by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

Spidertown (1996)

by Abraham Rodriguez Jr.

New York: 32/105

The Bronx: 3/7

   Spidertown is an extremely tedious bildungsroman about a teenage crack runner (don't call him a dealer!) living in the South Bronx in the 1990's.  As a criminal defense attorney working in federal court, I've spent many working days reviewing the text messages and phone calls of drug dealers so a three hundred page book on the subject wasn't going to add much to my understanding.  Nor, for that matter, is the love life of a 16 year old drug runner of particular interest.  Also, I didn't enjoy the fact that the whole book is written in South Bronx patois- there isn't an H pronounced properly in the whole book.  I didn't find any of characters convincing, nor did I find the author's depiction of the drug trade particularly accurate or compelling. 

   And, amazingly, Rodriguez makes the South Bronx of the crack era seem pretty boring culturally speaking- no references to the amazing NYC rap that dominated that era- rap that was often about dealing crack.  I've often had the thought- not generated by this book but from my work experience, that being a drug dealer is highly stressful and not particularly lucrative when one factors in the risks involved- whether at the hand of your own organization, a rival organization, the cops or the feds.  Also the lifespan of a professional drug dealer is often quite short and leaves the dealer unable to pursue a different line of work.  Other than manual labor I can't think of a worse way to make a living- personally I'd rather work at a fast food restaurant.