“Hicks, a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter, is winningly deft with language. From the opening paragraph, neither commas nor em dashes can rein in his enthusiasm for the craft of storytelling, which Hicks embraces with contagious energy and sharp humor.” —New York Times Sunday Book Review
“[A] sprightly tale about friendship and courtship, money, love, assorted complications—and writers. Felicitous characters and a scrumptious plot make Hicks’ second novel refreshing and fun.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“[Amateurs is] a sharply observed and very funny novel . . . [Hicks] has perfect pitch.” —The Guardian, "Dylan Hicks: 'Are millennials concerned about selling out any more?'"
“An improbable and wildly enjoyable mix of a comedy of manners, a road-trip story, and a slacker coming-of-age tale. Hicks manages to turns what could easily have made readers stumble—multiple protagonists in multiple time lines—into a winning narrative style. . . . Though the story lines themselves are engaging, it is Hicks’ ear for dialogue, humor, and detail that makes the novel shine.” —Booklist
“A bright, perceptive story about friends trying with mixed results to wrestle with the pressures of adulthood… Hicks does a near-perfect job tracing each character’s evolving needs, desires and resentments over the course of seven years.” —Los Angeles Times
"[T]heir games of one-upmanship, their tête-a-têtes, give the novel a fun repartee, in addition to highlighting Hicks’s ear for dialogue." —Heavy Feather Review
"These plot lines...are meticulously woven together to create for the reader a sensation of precarious narrative convergence." —Brooklyn Rail
“The setup of Hicks’ novel is the stuff of classic comic fiction; the minute details and anxieties that surround its characters, however, are what endures.” —Star Tribune
"Hicks [ . . . ] has fashioned a droll commentary about ambition among the would-be literati and has written some of the funniest prose in recent years."—Kenyon Review Online
“Amateurs is an ambitious and accomplished novel that appears to be relaxed and easy-going. It is generously plotted and peopled, but I never sensed the author's effort or ambition.” —Extreme Legibility
“Here’s the kind of book—ironic but humane, erudite yet playful—that makes you want to read it in big chunks.” —Minnesota Monthly
“The other thing that Dylan Hicks does so well--he’s a marvelous writer.” —KUOW, "The Record" review
“Hicks can time a plot fuse perfectly.” —Atticus Reviews
“Dylan Hicks’ second novel Amateurs is one of the most fun books I have read all year, an unforgettable coming of age story.” —Largehearted Boy
“Hicks’ strengths lie in fastidious detail and witty dialogue; both abound in this book.” —Crave Online
“Supremely elegant, accurately human, unceasingly funny . . . Amateurs is a sublime literary treat by our hinterland Anthony Powell. In a kinder world, there would be a new book by ‘Hicksy’ every year.” —Ed Park, author of Personal Days
“Hicks, a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter, is winningly deft with language. From the opening paragraph, neither commas nor em dashes can rein in his enthusiasm for the craft of storytelling, which Hicks embraces with contagious energy and sharp humor.” —New York Times Sunday Book Review
“[A] sprightly tale about friendship and courtship, money, love, assorted complications—and writers. Felicitous characters and a scrumptious plot make Hicks’ second novel refreshing and fun.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“[Amateurs is] a sharply observed and very funny novel . . . [Hicks] has perfect pitch.” —The Guardian, "Dylan Hicks: 'Are millennials concerned about selling out any more?'"
“An improbable and wildly enjoyable mix of a comedy of manners, a road-trip story, and a slacker coming-of-age tale. Hicks manages to turns what could easily have made readers stumble—multiple protagonists in multiple time lines—into a winning narrative style. . . . Though the story lines themselves are engaging, it is Hicks’ ear for dialogue, humor, and detail that makes the novel shine.” —Booklist
“A bright, perceptive story about friends trying with mixed results to wrestle with the pressures of adulthood… Hicks does a near-perfect job tracing each character’s evolving needs, desires and resentments over the course of seven years.” —Los Angeles Times
"[T]heir games of one-upmanship, their tête-a-têtes, give the novel a fun repartee, in addition to highlighting Hicks’s ear for dialogue." —Heavy Feather Review
"These plot lines...are meticulously woven together to create for the reader a sensation of precarious narrative convergence." —Brooklyn Rail
“The setup of Hicks’ novel is the stuff of classic comic fiction; the minute details and anxieties that surround its characters, however, are what endures.” —Star Tribune
"Hicks [ . . . ] has fashioned a droll commentary about ambition among the would-be literati and has written some of the funniest prose in recent years."—Kenyon Review Online
“Amateurs is an ambitious and accomplished novel that appears to be relaxed and easy-going. It is generously plotted and peopled, but I never sensed the author's effort or ambition.” —Extreme Legibility
“Here’s the kind of book—ironic but humane, erudite yet playful—that makes you want to read it in big chunks.” —Minnesota Monthly
“The other thing that Dylan Hicks does so well--he’s a marvelous writer.” —KUOW, "The Record" review
“Hicks can time a plot fuse perfectly.” —Atticus Reviews
“Dylan Hicks’ second novel Amateurs is one of the most fun books I have read all year, an unforgettable coming of age story.” —Largehearted Boy
“Hicks’ strengths lie in fastidious detail and witty dialogue; both abound in this book.” —Crave Online
“Supremely elegant, accurately human, unceasingly funny . . . Amateurs is a sublime literary treat by our hinterland Anthony Powell. In a kinder world, there would be a new book by ‘Hicksy’ every year.” —Ed Park, author of Personal Days
