Hubert, Jr. Selby Books

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 next 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 red 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 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.

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 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.)

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!

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.

You need to be ready before you read this book. Upon finishing this little dandy I was physically shaking. I can't think of any other book that has made of shake. The manic style and never ending punch in the face flow of this Hubert Selby Jr. masterpiece will stay with you for the rest of your life. If you saw the movie and so decided to not read the book, you are making a mistake. The book is a totally different experience then the movie. Each is a masterpiece in a completely unique way. It's amazing how real this book is. You will feel insane compassion for the lowest of individuals. You will want to reach out to these amazing characters. I don't know how Hubert Selby Jr. does it. His mind must have been a dark but beautiful and loving realm. If you want to be a book this one will make you its own. Read it.

Conversations with the Capeman is an absolutely stunning, beautifully written book about the life of convicted murderer Salvador Agron. Richard Jacoby weaves a brilliant and sensitive memoir of his real-life interviews and relationship with Agron. Jacoby paints a compelling, unbiased portrait of a tragic life; from Agron's youth as a member of a violent New York street gang to his conviction for a murder that he may not have committed, to life beyond prison. This impossible to put down book reads as if one is watching a motion picture. It involves all the elements of a modern-day epic; heartbreak, mystery, deception, love, friendship, redemption, and ultimate tragedy. This novel, of all the books I have read, has had the biggest impact on me...Simply amazing.

Each page of this beautifully written book brings raw emotion to the surface. Richard Jacoby paints a vivid picture of the poverty stricken, abusive childhood that surer than any court sentenced Salvador Agron to a life of alienation and despair. Yet despite being the youngest person ever sent to New York State's electric chair, Agron possessed a spark of human spirit that would not die. It is Jacoby's great accomplishment that he lets Agron's story speak for itself as he takes us through the dark alleys of Puerto Rico, the doo-wop drenched streets of New York and the cold corridors of state prisons where despair is plentiful, yet hope lives. If you want to know why we should treat our kids better and why giving people in trouble a second chance is NOT some mushy-headed idea, read this extremely engaging book.

This insightful, sensitively written book which brings to light Salvador Agron's life that was imprinted by race, sexual abuse and the condemnation of society gave me not only a new awareness of the criminal justice system, but of human redemption as well. Reading Conversations with the Capeman was a powerful eye-opening experience.

Conversations with the Capeman, the story on which the musical Westside Story is loosely based, blew me away. I literally read this 500+ page book in two days. I almost could not sleep for want of finishing it on the first day.

The life of Salvador Agron provides a window into humanity that society tends to overlook when confronted with a crime in light of the death penalty. Mr. Agron's life can be viewed as social commentary that makes this a very important look at our penal system but more importantly it renders him human.....not an evil animal. The loyalty that Salvador garnered from people he didn't even know was overwelming. This is the first book that ever brought me to tears to the point that I could barely see the words on the page while reading the last two chapters.

I subsequently bought Paul Simon's Songs from the Capeman and was pretty impressed by the way that he captures Salvadors life in music.

In Conversations with the Capeman, Richard Jacoby brings to light with concise objectivity, and yet a fierce sense of empathetic compassion for his fellowman, the bizarre and wretched existence of Salvador Agron. Jacoby, through both letters and a personal observation of Agron during their twenty year relationship...takes his readers on a horrifying journey with the capeman. From the mean streets of New York's Spanish Harlem where he roamed 'till the age of sixteen as a mindless, illiterate young predator...throughout his twenty odd years where he experienced the entire cycle of hell in New York's prison system. From the initial empty minded rebel, to the well read psuedo-revolutionary, tutored by elders in Marx..Lenin..Mao..Franz Fanon, etc. ... to Jesus Christ for some sense of redemption, to homosexuality to fill the emptiness in a soul where nobody had ever truly lived. And finally, culminating in death shortly after his release from prison. Salvador Agron was never to know a serene existence. But as small miracles would have it, the dehumanization process was over, and somehow, I couldn't help but lay this book down with the feeling that the "Capemans" ultimate victim was, Salvador Agron.

Always difficult to pick up anything else after reading Selby. These shorts aren't quite as disturbing as LETB or The Demon, but they're still enough to put the thousand-yard stare on my face. Especially enjoyed "Puberty" and "Penny for Your Thoughts".

This is the first book of Hubert Selby Jr.'s that I have read and I must say, it definately will not be the last. Stories like "Of Whales and Dreams" are beyond captivating--riddled with intricate details and powerful messages. Put quite simply, this book is a must read for anyone who finds value in innovative and experimental forms of writing.

