"[4] The Independent compared him to Jonathan Franzen, Dave Eggers and David Foster Wallace, and called him "the greatest writer you've never heard of .

His second novel The Black Brook (1998) was described by Kirkus Reviews as "edgy, captivating" and "an irresistibly droll portrayal of an All-American liar, loser, and innocent.

"[11] His fourth novel The Driftless Area (2006) was adapted into a film starring Aubrey Plaza, Frank Langella, Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes, Ciaran Hinds, and Alia Shawkat.

Plot takes a back seat to sharp observations and deadpan wit in Drury's work, and Pacific can easily stand alone.

They make a good stage for what I like to write about, i.e., roads and houses, bridges and rivers and weather and woods, and people to whom strange or interesting things happen, causing problems they must overcome.

[15] In a piece for The Guardian, writers Yiyun Li and Jon McGregor wrote: Drury’s rare achievement is to populate a novel with a group of life-sized nobodies.

By abandoning both tragedy and comedy, in the recognition that life’s damages are often done and felt in the least dramatic ways, and absurdity results from people’s efforts to be honest or serious.