Listen to a sample
Dodge City
- Author
- Patrick deWitt
- Narrator
- Micky Shiloah
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 29 September 2026
- Run Time
- 5 hours 42 minutes
- Format
- x-book®
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
LONGLISTED FOR THE GILLER PRIZE 2026
‘Playful, charming and warm’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘I adored every page’ MAX PORTER
‘A rollicking, wise, superb novel’ INDEPENDENT
From the Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers comes a thrilling novel about a young man on an amphetamine-fuelled cross-country road trip fleeing the Vietnam draft.
1967, California. Lee Clarke is a strait-laced twenty-three-year-old, happily in love and ambling along at college until an ill-advised fistfight leads to his expulsion. Soon, he receives his draft notice to serve in the Vietnam War, which forces Lee to make the first political decision of his life: he will leave the country and his girlfriend and head for the Canadian border.
He signs up at a drive-away car delivery service, chancing into a new Jaguar bound for the East Coast. Carrying only a single suitcase and a bag of amphetamines, Lee knows he can’t go without saying his goodbyes.
In four different towns strung out along the US, Lee visits each member of his family: his father, an alcoholic World War Two veteran; his mother, engaged in a buoyantly manic performance with her shut-in sibling; his heartbroken, misanthropic brother Harry; and finally his twin sister, Grace, a brash, young psychiatric nurse-in-training mired in romantic drama. As Lee makes his stimulated progress across the country, his past keeps rising to meet him. He can’t help but wonder, what will his decision to leave mean for his future?
A beautiful, sweeping and raucous portrait of a family in disarray and a country in flux, Dodge City confirms deWitt as one of our most brilliant satirists and a novelist of staggering heart.
A TIMES MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026
‘Funny, warm-hearted and beautifully written’ THE TIMES
‘He is a master of arch dialogue’ GUARDIAN
‘A book for anyone who has ever thought their problems could be solved by running away’ NICOLE FLATTERY, author of Nothing Special
‘Fizzing with deadpan dialogue and wry observation … every line is a joy’ DAILY MAIL
‘Electric, funny, and brilliantly written’ JOHN PATRICK McHUGH, author of Fun and Games
‘A witty, heartfelt ride. Dodge City is a supreme delight’ JAMI ATTENBERG, author of All This Could Be Yours
‘A portrait of both a family and a nation in crisis’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Lee’s charm as a character is his Bartleby-like refusal to countenance objections to his objection’ NEW YORK TIMES
Critics Review
-
‘Playful, charming and warm … Dodge City is powered by the highfalutin energy of the characters’ dialogue … his characters talk as if they’ve escaped from the set of The Big Lebowski’ Sunday Times
-
‘He is a master of arch dialogue … Dodge City is not exactly optimistic, but its emotional tendency is towards something few would have expected of the author of The Sisters Brothers: tenderness’ Guardian
-
‘Funny, warm-hearted and beautifully written; we can imagine the Coen brothers immediately turning it into a movie’ The Times
-
‘A brisk, melancholic road trip novel … Lee’s charm as a character is his Bartleby-like refusal to countenance objections to his objection’ New York Times
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
‘[A] decadent and daring road novel’ Marie Claire
-
‘Absolute brilliance ... an episodic reunion fizzing with deadpan dialogue and wry observation … every line is a joy’ Daily Mail
-
‘A rollicking, wise, superb novel – and one that offers a warning about drinking the “mythic American tonic”’ Independent
-
‘I adored every page of this wise, funny, charming novel’ Max Porter, author of Shy
-
‘A book for anyone who has ever thought their problems could be solved by running away. Tender, sweet, funny and I think one of deWitt's best’ Nicole Flattery, author of Nothing Special
-
‘Electric, funny, and brilliantly written: Dodge City is a road trip I wanted to stay on with a cast of characters I wanted to live with for many, many, many more pages’ John Patrick McHugh, author of Fun and Games
-
‘Poignant and comic … conversations are the heart of deWitt’s genius’ Ron Charles, via Substack
-
‘I was hooked from the first page … Witty, moving, frustrating, rousing, strange, I loved it’ Lou Stoppard, author of Exteriors
-
‘A witty, heartfelt ride. Dodge City is a supreme delight’ Jami Attenberg, author of All This Could Be Yours
-
‘A perfect novel … on the knife’s edge of hilarity and tenderness’ Jonathan Lethem, author of Brooklyn Crime Novel
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Patrick deWitt
- Narrator
- Micky Shiloah
- Duration
- 5 hours 42 minutes
- Release Date
- 29 September 2026
- ISBN
- 9780008781378
- Format
- x-book®
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Humorous fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Vietnam War fiction, Narrative theme: journeys and voyages, Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: politics / economics
Synopsis
LONGLISTED FOR THE GILLER PRIZE 2026 ‘Playful, charming and warm’ SUNDAY TIMES ‘I adored every page’ MAX PORTER ‘A rollicking, wise, superb novel’ INDEPENDENT From the Booker-shortlisted author of The Sisters Brothers comes a thrilling novel about a young man on an amphetamine-fuelled cross-country road trip fleeing the Vietnam draft. 1967, California. Lee Clarke is a strait-laced twenty-three-year-old, happily in love and ambling along at college until an ill-advised fistfight leads to his expulsion. Soon, he receives his draft notice to serve in the Vietnam War, which forces Lee to make the first political decision of his life: he will leave the country and his girlfriend and head for the Canadian border. He signs up at a drive-away car delivery service, chancing into a new Jaguar bound for the East Coast. Carrying only a single suitcase and a bag of amphetamines, Lee knows he can’t go without saying his goodbyes. In four different towns strung out along the US, Lee visits each member of his family: his father, an alcoholic World War Two veteran; his mother, engaged in a buoyantly manic performance with her shut-in sibling; his heartbroken, misanthropic brother Harry; and finally his twin sister, Grace, a brash, young psychiatric nurse-in-training mired in romantic drama. As Lee makes his stimulated progress across the country, his past keeps rising to meet him. He can’t help but wonder, what will his decision to leave mean for his future? A beautiful, sweeping and raucous portrait of a family in disarray and a country in flux, Dodge City confirms deWitt as one of our most brilliant satirists and a novelist of staggering heart. A TIMES MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 ‘Funny, warm-hearted and beautifully written’ THE TIMES ‘He is a master of arch dialogue’ GUARDIAN ‘A book for anyone who has ever thought their problems could be solved by running away’ NICOLE FLATTERY, author of Nothing Special ‘Fizzing with deadpan dialogue and wry observation … every line is a joy’ DAILY MAIL ‘Electric, funny, and brilliantly written’ JOHN PATRICK McHUGH, author of Fun and Games ‘A witty, heartfelt ride. Dodge City is a supreme delight’ JAMI ATTENBERG, author of All This Could Be Yours ‘A portrait of both a family and a nation in crisis’ FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Lee’s charm as a character is his Bartleby-like refusal to countenance objections to his objection’ NEW YORK TIMES
About xigxag and the x-book®
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
Our x-book® format is the only fully integrated listen-and-read experience available. See the text on screen as you listen, look up words, take notes, search within the book, and share quotes. It is especially useful for accessibility, language learning, and getting more from non-fiction. Look for the purple x-book® ribbon on the cover, or filter your search by "x-book" to find them.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.