Requiem for a Dream

Rating:
Summary: One of A kind Experience
Review: I made the crucial mistake of watching the movie before reading the book. While the movie was a masterpiece in itself, I would have to say that the book intruiged me much more from the start of the first page. While Selby's writing is extremely unorthodox, I find that his words are an addiction that is second to none. From the beginning of this novel I was immediately subjected to the life of a drug dealer. The fast money, the gorgeous girlfriend, and the best friend that will always be there through good and bad. While you are able to notice that Harry's mother is a bit strange, it does not bother you until you are farther along in the novel. In the beginning, heroin was merely a recreation for a couple of young adults. Sleep all day, make love to your girlfriend, drop a few dexies and off you go to another night of work hopped up on speed. None of this seems bad, until the weeks begin to wear on. Sara (Harry 's mom) is invited to be a contestant on a TV show. She has found a new reason to live, and decides to go on a diet to shed a couple of punds to fit into her red dress that made her look stunning. Within a week Sara is off the diet, and on amphetamines. A few more weeks go by and you are able to feel her racing heart, her grinding teeth. Its pains you just to read it. All the while Harry, Marion, and Ty are running out of smack. While this had been their recreation in the beginning, it was now becoming a need, an utterly unattainable thirst that they are unable to quench. They turn to scrounging, finding that they will do anything to be comfortably numb. Friendships seem to be broken, love seems to be lost. Junk was the only thought one one's mind. Hubert Selby's rendition of addiction is by far the most gut wrenching thing that I have ever experienced, even if it was just words on pulverized wood. In my mind, this should be in every high schoolers locker in 11th grade. Yes, it will warp their minds, and yes, it will indeed be an experience one will never forget. I thank you Hubert Selby for making this wonderful novel feel so real, and touch so close to home.

Rating:
Summary: A harrowing classic
Review: This book is one of the few truly depressing reads I've experienced. It manages to be truly unsentimental and raw, showing the dehumanizing effect that drugs have had on these people's lives, and quite effectively gets Selby's theme across: life should be about giving, not getting.
Though I was blown away when I first saw the movie, and it is excellent, I must recommend reading the book before viewing that version. The tweaks on film were not many in number, but they effected the overall impact. Though it was an "indie" movie, there were a couple of "hollywood" plot touches towards the end that I will not discuss for fear of being a "spoiler."
Many here have remarked about the unconventional writing style. I didn't find it to be very bothersome... the story is so engrossing that I hardly noticed after the first two pages, and it was effective. I could not imagine this book having the same impact if it had been written in "normal" paragraphs with proper punctuation and all the usual trimmings.
The feeling that the reader gets as he's wrapped up in the dreams of these characters and then watches as the world slowly, inevitably crashes down around the oblivious group is indescribably horrifying, and perhaps even life-changing. That makes it a must-read, at least to me.

Rating:
Summary: Incredible Read!!
Review: This is simply an incredible read that you will not be able to put down. If you do drugs this book will make you question your drug use.

Rating:
Summary: After seeing the movie and the reviews i sadly bought it
Review: I try to always finish books that i start which is a brutal task in the case of this book. the movie was great because the director has a good eye for candy.

I'm almost thinking it would have been the acclaimed movie it was even if it were about an inner city boy trying to make it in a private school because he's good at writing (he even uses paragraphs because being easy to read is art too!), great at basketball and aided by sean connery.

If you want a good heroin book try out trainspotting. if you want to be in as much agony as the people you saw in the movie try this book out. This book is why i usually shy away from books that have been made into good movies because this one just isn't as much fun to read as it was to watch.

Rating:
Summary: The American Dream
Review: Hubert Selby Jr. does not write in a conventional style. His writing is intense, fierce, and uncompromising. Requiem For a Dream is a book that starts out sad and gets worse. There is an unexplainable feeling of terror and heartache that permeates every action taken by the characters as they spiral continuously downward.
True, it is the story of heroin addicts, trying their hardest to fool themselves into thinking that they aren't addicted, that they can make it big and live the easy life. But the book works in other ways. It is designed to make us examine our own lives and the smaller things we are addicted to. Food, dreams, and other intangibles that destroy us if we let them take over our lives instead of actually living.
This book is a terrifying call to "seize the day". In the greatest sense, it is a beautiful novel that will not just touch you, but shake you and rattle you and teach you more than you were prepared to learn.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fantastic
Review: I read this book because I have friends who are obsessed with the movie (I have yet to see it) and I tend to like stories about addicted heroin users (Junky by Burroughs, Smack by Burgess, Last Bongo Sunset by Plako).

I read this book in two days and couldn't put it down for the life of me. The characters are extremely captivating and watching their spiraling descent into addiction is so well scripted it made me wonder if Selby doesn't have an addiction or two in his closet.

The book is written in a stream of consciousness fashion and the different characters have distinctive voices which was a little difficult to read at first but ten pages in I had found a newest addiction.

This is the first book I have read by Selby but I'm lookng forward to reading more. I would also recommend Melvin Burgess's Smack which has a similiar story if you read and enjoy Requiem for a Dream.

Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: this book is one of the best books i've ever read. Its haunting story of the terrors drug addicts face is unbelievable to say the least. You fall in love with Harry and feel his pain. Selby is a genious in my opinion, and though all his books are incredible, this one is one of the best. It will without a doubt make you think and realize how hard the world can be. READ THIS BOOK! it is undoubtedly worth the money. you'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: Read this. Now.
Review: Without getting into a plot summary or too much analysis and criticism... my message is basically this. You should read this book. Yes, you. Go now.

