SNAP
LUCIO DUTCH
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“Excuse me while I dance, I mean, as I attempt to get down, literary style.”

Such a bold and dramatic first line begins the saga that is SNAP, LUCIO DUTCH’S most compelling novel to date. DUTCH’S literary effect is absolutely stunning. The storyline: one that is utterly exhilarating, meaning that even though the subject matter has been handled before, DUTCH’S writing style carries the line forward with such a force it seems almost orgasmic.

Orgasmic in the audacity of such a daring combination of structure and events and character traits is what sets SNAP apart from the other writings within the Urban Fiction genre.

SNAP begins explosively with a flashback starring Jocelyn Moore as the quintessential rape victim. Well… Potential rape victim is more accurate. “Potential” because Jocelyn fights back with such a fierceness, as to cause Victor’s “nose to menstruate.” Later we find out that this meeting of sorts is not the first between Jocelyn and antagonist Victor Sinclair.

Moving forward… This particular flashback is the beginning of the 1-2 punch combination that leaves the reader stunned with the voracity of such a sweet science. Then DUTCH proceeds to violently and swiftly segue into the real dance of the storyline with fantastic style, introducing each character in stride. Making up the raucous melee is Felix Ortega, O, Mona and a slew of other characters, whom I will henceforth refer to as the inner SNAP circle.

Each character of the inner SNAP circle is roundly and thoroughly explored. This leaves very little to the imagination, as the reader knows the characteristics and personality traits of each immediately from the get-go. But what makes DUTCH’S style so eloquently sweet is that each of the inner SNAP circle remains mysteriously unpredictable the whole while. Victor Sinclair, as example, is wholesomely seen as the one whom walks the straight-and-narrow - which indeed he does. The pathway he walks, however, is as crooked as pirates’ teeth, and just as dirty.

[pg. 157]
Pains that Victor felt in his stomach made him double over and fall to the floor. His mental confusion, his pain and his anger, though his fault, made him want nothing but revenge. The little clarity that Victor was able to achieve once in a while had disappeared, for good. He was going to make sure he made females feel the pain he did….

Excuse me while I dance…

DUTCH manages to take on issues of great importance to many a disgruntled people, including Inner-city disenfranchisement & the resulting subtle racism… Although my opinions are not always synonymous with the loud-and-clear approach DUTCH uses in SNAP, it’s well beyond me to feign not beaming a truthfully knowing smile of respect for DUTCH’S tact. That very tact is indeed part of the “dance” that makes SNAP such a thrill to be part of. It really defines the steps & movement of the dance – so to speak.

That’s it! That’s what sets SNAP apart from the fray of other Urban Fiction novels: It’s as if the reader is part of the melee, rather than being the nosey bystander peeping in. It’s as if the reader is toe-tapping along with the rhythm and swaying to the beat of it. The SNAP story is one that we can each relate to our own lives; Just the familiarity of it... It reads true.

[pg. 187]
Seeing the concern in his mother’s face made to Victor was heartbreaking, he was lying to her and felt not only did he let himself and friends down but his parents who invested so much. At that moment he wanted to slit his own throat, Victor’s head had the Temptations inside stomping to a ball of confusion and he was in search of Teddy Pendergrass to help him give it up and turn it loose.

Aside from the brilliant pieces of writing & the familiar understanding of being part of the an inner circle, style is key here. LUCIO DUTCH has proven once again that he has plenty for the sharing.


5 Stars: An utterly exhilarating read.

Copyright © 2006 Jacquii Cooke


Available at Amazon.com