This is the first book of Hubert Selby Jr.'s that I have read and I must say, it definately will not be the last. Stories like "Of Whales and Dreams" are beyond captivating--riddled with intricate details and powerful messages. Put quite simply, this book is a must read for anyone who finds value in innovative and experimental forms of writing.

Some of the stories will make you laugh, some will make you want to cry. All main characters are called Harry. All have different lives, different stories, but something underneath is the same. What is the common thread of the different Harrys? Read the book.
This is 13 short stories as aposed to his other novels, granted,but is also the easiest book of Selby jr to read. A great place to start with this wonderful and truely original American author.

I've read a couple of Selby's full length novels, and his writing always leaves me heavily affected for days afterward(for better or worse). This book, a collection of short stories, was at times funny and sad, bitter and naive, and essentially is a portrayal of the most mundane and ordinary things imaginable in an extremely beautiful and grandiose way. If I didn't know better(and I guess I don't, I'd swear Selby was a psychic, the way he knows people's minds' inner workings so well). The story 'Of Whales and Dreams' tore my heart out. Amazing. Selby will burn you alive with your own emotions.

James R. Giles' critical essays on Hubert Selby, Jr.'s work are a most excellent guide for interested students. Upon reading Selby's novel Reqiuem for a Dream, I was fascinated with his style and content. I proceeded to read Last Exit to Brooklyn and Song of the Silent Snow. After finishing these novels, I decided it was time to research Selby in order to compile a research paper for an English class. My passion for Selby's intense and tragic literature led me to Giles' Understanding Hubert Selby Jr. Giles' criticism was the most complete and accurate analysis of Selby's work that I could find. The edition covered all of Selby's novels with a clear, crisp, and concise diction. Giles' insight into Selby's tempestuous mind supplied the chief source and companion to my own essay on Selby. I recommend Giles' most tremendous essays to any student who loves Hubert Selby's dark and antiheroic works. I have yet to find a better analysis of Selby's novels. Every dedicated English student should explore the wastelands of Selby's imaginations, and Giles' criticism is the most capable and reliable guide.

I can only imagine how shocking this book looked when it was first written. It still appears to be shocking to me now, 50-some years after its creation. Yet, when you take away all the filth, gang rapes and knife fights descriptions, there's little left. That's not to say that there's no talent on display here, its just that its buried under descriptions of filth and degradation. While its not a complete throwaway/garbage, its not a claimed masterpiece either, at least in my opinion.
Still, a lot can forgiven when you know that this was his debut novel. One can only hope that his subsequent works were more focused than "Last Exit".

I had always heard people speak of Selby's, "Last Exit to Brooklyn", yet it was not until recently that I picked it up. This novel takes you to another time, although not another world. The places Selby speaks of are real and the people could be the guy next to you on the subway. Perhaps it is the language used that makes this novel have the ability to transform the world around you. You are taken into the everyday lives of working-class individuals, and are shown a side of people that most of us will never see. A side that people like to keep hidden to themselves, for if anyone knew what they were really like, the consequences could be fatal. It makes you wonder what you do alone, that would scare others. What you hide as a human being, from all the rest of us...

When the book first came out, it was a new dawn for literature, a new dawn for writing in general, and it's a sad time today to know that no one is releasing novels like this before. I don't think this is the greatest book in America, nor is it even the greatest book the Hubert Selby Jr. would go on to write. That would be Requiem For A Dream. I'm saying that this novel was taboo, Transgressional fiction, brilliantly portraying the weirdness, the violence, the sickness that always plagued society. It's not exactly timeless, but it does have it's moments.

Selby is a talented fiction writer. Even in the lackluster stuff, that talent shines through. Unfortunately, the lackluster stuff is the majority of the book, viz., "The Strike", "The Queen is Dead", "Another Day, Another Dollar", and "And Baby Makes Three." There is one good story--actually a series of interweaving character vignettes--called "Landsend", and one story that I'll probably never forget: "Tralala." The latter is remarkable: Selby creates a completely unsympathetic character, who suffers the apotheosis of human degradation...and becomes sympathetic in a transcendent way. There is no volte-face, there is no redemption, but there is the underlying humanity--good, bad, evil, whatever--that is undeserving of such a fate.

I recommend the book on the basis of this one story--only about twenty pages. Skip the rest and you won't be missing much--a lot of faggotry and proletarian filler.

