Rating: 
Summary: Misery Loves Company
Review: After reading fifty pages of this paranoid, schizophrenic, homophobic, pointless memoir, I understand why Dylan Raskin doesn't give interviews; or rather, I understand why no interviewer will interview him. This man has serious issues and I'd be afraid to sit down and interview him myself, or I just wouldn't waste my time.This book is sloppy and even by page 50 you won't notice a point to it. I suggest giving up after that, as I did. At least we know Mr. Raskin is keeping good company. Blabbermouth.net reported that Raskin was seen having lunch in New York with another washed-up, homophobic, schizophrenic hermit who everyone has forgotten about - Axl Rose from Guns N' Posers. I'm sure they had a nice chat about how much they hate the world. I guess misery really does love company.
Rating: 
Summary: Character Study, PLUS!
Review: Any idiot looking for jive "plot" mechanics should check out Robert Ludlum. There should be enough artificial plot contrivances there to satisfy any imbecile who needs to have his "lit" spoon fed or who needs to be led by the nose. If however you are INTELLIGENT and looking for a hilarious character study (yes, there are comparisons with THE CATCHER IN THE RYE) then look no further: you will find it here. There is character AND story, here. All original enough to satisfy even the most jaded reader. Next to THE LOSERS CLUB by Richard Perez, LITTLE NEW YORK BASTARD is the funniest, most entertaining novel I've read so far this year. Don't miss it this great reading experience!
Rating:
Summary: Character Study, PLUS!
Review: Did I read a few reviews that said this book has no plot? NO PLOT??!! Umm, let's see....22-year-old guy hates where he lives, hates his school and hates the idiots he goes to school with, so 22-year-old guy decides to pack a bag and run away with just his Honda to a different town. Perhaps I'm an Einstein genius, but by George I think I see a plot there! Don't listen to these illiterate hacks, this is easily the most entertaining book that came out in 2003. A damn good story.
Rating:
Summary: BIG NEW YORK A$$HOLE
Review: Dylan Raskin, You know what? I can't understand what the f**k all the hype is over your book. Every book store in NY has it in the front of their store like its the new "thing" book...and nothing can be further from reality because honestly your book blows donkeys. I'm ashamed of myself for having bought it and contributed to your wealth. Just some FYI Dylan Raskin, I f**kin quit after page 20 because all you do is whine, whine and more whine about every f**kin thing and you know what? No one cares! Get a damn life and learn how to spell properly and while your at it get a real job and stop vomitting in the footsteps of writers who were eons better than you ever were or will be. No wonder you run around yelling at people, you suck and you know it. Your country begs you not to publish another book.
Rating:
Summary: Very Very Satisfying
Review: I recommend this book highly. I am 42 years old and resonate with a lot of what the author has to say. The references to his hometown(Flushing/Bayside Queens)is an added bonus because I live there. MDR is wise beyond his years and his anger/distaste
for many things is refreshing and real. His mixed feelings about his overprotective/overbearing mother is also very real
and give the reader insights as to what makes him tick.
I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I do this one in years.
Rating:
Summary: If you're looking for the quintessential New York book....
Review: I took a chance on 'Little New York Bastard'. From the reviews, it's obviously a book you're either going to totally adore or a book you're going to totally hate; that quality alone sold me on it. All good literature has stalwart supporters and avid detractors. I'm an adorer, and perhaps this is because I read beyond page 30, which apparently was too much for some other readers. Where reviewers who claim this book has no plot lose their credibility is somewhere about midway through it. In reality, the story is quite rich and more layered than ninety-nine percent of the books I read.
Do not hold this book against 'The Catcher in the Rye' as a few uninformed reviewers have, because 'Little New York Bastard' is a personal memoir, whereas we all know 'The Catcher in the Rye' is a fictional novel. Certainly Neal Pollack is entitled to his opinion. And for that matter so is The New York Daily News, Seattle Weekly, MSNBC, The Village Voice, Publishers Weekly, Altar Magazine and Library Journal. But to get the most out of this book, it should be judged on its own merit. For me, this book has it all: weirdness, sadness, humor and some in-between. I'm glad I bought it and I highly recommend it, as it is truly a manic New York book told from the point of view of the quintessential manic New Yorker.
