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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9781560252481
ISBN number: 1560252480
Label: Da Capo Press
Manufacturer: Da Capo Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: August 15, 2000
Publishing house: Da Capo Press
Sale Popularity Level: 10034
Studio: Da Capo Press
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In this searing novel very first published in 1978, two young hoods, Harry and Tyrone, and a girlfriend fantasize about scoring a pound of heroin and getting rich. But their heroin habit gets the better of them, and Harry's mother's addiction to diet pills lands her in a state mental hospital.
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Rated by buyers -
I found the book infinitely more disturbing than the movie because it's so much more pleasing at the same time. Addiction is made so seductive. The characters, in their speech and mannerisms and thoughts, are so human, alive, that you want to get close to them and follow them--straight past the Gates of Hell. I remember finding the movie very disturbing on a visual level, but with the book the images didn't bother me until the final third (Which brings up Selby's simple but powerful use of classic structure: The very first third introducing us to these interesting and oh so human characters, who we watch try to achieve something and then it's a fiery descent down the home stretch--the book seems to work it's way from the internal to the external in some odd way, so that we follow dreams until their consequences, nightmares, are screaming all around us.). And I was just amazed by Selby's voice. It's so warm, real, raw, off the cuff, confident. Here's a man who really lived, knew what he was talking about and didn't have to dress anything up to make it interesting or come across as 'authentic.' I know he worked for years finding his voice, but once he found it it really sang clear and true. Quite an achievement. As far as I can see he's in league with a handful of others--Celine, Miller, Genet, Cendrars, Bukowski, Algren, Artaud, some others I'm missing--who combined eloquence and mastery with a real from-the-gut approach. He's one of a few truly unique voices cut from his own experience rather than a reaction to the canon. I can't wait to read more.
Rated by buyers -
The definition of the word `requiem' is a musical service or hymn in honor of the dead. How fittingly that word rests with the subject matter of this novel. `Requiem for a Dream' is just that, a musical hymn in honor of those crushed and shattered dreams. When reading Selby's phenomenal (and I mean that in the most extreme sense of the word) novel about abolished hope and sheer desperation the reader is forced to face the ugly truth about our horrific society.
You ever read that novel or watch that film that just eats away at the pit of your stomach and pains you to your very core? You ever struggle to turn the page or fight to watch the screen because the onslaught of negativity is picking away at your spirit and bringing you to a dark and lonely place you never wished to visit? That is the feeling experienced when reading (or subsequently watching the Aronofsky film adaptation) this novel.
The novel opens by introducing us to four people. We have Sara, an older Jewish woman who lives for television. The opening scene depicts her son Harry, strung out as usual, stealing her television to pawn it for money in order to get his subsequent hit. Harry also has a girlfriend Marion as well as a best friend Tyrone C. Love. The three of them enjoy a nice taste of heroin every now and again and will do just about anything to get it. Sara dreams of one day being on television, and when she gets to opportunity she grabs it by the horns. She is convinced to lose enough weight to fit into her favorite blue dress, the one she wore to Harry's bar mitzvah. This leads her to diet pills which she quickly and dangerously forms an addiction to. Harry and Marion on the other hand begin to develop a plan to buy and sell heroin for a profit, that way they can one day by that little coffee shop and make a life for themselves. This little plan involves Tyrone as well, and as the dope starts pouring in, their idea of a small taste begins to grow until they can't stomach the thought of selling any of it but feel compelled to keep all of it for themselves.
The novel brilliantly portrays the mind of an addict; the `I'll never get that bad, I can stop whenever I want to' mentality that cripples the mind and fortifies the very essence of the domination of the soul. All four of these individuals are taken over and beaten down by the disease that is addiction. There is a scene where Tyrone is arrested and spends some time in the jail cell with an elderly addict, a man who is so far gone Tyrone is disgusted by him. Tyrone is determined never to be that man, never to become that dependant on the taste, but the very first thing Tyrone does when he gets out is cop him that taste. He doesn't realize that he is already there.
The novel, like I mentioned, is horribly depressing and utterly frustrating, especially as the novel comes to a close and everything begins to spiral into oblivion. As we watch Sara, Harry, Marion and Tyrone's lives completely fall apart in a gradual yet perpetual tumble towards rock bottom we are left with the bitter taste of pain and misery in the back of our throats. Experiencing Sara's mental deterioration at the hands of the pill; watching Marion degrade herself to escape the sick feeling of withdrawals; seeing Harry cast aside his own well being in order to keep that high; watching Tyrone come to realize he is no better than the men he despises; all of this eats at our very being and transports us to a place unlike any we've ever been.
Like the movie, the novel excels when focusing on the female characters. Sara and Marion are by far the most sympathetic and interesting characters in the novel; with that said they are also the most depressing and utterly devastating to read about. Their final outcome is far from pretty and makes the reader feel helpless and alone; much like these characters.
`Requiem for a Dream' is far from pretty. It is dirty, gritty and at times unbearable; but there is no denying that it is a masterpiece; literature at its finest. Hubert Selby Jr. is a deeply controlled and phenomenally capable writer who understands the appropriate darkness of his subject; an author who takes something so terrible, so bleak and painful and makes it quite frankly one of the most important novels ever penned. In my humble opinion this is the type of novel that should be mandatory reading at any substance abuse rehabilitation center. After reading this grisly novel (and of course watching the equally grisly film) I could never even stomach the idea of drug use. In a world that glamorizes any and everything harmful to the soul, `Requiem for a Dream' stands apart as a very real depiction of all you stand to lose.
Rated by buyers -
If you've seen the film, better fasten your seatbelts. Aronofsky went easy on you. I can't adequately describe what Selby achieved in this novel, or in "Last Exit to Brooklyn". He is capable of describing the most brutal things with apparent (but ONLY apparent) objectivity, but at other times he writes with astonishing delicacy. I can't even think of another writer who can do that half as well as Selby.
If you found the last 20 minutes of the film as horrifying as I did, Selby's account of the fates of Harry, Sara, Marion, and Tyrone will make you want to cry for all of them.
This is not going to be an easy read for a lot of people, but it's a masterwork.
It's just that good.
If you've read "Last Exit to Brooklyn," you'll be familiar with Selby's habit of not using quotation marks when he writes dialogue. But even if this is your very first exposure to Selby, you'll figure out who's saying what pretty quickly.
And don't skip Selby's prologue.
As an aside: ELLEN BURSTYN WAS ROBBED! (As Sara in Requiem for a Dream, she really should have gotten an Oscar. I'm just saying.)
Rated by buyers -
Hubert Selby Jr writes with in a way that is astounding. Bringing a story like this so heavily to life, to a point where it completely envelopes and engrossing you, all the while disgusting you is a great fete. I saw the movie, which is great in its own right, but not near comparison to the language of the book. Definitely recommended!
Rated by buyers -
Selby's ability to capture inner monologue is incredible. You not only empathize, but you believe with each one of the characters. You hold on to the dream and it crushes you. Should be read in highschools everywhere.
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