Product Description

A major American author of a stature with William Burroughs and Joseph Heller.?Los Angeles Times

Harry White is a man haunted by a satyr's lust and an obsessive need for sin and retribution. The more Harry succeeds - a good marriage, a good corporate job - the more desperate he becomes, as a life of petty crime leads to fraud and murder and, eventually, to apocalyptic violence.

Author of the controversial cult classic, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Hubert Selby began as a writer of short fiction. He plunges the reader head-first into the densely realized worlds of his protagonists, in which the details of daily life rub shoulders with obsession and madness. Although fundamentally concerned with morality, Selby's own sense of humility prevents him from preaching. He offers instead a passionate empathy with the ordinary dreams and aspirations of his characters, a brilliant ear for the urban vernacular and for the voices of conscience and self-deceit that torment his characters.
"Selby's place is in the front rank of American novelists ... to understand his work is to understand the anguish of America."?The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138935 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 312 pages

Customer Reviews

Selby tries too hard
Selby is an incredible writer. This book is well written and has incredible description. It just drags on too long. You'll find yourself getting tired by the end of it. He has a demon and goes on a killing spree. Then more self loathing and description that goes on and on. Selby is one of the best writers to ever put ink to paper, but I enjoyed Last Exit to Brooklyn more than this. If you can wait and don't mind pages and pages of the same description, you'll enjoy it. The end is depressing and if you like a happy vibe, do not read.

Into that dark place again
I was immediately pulled into the story of the young intelligent Manhattanite and his dark habits. Selby again delivers a stream of powerful inner monologue that humanizes his character even as he seems to lose his humanity. The character's descent is incredibly convincing and you empathize with him at every stage of deterioration. It's a very absorbing story.

However, it isn't quite Last Exit to Brooklyn. It isn't perfect. In my opinion, the story went on too long. The last third was only needed to drive home the spiritual theme, which was better left implied.

That said, this is a powerful story and very enjoyable read. This isn't a portrait of a psychopath (one who lacks conscience). It's a portait of a man possessed.

Amazing piece of literature from a totally unique American author
This should be required reading for anyone interested in American Literature. Selby's style is so incredibly unique and the way he creates empathy for the wife of this man is an excellent example of minimalism. He says SO much utilizing an economy of words.

Read this book - And also read Selby's "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Requiem for a Dream."

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!