Hubert Selby wrote what many readers consider to
be some of the most lyrical prose in twentieth
century America. More coherent than Burroughs,
he sweeps the reader along in a stream of the
urban colloquial language of the 1950's.
He is also a far more pessimistic writer than
Burroughs. His characters spin in a tight downward
spiral to their own destruction. Considerations
of empathy with the characters are beside the
point-the relentless urge to self-destruction
is the center of all these stories.

This combination of a single theme and beautiful
writing could make for a book that's hard to
put down. In fact, the effect is often the opposite.
The constant ugliness makes it hard for a reader
to see a bit of herself in these characters and
in spite of the beauty, the ultimate feeling is
one of repulsion.

It's easy to see why this book attracted so much
attention when first published and it's worth readng
today as a milestone. But to get a better sense of
Selby's power, Requiem for a Dream is the book to read.


--Lynn Hoffman, author of THE NEW SHORT COURSE IN WINE and
the forthcoming novel bang BANG from Kunati Books.ISBN
9781601640005

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.

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!!

This book held my interest fairly well but the ending was cheap and dissapointing. It's prose is now dated and does not hold up to other authors writing in this similar vein.

Here's a book about a man who has everything - wealth, good family, but he wants more. The main character has sinful urges that he tries to fight off unsuccessfuly. Sound familiar? Well, this was written before American Psycho, but this book takes forever to get into the good evil stuff and is a lot less descriptive. It is drawn out, but Selby does a good job of painting a picture of this man's mind and making you want to see what this is capable of. But it comes so late in the book and by then you are like, yeah so? Eh, decent read for fans of Ellis masterpiece.

Unlike Last Exit to Brooklyn which is in your face and pounding your gut with every page, this book sneaks up on you. At first you think that someone goofed with the title, since it's just about a man who can go to any club, any dance hall and pick up a chick. For the first third of the book you think that it's just about a lady's man and a jerk.

But at a certain point it shifts, and the title becomes very appropriate as the protagonist suddenly stops channeling his energy into scoring. Since he's no longer engaging in societally normative conquests, you start to slowly understand what you've known all along, ie. that this is a book about a man without a conscience looking for the next big thrill.

After reading this book, you'll understand why people ignore the warning signs for serial killers and child molestors and swear that "he seemed like such a normal man" since really, sociopaths don't always act out and the few times they do, it's always easy to explain away their actions.

I have read all of Selby's books, save for "Requiem for a Dream" (though I have seen Aronofsky's superb cinema treatment of it).

All of Selby's works, up until this one, contain a savagery and hatred for the injustice and pain of this world. This world view , I think was most likely brought on by the events of his own life experiences (surgeries, amputations etc).

Selby's books are some of the most visceral, terrifying, disturbing and truthful that I have ever been fortunate to come across. Though his uncompromising lyrical savegery can sometimes be hard to take.

The fable of "The Willow Tree" is in my opinion, his best book. All of his others are black places of hopelessness, dark clammy holes with no light at all, nothing but the whispering maw of destruction and despair.

The Willow Tree brings us awareness, for the first time ever in Selby's books, of the existence of hope and forgiveness, which can be used as weapons to heal the great hurts that the world can sometimes heap upon us.

This is the book I feel truly represents the most important turning point in Selby's personal journey.

Be submerged in darkness, and through your own valor and humanity emerge cleansed.

A masterwork.

FatherCrow

Once again, after reading "Last Exit" and "Room," I expected great things from Selby, but "Willow Tree" is not on par with the others. It has a solid storyline filled with terrible events and tragedy portrayed skillfuly, but after Maria's terrible death, the book seems to drag on about irrelevant things. If you can handle the monotony, than go ahead and give "Willow Tree" a try.

The plot of this book is awesome. I love the understanding and compassion of the main characters. Some of the story is a little overly dramatic and hard to swallow, but all in all this is an enjoyable read.

hubert selby jnr. is far, far from a one book author, as the room, requiem for a dream and this prove. this is a deeply emotional story of a black boy severely beaten by a group of hispanics and his girlfriend left scarred when they throw lye in her face. the boy finds himself in the care of an elderly german who tends to his wounds and tries to comfort him in his grief when the boy discovers that his girlfriend has been driven to suicide because of the attack. the boy then seeks revenge on the gang, taking it in turns to track them down. the elderly german, realising that the boy is being consumed by hate tries to make him realise that love is more important by showing him the good things in life. the one downfall in this story is the repetetive use of the words crying and laughing to describe the boys relationship with the old man but as with all hubert's work, this stays with you long after you have read it and plays on your mind a lot.

