Rating: 
Summary: How low can you go?
Review: I've read several books, and seen several movies regarding drug addiction. But none of them compare to "Requiem for a Dream," by far the most accurate and frightening works on the subject. Selby not only gets into the mind of Sara, Harry, Marion and Tyrone, but into the monster itself: addiction. Like a cancer, addiction eats away at ones' soul and dignity. From the beginning the characters are already in a pretty sad state - but they all have dreams. And their dreams are what keep the vicious cycle going. Sara's story made me the saddest. She's so oblivious and so lonely; it's heartbreaking to read. I found Sara's descent so frightening in that she honestly has no clue what's happening to her. Towards the end, I would cringe when a "Sara paragraph" came up as her agony became unbearable for me. Not to discount the others' plights. What made their stories disturbing to me was how they would constantly set new guidelines and restrictions just to keep their habits going. Their decline is so rapid and at times, hard to read. But then again, I was also facinated ("addicted"??) and couldn't put the book down. I saw the movie first before reading the book. That being said, the actors certainly did their homework in understanding their characters. Superb performances by all four, especially Ellen Burnstyn. Hoping Hollywood will ignore the NC-17 rating a recognize those who really deserve an Oscar nod.
Rating:
Summary: It will make your soul cry
Review: Every now and then a book will come along that will move you in ways that are indescribable, uplifting you to the zenith of joy or dropping you into the pits of emotional hell. `Requiem' takes you to hell, slowly descending the steps as you feel life and hope and love failing, falling away from you like strips of rotting flesh.
In Darren Aronofsky's forward (Director of the movie) he mentions that the hero of this story is Addiction, and the more you read, the more you grasp the truth of these words. This really isn't a story of Sara or Harry or Marion or Tyrone, but about Addiction and how it changes their lives forever, triumphing over the good that they once held in their hearts.
Sara Goldfarb, a lonely widow, receives a phone call telling her that she has one a chance to be a contestant on a television show. With television already her constant companion, Sara becomes extremely excited and vows to loose weight so that she can fit into her red dress for the show. But loneliness and diets don't work well together, so Sara goes to a doctor and gets diet pills.
Sara's son Harry is a junkie, and when he and his friend Tyrone Love come across some `dyn-o-mite' heroin, they hatch plans to score a pound of pure, dreaming that this will be their ticket to the easier life they long for. Harry's girlfriend Marion is a wanna-be artist who is waiting for life to happen to her, and she believes she has found what she had been seeking with Harry.
Their addictions grow, eating alive everything important to our four characters, their dreams, their hopes, their love, their friendships, their health, and their souls. This is the story of a savage beast running rampant through their lives, devouring humanity without regard or regret.
What really impacted me the most was the horrors Sara and Harry suffer at the hands of medical professionals, under the brutal pretexts of pride, profit, ignorance, routine, efficiency, and prejudice. The disregard for these human lives by the doctors who run the institutions and judge the behavior over the illness is gut-wrenching in its heartlessness. The inhuman cruelty of these doctorate-carrying monsters exceeds anything their own monsters created.
Selby's prose is difficult to get into at first, unique in that it is a meandering and strewn-together style not often seen or read. Everything flows together, thoughts and spoken words, with minimal punctuation and entirely without quotation marks to indicate spoken text. Stick with it, as the story begins to unfold you will find the style lending itself to the surreal and dreamlike flow of the character's lives, and as you slide into their hopes and dreams, their cravings and failures, Selby's style becomes less and less an obstruction and more of an enhancement to the nightmare he has painted so well for us.
If you liked the movie, you will like the book, and if you like the book you will like the movie. Also of note is the stupendously dark score to the movie by The Kronos Quartet, bring audio impact to the downward spiral so artistically illustrated in `Requiem For A Dream'. Great forwards by Selby, Richard Price, and Darren Aronofsky. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Wish I would have read this book first
Review: I just finish reading this masterpiece and the entire time I was reading it I kept thinking, "I wish I would have read this before seeing the movie." I saw the movie when it first came out about 3 years ago and it left a great impression on me. When I found a copy of the book in my father's library I felt I needed to read it. Hubert Selby Jr.'s writing style captures the feeling of being in an altered state...no indication of who is talking or who they are talking to...none of the usual punctuation found to indicate conversation. very interesting, very profound, and extremely depressing. read this book before you see the movie (which is also great...but not nearly as amazing).
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: 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.
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