Reviews for Fun with Dick and Jana: Lakeview Enterprise, February 12, 1996 "See Dick. See Dick run." If you're a baby boomer, chances are you learned to read to just such scintillating prose as this. The Dick and Jane reader series was for decades considered pro forma in classrooms across America. Sure, they were boring, but the words were simple enough for most elementary kids to read without much adult supervision. In Fun With Dick and Jana, author David R. Quiray takes that simplistic style and translates it into a very adult novel. And in the process, he manages to lose the "boring" aspect. The book is written from the oblique perspective of Dick Quick's thoughts. Dialogue, character development and plot all take a backseat to the semi-random wanderings of Dick's mind.  Fortunately, his mind is a pretty interesting place to be. Dick is a 'brown' college graduate (this is how he thinks of himself) struggling to make enough money to pay the rent, feed himself on a regular basis, and buy film for his camera.  He's currently involved in photographing roadkill.  Despite being very intelligent, Dick's inner thoughts are simplicity itself.  Here's an example from Chapter 1:  Out of film and hungry.  And he is too tired to find something to eat.  Even if he had the money he would not go out and find something to eat.  But the gnawing in his stomach is bad.  Very bad.  And he can not help it.  He always tried to ignore this irritating feeling but sometimes it was too much to bear. From Dick's thoughts, the reader sees that he's really not "all right" upstairs.  The interesting aspect of the story is that, to all around him, he seems completely "normal" - whatever that is.  Only the reader is privy to his primitive, often bizarre, inner motivations. Dick is an island in the sea of humanity; cut off from his surroundings, his body operating on auto-pilot while his mind deals with issues of its own.  Fun With Dick and Jana is hard to define, sometimes difficult to understand, and impossible to put down. This exploration of the human psyche is one you won't want to miss. Another novel from Quiray, Samurai's Son in The New World, is also available from Kawika Publishing. Amazon.com Online Reviews: A reader , September 1, 1999 An American Stranger Maybe it's because I just got finished reading Camus' "Stranger", but this book seems a lot like it. It's told from the point of view of Dick and the narrative seems very existential, grounded right in the very moment, with only little concern for the future. Also, there is the 'tough-guy" style of narrative which Camus confessed to using. Very truncated sentences. Very narrowed point of view which results in a sense of isolation. It's ultra-modern because it seems to go beyond issues of ethnicity, right down to the very basic necessities of all human life. The author goes out of the way to point out things like breathable air, and water and food and shelter. It's a very short book and very difficult to put down. Disturbing, fascinating and entertaining at the same time. I don't know why I should say this but it gives me confidence that there are actually other people out there who think. Is the author coming out with anything else soon? A reader from Califorina, USA , August 14, 1999 Artists live by different rules Having been acquainted with the author now for some years, I have the sneaking suspicion that his intention in “Fun With...” was to shock us with the zeal of an emerging agnosticism, to render modern angst through the perspective of an intelligent yet simple character. If anything, Quiray is honest. And this honesty comes through in the inescapable theme of multiculturalism. In a world of western freedoms tempered by puritanical heritage, chaotic diversity is the rule. The final truth: Dick is brown, and Dick can’t possibly know what this means. In conversation Quiray has spoken often of dramatic scenarios, ‘writing styles’ and other various artistic devices (musical, visual, gastronomical) which transcend loyalty to friends, family, ethnicity and country. I won’t say that he has failed at such a burdensome task. On the contrary, I have spoken to a few mutual friends who have read the book and they candidly reported that they were somewhat repulsed by what they perceived as apparent misanthropy. A jobless, appetite-driven photographer who takes pictures of roadkill? But, I would quickly append that Quiray also does a surprisingly decent job of exposing a slew of complex philosophical, sociological and psychological modern-day dilemmas armed only with one and two-syllable words in simple declarative sentences. And I believe the greatest thing about this book is that, despite ourselves, we come to love this character although we know very little about him. Living his spartan-like, stark existence, Dick is us--without the commercial insulation each of us have erected around