Selby's first proper novel was Last Exit to Brooklyn, a searing bludgeon of a book that showed that Naturalism was alive and well, and ornerier than ever. It became celebrated in certain circles, incited several obscenity trials, was banned in many places, and generally fought the good fight. His last proper novel was Requiem for a Dream, a lacerating, anguished masterpiece that is liable to haunt one long after one reads it. That was in 1978. A collection of stories entitled Song of the Silent Snow followed; then all was still. Suddenly, twenty years later, Selby reappeared - it turns out that he had been writing The Willow Tree for all that time, and finished it only around 1998. What can a reader expect from this man after twenty years of nothing? A stunning comeback? A return to realistic form? A complete flop? Last Exit to Brooklyn redux, or something new and unprecedented? The result is, actually, a bit of all of those.

Confusion abounds, and what this book actually meant to do is not entirely clear. The Kirkus reviewer's supercilious attitude is uncalled for (one great book is more than you'll ever write, dude), but I can understand his frustration. This is the story of a thirteen-year-old black kid from the ghetto, whose girlfriend is killed by a bunch of Hispanic thugs, and who swears undying revenge. He is then found by a little old man who lives underground in a luxurious apartment, and very slowly cured of his hatred. That sounds like a sentimental fantasy, and it is one, but only to a degree. It's actually quite difficult to apply A Christmas Carol analogies, as the Kirkus reviewer does, to a book that features about ten profanities per page. In fact, Selby never altogether forsakes his ultra-realism - the scenes of poverty and desperation are evoked as powerfully as ever, the scenes where Bobby sneaks about the streets are rivetingly suspenseful, and Moishe's recollection of concentration camps is genuinely frightening. Bobby's mother only appears in a few scenes, but her all-pervasive despair is chillingly real, and the bit where Bobby sends her a letter at Moishe's behest is not only the most effective scene in the book, but one of Selby's most effective scenes ever.

But on the other hand, this is certainly no exercise in realism. Consider Moishe's luxurious apartment, which contains a workshop, an exercise room, a Jacuzzi, several fine beds, a refrigerator with a seemingly endless supply of ice cream (with chocolate sauce - Selby is determined that you clearly understand that THERE IS CHOCOLATE SAUCE in this refrigerator, and to that end repeats this fact about a thousand times), and so on. But that, actually, is not as hard to accept as the fact that Moishe apparently can produce all of this out of thin air. The book doesn't show that he has a job, or that he ever had one, and it's never explained whence he procures all the money that he doubtless spends. In addition to this, Moishe's method of raising Bobby seems to be to pamper him in luxury and ask nothing of him; the contrast between this and Bobby's old life is appropriately striking, but only until the reader starts to ask questions about what happens later. Does Moishe send Bobby to school? Does he teach him a trade? Does he even ask him to do anything? No, nowhere in the book.

And what of Bobby's revenge itself? Yes, it's for the sake of contrast that Selby had Bobby sneak out under cover of night to pursue his enemies right after the most peaceful scenes with Moishe, but this contrast is so severe as to be unconvincing. Could the thirteen-year-old kid that stared slackjawed at Moishe's tales of wartime terror, genuinely affected by them, then go out to corner some fool and proceed to cut off his ear, then return in his new clothes underground and brag about his "righteous" victory to the old man? Given all the problems with the premise that I already mentioned, it only seems completely bizarre, and not in the way it was intended to.

I suspect that Selby, after writing so many books filled with sheer hopelessness, decided to write one where the underdog finally wins one for a change. No wonder it took him so long - he clearly was unused to such a strange notion. The sick despair that filled Requiem for a Dream has been blunted to a sort of quiet sadness now, and it's actually somewhat moving to see the compassion that Selby always had for people in full light. But it's undeniable that The Willow Tree is not on the level of some of its predecessors - twenty years' gestation time notwithstanding, the book still seems muddled and unrealized. I'd welcome a kinder and gentler Selby, in theory, hoping that he'd straighten things out to himself by his next book, but from what I've read about Waiting Period, I fear that he might be losing it completely. Read The Willow Tree if you like being confused.

After reading about this book, I decided to pick it up. I was a little wary, as most of the reviews on amazon were from people who sounded like they got off on violence for the sake of violence. Way too many "oh man, this is so sick and twisted! People with weak stomachs should stay away! People who like to be disturbed will love this!" for my taste.