I saw the movie, absolutely loved it, and went out and bought the book. I must admit that seeing the film helped, as the book sometimes gets confusing with Selby's unique style. Aronofsky's cinematography is incredible, and he did a great job with the film... I suggest seeing it.

Back to the novel. Oh, right... it's amazing. Chances are good that you will break down in tears by the end of the story. Sara, Harry, Marion, and Tyrone become so familiar, they are unforgettable. I don't know what else I could even say to describe this novel- it's that good. Go read it, you'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: Intense and Heartrending
Review: Hubert Selby's 1978 novel "Requiem for a Dream" must certainly rank as one of the most effective depictions of addiction ever written. A critically acclaimed film of the same name, released in 2000 and directed by Darren Aronofsky, has brought more attention to the novel. Although I have yet to see the film, I decided to read the book before watching the movie because I wanted to know what dark visions await me when I finally slide that DVD into the player. If the story is any indication, the film promises a devastating experience. This is not a sunshine and smiles book. It is an unflinching look at addiction and its consequences.

There are four central characters in "Requiem for a Dream." There is Sara Goldfarb, a lonely widow who spends her days watching television, eating chocolate covered cherries, and pining for her late husband Seymour. Harry Goldfarb, Sara's black sheep of a son, is another main character. Harry's circle of acquaintances includes his girlfriend Marion, an intelligent, attractive young girl with a talent for painting but paralyzed with defeatist and self-loathing feelings. Harry's best friend is Tyrone C. Love, a young black man who grew up poor in Harlem but would like to escape from the harsh realities of the street. While minor characters come and go during the course of the story, Selby focuses on these four in an attempt to show the trajectory of doom associated with addiction.

Things do not seem to go very wrong throughout the first part of the book. It is summer in New York City and time for fun and sun. Harry, Tyrone, and Marion spend their time partying with their friends, listening to music, and enjoying each other's company. Sara watches her television shows and eats her candy in blissful peace, only occasionally worrying about what her son Harry is up to. Even better news lands in the laps of our four characters in short order. Sara receives a phone call from a company that finds contestants for game shows, promising her that all she need do is fill out a questionnaire and she will have the chance to appear on television. Sara is of course elated, and decides that if she really has a shot at winning some dough she should probably go on a diet and lose a few pounds in order to look her best. Meanwhile, Tyrone and Harry implement serious plans to obtain a pound of pure heroin so they can get rich and retire from street life. After putting in a grinding week working, the two earn enough money to purchase some drugs and begin dealing to people they know on the street. As the money flies in, Marion and Harry start making plans to someday open their own little business. Even though the three are users and breaking the law by dealing drugs, the future seems bright.

Then winter arrives. Things start to fall apart for Sara, Harry, Marion, and Tyrone. For Sara, an attempt at a diet found in a book does not have the expected payoff. At the recommendation of a neighbor, she goes to a local doctor who prescribes diet pills. Sara's cheery demeanor gradually erodes under the duress of non-reply from the game show company and the slavery of the pills. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone are no better off. Their heroin supply dries up, reducing the trio to scrounging for drugs just as their compulsion grows worse. The deterioration of the four protagonists quickly escalates into a bleak and depressing free fall of pain and degradation.

All four individuals suffer untold horrors by the end of the book, but I think the most pathetic account concerns Sara. Here is a lady who seems harmless, who only wants the best for her son and tries to get through lonely days laced with the pain of losing her husband. She fervently believes she will get on television if she can only muster enough self-control to quit overeating. Her naiveté about the dangers of diet pills leads to disaster merely because she has no conception that there are doctors who are quacks. Sara's innocence makes for a truly poignant story. I had less sympathy for the other three characters. Since none of them are idiots by any means, they knew the dangers of drugs but fell into the old trap of "that can't happen to me." That does not lessen the message of the book, but it does make Sara stand apart.

The writing style of the author is quite unorthodox. There are no chapters, no quotation marks, and sentences that run on for miles. This does make it difficult at first to discern who is talking and to whom, but by the time a few dozen pages pass by it makes little difference in the flow of the story. Selby instills Tyrone with a noticeable street accent, and Sara is often alone when we see the sections dealing with her, so do not worry about the format of the novel.

You cannot escape the theme of addictions in this tale. But what is interesting about it is that Selby equates all excessive compulsions. Heroin usage is as damaging to the soul as is obsessive television viewing or overeating. All have the potential to lead to utter destruction whether you are a young kid roaming the streets or a middle-aged widow who rarely leaves the apartment.

In an introduction to this edition of the book, Selby writes a powerful statement about his tale. He says that "Requiem for a Dream" is about what happens when we concern ourselves more with getting than giving in life, and that the book is an examination of what happens when people chase the illusions of the dream of consumerism and materialism instead of following the truth in their hearts. For a powerful story, look no further than this tale.

Rating:
Summary: Chilling
Review: This is my first Selby read, but it won't be my last. Harry, Tyrone, Marion and Sara have been burned into my memory for years to come. The author's excellent characterization, as well as his nonconventional grammar techniquies, make this well worth reading. It must be noted, though, that the writing style may be difficult to get used to at first, due to the long, blocky paragraphs and absence of punctuation. Still, like reading Shakespeare, you get used to it and the reading becomes like seeing the events unfold before your eyes.

By the way- I never saw the movie, and I have no intention to. Once you read the book, you realize you have no need to see on film the images that are already there in your mind.