“The Surf Guru is one of the best collections I’ve read in years. Formally innovative, full of humor and terror and compassion in equal measure, and spanning an astonishing range of settings and characters, these stories renewed my faith in the short story as an art form. Dorst’s work is utterly unique and visionary.” - Dan Chaon, author of Among the Missing and Await Your Reply
“The stories in The Surf Guru are unusual not just for the frequent genius of their conceits, but for the tremendous sympathy they demonstrate toward characters who struggle with love, loneliness, and disappointment. Doug Dorst writes with a big, unbridled imagination and a big, commiserating heart, and the results, by turns devastating and hilarious, are always deeply moving.” - Chris Adrian, author of The Children’s Hospital and A Better Angel
PRAISE FOR ALIVE IN NECROPOLIS
“A daring and big-hearted first novel.” - New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)
“Virtuosic, wildly original, and frequently hilarious…Dorst takes a thousand death-defying risks and succeeds.” - Julie Orringer, author of The Invisible Bridge and How to Breathe Underwater
“Not quite a horror story, nor exactly a mystery, nor just a hard-boiled police procedural, but an adult coming-of-age saga that pulls with energy and imagination from these various genres….Shot through with streaks of black humor to vivd, insightful effect…Alive in Necropolis proves truly haunting.” - San Francisco Chronicle(Lit Pick)
“Imaginative and accomplished…pitch-perfect.” - USA Today
“Dorst defies conventional storytelling—at once grim and playful, he weaves the supernatural seamlessly into this “straight” story and the result is effortlessly imaginative, funny, and poignant. Fans of Auster, Jonathan Carroll, and Haruki Murakami will want to make room on their nightstand for their next new favorite.” - Amazon.com (Best Books, July 2008)
“Dorst strikes a perfect balance between humor and pathos. His ability to show the magic potential of everyday lives marks him as an author to watch.” - Publishers Weekly
“Dorst has the control and daring possessed by only the greats of each generation. He writes with humor and wisdom that is rare, and an empathy for his characters that is warm and complex and unique.” - Stephen Elliott, author of Happy Baby
“I read Doug Dorst’s Alive in Necropolis with that rare sense of mounting excitement you feel when you realize someone is perfectly executing a difficult feat, crossing a high wire without making one wrong step. Reader, let me assure you: he makes it to the other side.” - Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Brief History of the Dead
“You will never read a more exciting debut novel than Doug Dorst’s funny and fiercely imagined Alive in Necropolis. Here, peace officers patrol a city of cemeteries, and the living and dead walk the same streets and lawns, haunting each other’s worlds. Prophetlike, Dorst can place his hand on the marble of a tomb and conjure the human story within. Alive in Necropolis contains the mystery, grace and glow of the human soul. So open this book, step into its light.” - Adam Johnson, author of Parasites Like Us and Emporium
“A memorable and singular achievement. Moving seamlessly between straightforward realism and supernatural fantasy, between the daily life of a policeman and a cemetery full of vivid ghosts, this novel has an amazing sweep-both wisely compassionate and slyly hilarious at the same time. Doug Dorst is a true original.” - Dan Chaon, author of You Remind Me of Me
“In his first novel, Doug Dorst provides an excellent example of how a new group of writers with literary aspirations are adept at mixing high and low culture into novels that are as entertaining as they are insightful. Dorst takes a story about a prototypical slacker and turns it into something fairly profound, an investigation of relationships between lovers, friends and, always lurking in the background, fathers and sons. It’s also a memorable look at the corroding effects of obsession. All that, plus a ripping ghost story…. Dorst not only manages to weave these seemingly disparate threads into a satisfying whole, he also explores complexity of relationships in a way that your average ghost story thriller is not even going to touch.” - Tampa Tribune