However, I had two reasons for taking a chance with this book:

1.) Hubert Selby is a pretty decent author. The work may not be as relevant or ground-breaking as he was when he was originally writing, but I'd enjoyed "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Requiem for a Dream."

2.) Brutal violence, when used well, can play an important and direct role in a powerful book. For example, Cormac McCarthy, Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, James Ellroy and some of Selby's other works.

Unfortunately, it serves no such purpose here. I knew exactly what this book was going to be about and what was trying to be said after reading for about 20 minutes. I kept hoping something would be presented in the rest of the book that was not presented in the beginning. Instead, I read pointless fantasy after pointless fantasy. If you want to save yourself the trouble of buying and reading this book, just read the other reviews. The message is not deep, new, or even that interesting. (Short version: A guy's in prison. He thinks he's being screwed over. He really doesn't like the police who arrested him. He has "shocking" fantasies about proving everyone wrong and taking violent revenge on those he perceives as wronging him. zzzzzzzzzzz)

That's it. Unless you are like some of the other reviewers and just want to read "sick and twisted" stuff, save your time and money. And even if you are, I would guess that you could find free violence fantasies on the internet.

I didn't want to inflict it upon anyone else by selling it to a used book store.

The book definitely got it's point across, although several points in the middle seemed to be ridiculously drawn out for no apparent reason other than to serve as filler.

and when I read the reviewers below proudly saying nonsense like

"this is selby's worst book - True"

it cracks me up. This is probably his most difficult book , because there is only one character and it all takes place in his prison cell and his mind (the 'other' cell in the book) but honestly, this book is probably one of the most important works by an American writer, one of the only ones to touch the brilliance of post-war European literature. It is funny, brutal and a work which will haunt you for a long time. no Im not a kid, by the way, but amazon changed their rules and it's too much of a pain to sign in under the new system.

But I had to write this after reading a stream of negative reviews for this book, written by people who honestly dont seem to know what they are talking about. Literature is not meant to be safe or easy. Go buy a copy of VC Andrews if that's what youre looking for.

As an author of sick & disturbing fiction myself ((see: *Hardcore Romeo*)), I am always on the look-out for work that can still upset me. Such novels are few and far between...but 'The Room' is one of them. Selby has, indeed, painted a gruesome portrait of a mind that has become its own hell. You'll find some of the most disturbing acts of sadistic violence this side of Sade himself among the episodes imagined by the imprisoned narrator, including a rape scene that goes on for pages and with such realism its truly painful to read. Other acts--even more unspeakable--have the power to make even the most seasoned reader of violent fiction wince.

One might wonder, 'What was Selby's point here?' One might be tempted to answer that he was simply trying to gross the reader out. Or even simply to write out the worst imaginable crimes.

But I think his motivation was far more disturbing than that.

For every fantasy of inhuman depravity in this novel, there is an equally (unrealistic) fantasy of idealistic humanitarianism. From the grandiose to the bestial...the truly 'scary' thing about this narrator, this book, what Selby is telling us is that BOTH lines of fantasy are coming from the same mind. And that trapped mind is not too different, really, from our own, if we follow our alternating drives for revenge and forgivness, love and hate, etc to their logical extremity.

The narrator in 'The Room' isnt a monster. And that is what is most terrifying of all.

I would suggest you read about every other Selby book before you choose this one, but on it's own, it's still decent. It reminded me of George Carlin in one of his nihilistic rants. Sure it rambles like hell, but if you skip a little here and there, it's pretty entertaining and funny.

It's not a good book- although at times there is a nice build up of tension and suspense.... But the thing that really annoyed me was why does Selby persist in not using punctuation, why is the second voice is so benign and forgiving and why is the man, our hero, so cowardly and weasely.
The thing that really took me to task is that the "hero" is a Vietnam veteran- or so I assume, the first victim being a VA administrator who hasn't given our boy his dues. All the other reviewers seem to have this impression also.

So why, when our boy goes to the gun store does he not know about a safety catch,

It doesn't work, I can't pull it back.
You got the safety on.
Safety?
Yeah. Haha, you really are a novice.

And-

Oh it's heavy. I had no idea handguns were so heavy.

And then later we have some internal dialogue from our main man-

But first Ive got to do what that guy said and go to a range and get familiar with it. Learn to shoot it and take it apart and clean it and all that. In the army those guys learn how to take their weapons apart blindfolded...

