Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues

"Dealing" redirects here. For articles related to dealers, see Dealer (disambiguation).

Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues is a novel written by Michael Crichton and his brother Douglas Crichton under the joint pseudonym Michael Douglas. It was originally published in 1970. It was serialized in the December 1970, January 1971 and February 1971 issues of Playboy magazine.

Plot summary

In order to hook up with his new California girlfriend, a Harvard graduate involves her in an ill-fated plan to smuggle a suitcase full of marijuana bricks from Berkeley to Boston.

Background

Crichton wrote the book with his brother, then 19 years old. He said he wrote it "completely from beginning to end" then his brother rewrote it from beginning to end, then Crichton rewrote it again.

Reception

The critic from the Los Angeles Times called it an "unremarkable tale" with a "paucity of plot" but thought the ending was "exciting".

Film adaptation

Main article: Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (film)

A film version of the book was released in 1972. It was American independent film directed by Paul Williams and starred Robert F. Lyons and John Lithgow in his film debut in the supporting role of John, the campus drug dealer. Barbara Hershey appears in the role of the novice drug-courier, Susan, who loses the bag of bricks on a cross-country flight from Berkeley to Boston.

External links

• Dealing: or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues at IMDb
• Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972) at the New York Times Movie Review