ourselves. And despite the lonesome weariness he shoulders in his pursuit of transcendence, it is his desire for intimate spiritual connection with his neighbor which captures our heart and preserves his dignity. Artists live by different rules, and sometimes it is justified. If we’re lucky, everybody benefits. A reader from Queens, NY , January 14, 1999 A story of maturing people seeing love for the first time. Remembering my reading of Quiray's second novel from a distance of almost a year, I realize that "Fun With Dick and Jana" gives voice to the mutual attraction of two adult friends struggling to express their complex, and intense, affection in a dead-end world where that affection is threatened by boredom and dis-ease about the future. Their lives unravel in a small college town filled with their own barely audible disappointments and too many memories of growing through adolescence into their early 20s. Quiray's main character is a man of confused ambitions, mixed emotions and striking intelligence who works odd jobs to pay constantly truant bills while wandering into various confrontations with other nomadic souls. As these situations unravel, including a car crash, a variety of landlord avoidances, a wedding photography session, numerous thoughts on modern multi-culturalism and brushes with casual sexual contact, "FWDJ" becomes more a character study of early adult struggle than it is a love story, drama, adventure or moral tale, although it contains aspects of each. Instead "FWDJ" circles in the difficulty of maintaining a forward course in life as it is set upon by the striking need to "just grow up" and the simultaneous conflict of not knowing what growing up means. By novel's end, Quiray's lovers, and their ambiguous relationship with their small town, realize a tenuous balance between happiness and sadness that fills them with hope for a future that holds excitement and accomplishment as the carrot sticks prodding adult maturation. "FWDJ" is a story of transition and companionship, and realizing that all futures begin with first steps through who we have been into who we want to become. Bailey (lincprts@pe.net) from Perris, California , December 7, 1998 Outstanding book about a teen coming of age. Found the characters closely paralleled my own personal experiences. Somewhat of a coming of age story about Dick and friends trials with life, friends, parents, females, morals etc. Anyone who's ever been confused about life will appreciate the book and the message it offers. 

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Reviews for Samurai's Son in The New World: The Book Reader, Spring/Summer ed. 1996 So much of contemporary America is explained in this spirited, occasionally chaotic and memorable collection. Quiray captures the ups and downs of today's X generation in a series of stories, each a cogent snapshot of four young adults living through the Reagan days. A mix of cultures and colors and codes is routine for them, causing some rebellious 'culture smulture' attitudes towards parents. "It's not my fault that my cultural cuisine was Kentucky Fried Chicken and Kim-Chee." They sneak away to Bruce Lee movies, argue over gender differences and sexual orientation, get down with Van Halen and The Dead, baby old Plymouths and boast new Jettas. And they love to party, sometimes dangerously, chasing Jack Daniels with crystal. Lots of living at home here, just like real life. But there's always a chance for a studio apartment with a cute girl next door. And a handy attic for peeking down at shower time. Quiray plumbs the bond among Xers, like "a drip that has broken surface tension, moving towards those that hhave gone before." His active dialogue bubbles with life in the capitalist rat race, seen apprehensively by these 20-somethings. The author is a first generation American-born Filipino, and he serves up characters of his own culture, along with European, Mexican, Hawaiian. These 'kids' learn about life and death, and new definitions of what's deep, what's shallow. Amazon.com Online Reviews: Justice done to Generation X A reader from Chula Vista, CA, usa , January 19, 1999 Writer's, pundits and other know-nothings have tried for a good many years now to explain Generation X. This they have done in a variety of ways, and they have failed. They have failed because they are not of our generation and they understand not our pressures, fears, hopes and aspirations. Quiray however captures the essence of our generation in Samurai's Son in The New World. He is one of us, and he has broken new literary ground for our generation with his first novel. Anyone seeking to gain an insight into the mind of a neglected and misunderstood generation will find here in this novel what they are looking for. Generation X'ers will find themselves looking into a mirror.

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