Those guys? I thought he was a veteran. The reason why this point irks me so, is that I thought it was the clue to the man having a schizophrenic state of mind and that that the VA administrator was innocent and that he was the guilty party, he merely imagining that he was a veteran. This would have been a twist to the plot it would have been something to tax the mind and make us think about our self perceptions and values. Instead we got a simple dull path of selfish actions, that our boy's machismo justifies, only brightened by my waiting for the explanation for his confused thinking... which never came.

In fact the more that I think about this- the worse it gets. Can you imagine spending years between books and making such a mistake.
An awful, self pitying, self righteous book, that is poorly written.

I discovered this book after learning that Herbert Selby jnr. the author of this was the same mind behind the script for Requiem for a Dream, a recent film about drug addiction.

I hadn't seen Requiem at the time, but from what I had saw and heard of it I was quite intrigued to know more about the mind behind it. This was what brought me to The Waiting Period, probably Selby's latest.

The opening line reads from the mind of our main character Horatio saying; "but I suppose it could best be done with a pack of sleeping pills." Or something. And by "done" he meant death. To kill himself I gather. Other thoughts are like; "what if when I slash one wrist, and I am only half conscious enough not to be able to cut the other properly?" Or "what if the razor slips and I half to find it?" This kind of thing. I at first thought it easy to label this book a typical American expose on the nothingness of life, but I think this book asked me for more.
I don't believe that the author wanted the main character in this book; name, sex or job to be that important to us, but what he is looking for which we all do and that is a purpose to live. He is waiting so to speak on this purpose. This purpose to live. Which echoes what Sara G, a character in Requiem said when she told her son Harry that she needed "a reason to wash the dishes everyday." This is what he is waiting for "a reason," when he buys the gun and this is what he is against when he starts to question everything from why to get up in the morning to what should he do next. Maybe a shower? Fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it he finally decides that there are people out there who deserve to die and not himself. Sparing whom he sees as innocents at the same time respecting equal rights of women to bear the same consequences that men do he sets on this mission to sting the targets he has made, people who live off others misery. This becomes more than a reason but a fixation.

And with this the book runs, and runs and runs. Spoken mainly from inside the mind of the main character this book reads with no chapters and barely any characters to explore.
Maybe there is something about the author's reputation which let his publishers give us this book with no chapter reference point or exact grammatical punctuation.

I found myself waiting for justice to be served that perhaps things will catch up with our main character but readers will find that they may have to wait... and wait and wait....

No, it's not Selby's best book--I doubt that he intended it as his masterpiece. It's also true that the style has changed little since *Last Exit to Brooklyn*, with its stylized paragraph indentations, idiosyncratic punctuation, and phonetic spellings, and I agree that such conventions seem to work best in the world of *Last Exit*.

Perhaps if it had been longer, it would have been a bit much, but I considered it a fun read. This short novel functions well as a portrait of an angry old man, crushed by bureaucracy, in a world whose very bureaucracy serves to impose the "waiting period" during which he "realizes" the "meaning" of his life--to kill the fat-cats whom he perceives are holding him down. I though it was, at the very least, Selby's funniest book (albeit in a twisted way) and definitely worth the time spent to read it.

Being an admirer of Selby's i was dissapointed with this book. It wouldnt be unfair to say that the "Waiting Period" is probably best meant for Selby's more dedicated fans.

It's an excellent idea that this novel is based on, one that should have served for a terrific platform for Selby to unleash his relentless narrative style as well as his unique mind but this simply fails to be the case.

As Selby lets us live into the mind of a veteran soldier turned killer and allows us to be privy to all his sinister thoughts and evil plotting as he plans and schemes about his victims it seems initially that this will be an immensely gripping book.

And it is for a while too.

But because this is basically a silent monologue it doesnt keep you hostage for too long. The story becomes too mono-dimensional and as the variables do not change and no other characters are introduced except for the killer himself it starts loosening its grip until you're 3/4s into the book and you're basically forcing yourself to read on.

That's still remarkable in itself because i dont see how any other author could keep you reading for as far as that with an idea as underdeveloped as that. But that's Selby and his way of laying out a bizzare and abysmally dark narrative in every book he's brought forth. This narrative of his is the only thing memorable here though.

If you are not familar with this outstanding author start with his classic "Last exit to Brooklyn". If you do i can easily see how you might be tempted to read "Waiting Period".
It still holds together enough for a good dark novel. But without the fanship factor it loses much of its appeal.