Eight Dogs Named Jack: And 14 Other Stories from the Detroit Streets and Michigan Wilderness | 
| Creator: Joe Borri
Publisher: Momentum Books LLC
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.15
You Save: $8.80 (35%)
New (17) Used (7) from $16.15
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 307247
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 7.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1879094797
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781879094796
ASIN: 1879094797
Publication Date: July 2, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: brand new
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Product Description
In the 60s and 70s, the northeast corner of Detroit was home to so many policemen or cops the area was nicknamed Copper Corner. The community was saturated with first generation-Americans of Italian descent. It's through this setting that the fictional stories within Eight Dogs Named Jack emerge. The stories are a mixture of pulp, noir, humor and drama, set against the backdrop of Detroit s East Side, their characters often roaming to northern Michigan and Canada. Up North, the street smarts the characters possess are tested against the mystical forces present in nature. The stories are crafted from the perspective of Joe Borri, the son of a Detroit cop, who married a girl whose father had a strong dislike for Detroit cops. His life in the two families inspired many of these yarns. Eight Dogs Named Jack, and Fourteen Other Stories From the Detroit Streets and Michigan Wilderness, is an entertaining collection of tales where characters like Honest John, Tony the Hatchet, Sausages Burmanzini, Hopper, and other street gods call home.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
A Great Read for Any Time July 8, 2008
You don't need to be of Italian descent or from Michigan to enjoy this delightful collection of short stories from new author Joe Borri. While Joe's a very talented graphic designer, he's even more adept with the written word, bringing to life a variety of entertaining characters and situations we all can identify with. Joe's easy, humorous style and straight-forward storytelling skill makes this book a very enjoyable read. If you like the crazy South Florida stories of Carl Hiaasen or the Margaritaville-inspired stories of Jimmy Buffett, as I do, give Joe's book a shot. You'll be glad you did!
 Great Read, and to think this is his first book! January 25, 2008
I thought this book might be interesting because it was written by a Detroit Native and is about this city we live in and around. Little did I know that I would pick it up one night figuring I'd thumb through it and read the entire thing in one sitting!!
Eight Dogs Named Jack and 14 Other Stories from the Detroit Streets and Michigan Wilderness marks the writing debut of Michigan artist Joe Borri, who is employed at Skidmore Inc., a studio in Royal Oak, Mich. This collection of short stories is inspired by the East Side Detroit neighborhood where he grew up and its predominantly Italian denizens. It's very easy to read, and keeps you flipping the pages till you're done.
Some books I pick up, read a few chapters and put down, only to never finish them again. The coolest thing about this book is each chapter is its own story. Some of the chapters I really wanted to hear more about, maybe delve into them a little deeper, so I would keep reading the next chapter thinking it would lead into the story deeper, but it would just start another one and get me hooked into that new character.
Joe Borri has a great way of describing the scene. You can picture the street, you can feel the warm breeze blowing on your face, you neck tightens up when he talks about a certain fight, and you need to make another drink when he describes the beautiful ladies the Wiseguys try to work over.
Many of the stories are set in the gritty streets of Detroit, where wiseguys and wannabes walk a thin line between good and evil. Some of these characters work their way "up north," where their street smarts are tested against the immutable forces of nature and the country folk who try and do things a little differently.
The stories are blended together perfectly and this book would be great to bring along on that next flight. You can pick it up anywhere and start fresh. Or you can read it from cover to cover like I did, and finish off a bottle of Scotch while enjoying some of the best writing I've read in years!!
Pat Bonish
www.everymilesamemory.com
Singular Debut January 4, 2008
Expect the wonderfully unexpected when Goodfellas wannabes meet the Michigan Great Outdoors. With Eight Dogs Named Jack Borri demonstrates that he is a writer who possesses a rare combination of original vision, keen insight and an ability to combine humor and tragedy in striking ways. Many of the stories feature tough characters engaged in battles, physical and psychological, but Borri is not a one-trick pony. Several of my favorite stories in the collection feature characters who are wholly vulnerable and wholly real, and I found myself so engrossed in their struggles that I yearned for their salvation. Borri does not disappoint. Keep your eye on this writer.
Eight Dogs Named Jack October 11, 2007
This is a collection of short stories written by a native of East Detroit. The stories all take place in Michigan and are outstanding.
Authentic Michigan Stories August 22, 2007
I loved this book! The short story format was perfect for this collection of stories from Detroit's east side and "Up North" Michigan. The hunting stories reminded me of tales my dad would tell from his hunting cabin, "The Hot Dog Lodge", and the stories of growing up on Detroit's east side took me back to a time when you could pick up a Vernors at the corner party store and walk into the hardware store and get any tool you needed to finish a job--on credit, no less.
Joe Borri paints a vivid picture with his words and I don't believe I have read a better debut. I cannot wait for more stories from this fresh, new writer.
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