Last Exit To Brooklyn

5 out of 5 Stars
I find it extremely difficult to write about Hubert Selby Jr.'s books, let alone 'review' them. He is one of the few authors who I find so honest, so original, so heart breaking, so grotesque, and so 'anti mainstream'. Which is ironic now in 2009 -- the world has changed, people have changed, NYC has changed, society has become so divided between extreme liberals and extreme conservatives. I guess 'Last Exit To Brooklyn' will probably become 'trendy' soon, among Brooklyn hipsters, angsty 20 somethings, college students, and recent NYC implants. But one of the things I find so absolutely astonishing about 'Last Exit To Brooklyn' is that Selby wrote it (semi autobiographically) in 1964.
This book (or what is actually a poignant collection of short stories that tie together) made me empathize, sympathize, cry, laugh, cringe, and become transported to what I always assumed was 'life' in NYC in the 50s (unlike 'Revolutionary Road' where I felt no compassion to any of the characters).
Selby's characters are not always easy to like. Rapists, drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes...but through his writing he is able to (if only for a page or two) find a way for the reader to connect to and understand.
I guess what strikes me the most about this novel is that while it was written almost 50 years ago, very little has changed. And thank you, Mr. Selby, for documenting reality and not being afraid show the truth.

The Room

The Room by Hubert Selby Jr.

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is one of the only books I have ever read that made me outright nauseous. Selby's violent and brutal and graphic descriptions of revenge were so real and vivid that I had to keep putting this book down to clear my head. But the fact that an author is capable of making me feel such a strong and real queasiness makes me completely in awe of him. He holds nothing back in this book. Selby makes Bret Easton Ellis's writing seem PG 13. If I was forced to choose between being locked in a room with Patrick Bateman or the 'protagonist' of 'The Room', I'd take Bateman any day. There is absolutely no element of satire in 'The Room'. While the narrative switches from the reality of the protagonist (who remains nameless throughout) to his fantasy world of beating the system as a hero to his graphic and horrific revenge fantasies, he remains completely serious amd dead pan throughout. There is no sense of humor in the character, and while the novel does provide social commentary and critique on the justice system in America and police brutality, there is nothing humorous or tongue in cheek about it. It's difficult to say that I 'enjoyed' this book -- I wouldn't even allow my mom, who is also a big Hubert Selby Jr fan, to borrow it. I didn't want her to share the repulsion and nausea that I felt while reading it. I am in awe that a writer can make me feel such physical emotions from his words. I can't say I 'recommend' this book, but I do believe that it one I will keep in my library forever.


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Dark Places : A Novel

Dark Places: A Novel by Gillian Flynn

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love Gillian Flynn and was so excited to read her second book. After her original creepy/quirky first novel 'Sharp Objects', I was beyond excited to see what she would come up with next. And 'Dark Places' certainly lived up to my expectations. I was immediately drawn in by Libby Day, a complete anti hero -- rather unlikable but at the same time unapologetic and honest. I love how Flynn interweaves Libby's modern day story with the voices from her past (her mother and brother). This is a fabulous, disturbing, unique murder mystery. I can't wait to see what Gillian Flynn will write next!


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Requiem For A Dream

Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I could not put this book down. Selby's flowing and unpunctuated prose, his tragic characters who in spite of their 'flawed' habits remain so entirely likable, his graphic and realistic depiction of shattered dreams and lost hopes, are like being on a train that is certain to crash with no hope of escape. Selby writes about the struggle with addiction and how it gradually consumes the mind, the body, and the world around us. But unlike most authors who have tackled the same subject, Selby has created characters that are so vivid and realistic -- characters who we wouldn't give a second glance on the streets of NY -- and has made them so likable that when the ending sneaks up, I wanted to burst into tears.


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The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
As an educator, avid reader, and fan of children's literature, I am so happy that Neil Gaiman was awarded the Newbery Medal for this fantastic, haunting, and sophisticated book. Having only read Gaiman's 'Coraline' and 'Neverwhere', I was in awe of his ability to grasp so acutely the power of a child's imagination, their fears and hopes and comforts and language. I felt at times like I was ready a Grimm Fairy Tale (though in his afterword Gaiman writes that he was inspired by Kipling's Jungle Book). The story follows many motifs of a fairy tale. Namely escaping powerful and evil enemies, good versus evil and the fine line in between, freedom versus entrapment, etc. Midway through the novel, I began to feel like I was reading a series of short stories, tied together by the protagonist (Nobody 'Bod' Owens) but by the last chapter I had become so attached to the inhabitants in the graveyard, and especially to Bod himself, that the book came full circle. I own my own copy and I admit that, yes, the last five pages are tear stained -- tears of joy, mostly, to have been so moved by a characters' growth and understanding.


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We Were The Mulvaneys

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sometimes the American Dream fails due to one event. A close knit and warmly truthful family may not be as close as they originally thought. People change, friends are not the people you thought they were, intelligence can only accomplish so much, and even on the surface what appears to be a deep familiar love may not be sustainable.



Oates draws the reader into the close knit family circle of The Mulvaney family, only to eventually rip away the facade. Life, love and family are fragile. And as a reader, I thrived on every sentence and description of the Mulvaney family. An event that at first seems harmful yet able to overcome becomes something so evil and sinister that it can destroy lives and tear apart the inner core of everything we believe to be true.








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The Possession Of Mr. Cave

The Possession of Mr Cave by Matt Haig

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
While at times I found this 'mystery' a bit overdramatic and filled with obvious metaphors which are overly drawn out, eventually Haig touches on a very real and very poignant issue -- how far will a parent go to protect his children and at what cost? If one reads this bizarre story as a metaphor for the anguish, fear, and eventual acceptance of a parents' coming to terms with his child's entry into the teenage/adult world, this is a strong novel. But if read as a 'mystery', I found it lacking and I thought the narrator was under developed.


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