Rating:
Summary: A very different story
Review: I was told about this book by several of my co-workers; I was a little put off at first by all the comparisons to Salinger and to CATCHER but decided to purchase it anyway. I'm glad I did, and I was also pleasantly surprised to see that this book was not just another failed attempt at re-creating an American classic. LNYB stands tall on its own two legs and is an original when it comes to memoirs; I'd originally been told this book was a novel, but again was pleasantly surprised to find that it isn't, but is a true story instead. It made the story's impact on me that much harder, and made the narrator seem like your working-class everyman with a flair for storytelling. Raskin's voice is clear as a bell and has the ability to make you forget the things around you. I was very, very swayed by him. If you can get passed all the comparisons that are being made, you will discover a surprise hit.
Rating:
Summary: FINALLY
Review: I've never heard of M. Dylan Raskin before. I bought this book because I saw a review of it in a magazine and thought it sounded interesting. Well I can honestly say that it is my new favorite. I've never read anything like it before...it is weird, it is sad, it is unbelievably funny and it is so true! From the opening page the narrator had me in a trance, like I was completely engulfed in his world, and he didn't let me go until the very end. I wish I knew him personally. I feel like I do sort of know him personally after reading this. I felt like he was talking to me the whole time I was reading. Very unique experience. I will cherish this book. Ten stars.
Rating: 
Summary: There's no good reason to read this book
Review: If you want a good road story, read Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley", or London's "The Road!", or nearly any other road story for that matter. If you want an angry young man routine, just walk into the nearest mall food court. You can catch a dozen stories every bit as illiterate, uninsightful, and generic as "Little NY Bastard". Or, if you really want, you can read "Catcher in the Rye", which this book tries desperately to be. It even makes a pathetic claim on the back cover about being "the next Catcher in the Rye", but all "MDR" can really manage is the wholesale theft of Salinger's tone.
I finally dropped this book after nearly 200 pages. It wasn't absolutely horrible, but then again there was really no reason to continue reading. I had been regaled with dozens of tales of how "disgusting" and "uninspiring" everyone was to the main character. (If you disregard my advise and read the book anyway, be ready to read these two adjectives, and a few others, ad nauseum - the author's vocabulary is as limited as his literary ability.) It was a little too much to read a mediocre young writer call everyone he met "uninspiring", considering that he hadn't said anything remotely insightful (or even entertaining) in the preceeding 200 pages.
Also, this is around the point where MDR starts discussing how someone he was very close with died a long time ago. This doesn't warrant a mention in the first 180 pages so, but ever since he dropped this revelation he can't stop talking about it. Everything is suddenly analyzed in this new context. I guess this is supposed to be a breath of fresh air, since nothing worthwhile has happened all book, but it just comes off like a pretty cheap trick.
I would've given this book 1 star, but I just gave that rating to "Loser's Club", and this book wasn't THAT bad. It was just very mediocre, and doesn't really justify an expense of time or money. Again, if you want someone to tell you how cool he is, head down to the food court.
Rating:
Summary: Character Driven Hilarity
Review: If you're like me, a guy who hates crowds and obnoxious phonies, then you'll truly enjoy this hilarious, entertaining novel. Right off the bat, from page one, I felt as if I'd met a misanthropic kindred spirit. Yes, there have been comparisons to THE CATCHER IN THE RYE and all that; but LITTLE NEW YORK BASTARD: A MEMOIR stands on it's own merits. Honestly, try to check it out; with so much generic fiction out there, this tight little novel comes as a godsend. Another one-of-a-kind novel I'd like to recommend is THE LOSERS'CLUB: COMPLETE RESTORED EDITION! Currently only available on the black market.
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