Last Exit to Brooklyn: Amazon.co.uk: Hubert Selby Jr.: Books

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Review

'Selby's place is in the front rank of American novelists To understand his work is to understand the anguish of America' New York Times

Al Alvarez

'A masterpiece'

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23 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
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4.0 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A compelling yet uneasy read, 29 Mar 2005

By	B. Remy "bezerina" (Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Last Exit to Brooklyn (Bloomsbury Classic Reads) (Paperback)

I am very glad that I've read this book, but now I have, I will never read it again.

It is a hard-boiled account about marginalised people - a prostitute, a transvestite, a convict, and a sexually troubled trade union leader amongst others. The style of writing is utterly refreshing and compelling, the characterisation astonishing, and beating from deep within the book is a heart and humanity. It is not though a dispassioned or sanitised book - the words "raw" and "gritty" are a massive understatement at times.

Be in no doubt that this book can be brutal, it pulls no punches and it often leaves a dirty bloody taste in your mouth whilst reading it.

It's a very good book, there's no doubt about it, but be prepared for a painful and uneasy read. There are no happy endings.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An ugly tale that is beautifully compelling, 14 Jan 2003

By	"louisahelenka" - See all my reviews

Last exit to Brooklyn is the only Selby Jnr. book I have read, yet will undoubtedly not be the last. Read in a stuffy hostel in Spain while ill, I was transfixed by a world of degredation, mysogyny, and utter contempt. The characters that Selby Jnr. portrays are visceral and hateful - Tralala is almost like a modern day Lulu, and ultimately deserves what she gets. Vince and his pals are hateful characters not unlike Burgess' Clockwork Orange mob - disrespectful to everyone and everything and getting away with it. It seems that Selby Jnr. is trying to show how the characters all use and abuse each other and ultimately, none are the better for it. This book is seedy, and the characters hateful, yet it had me gripped to the end.I still don't know why I enjoyed it so much and could not put it down - maybe this is Selby Jnr.s way of showing that we can be just as perverse as these fictional characters. Sickeningly enjoyable and made even more contreversial when thinking of the trouble Selby Jnr. had in getting it published. Will definitely be reading more of his work.

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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning vision of an inner city hell, 18 Nov 2000

By A Customer

This was Hubert Selby Jr. debut novel and such was the power of the book that in the UK, the original publishers were taken to court to be prosecuted for obscenity. Luckily for us the case was thrown out but the book has a raw power that is both compassionate and horrifying.

Selby writes sketches of various lives living in Brooklyn. All trying to survive on a estate that continually grinds them down. People do nasty things to each other but Selby doesn't condemn his characters but trys to comprehend them.

The stories are bitter and raw, from Tralala who cannot distinguish between sex and love to Harry, a repressed homosexual who lets out his anger on his workers, his wife, his children because he has never come to terms with his sexuality.

Selby writes in a prose style that ignores every rule of school grammer bar one: it has to be understood by the reader.

There are no speech marks, semi-colons and rarely does a comma appear. The effect is stunning, the text hits the mind like bullets as the emotion crosses out of the page. If you thought William Burrough's 'Naked Lunch' was a daring literary experiment, try 'Last Exit to Brooklyn'.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A novel you will never forget!
This is an incredible novel and it is hard to find anything else to compare it with. The effect of reading this book is so intense and powerful; it is truly mind-warping. Read more

Published 2 months ago by F Drew

5.0 out of 5 stars Nasty. Enthralling. Intimate.
Well this isn't Barby and Ken territory.

Glimpse into the world of New York human trash... Read more

Published 2 months ago by B. H. Whitehouse

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a "book to read before you die" for me
In all honesty i thought this book was a let down and i was glad to finish it. Bored by the end. The author's characters arent utterly convincing, and although the book is set to... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Michael

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great.
This is the first Hubert Selby Jr book I have read, and whilst I did enjoy it for the most part I didn't love it as much as I was expecting after reading some of the reviews... Read more

Published 4 months ago by JG_22

1.0 out of 5 stars Overblown, overhyped, clique ridden dross.
Sorry but this is definitely a literary case of the 'Emperors new clothes' It is clear from early on that the author knows nothing of the world he tries to speak of, in addition... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Fiona Jameson

5.0 out of 5 stars To be alive is enough
Put simply, the barrier between art and life has never been as thin as it is in this book. How thin? The breadth of the printed page.

Published 20 months ago by Chas

5.0 out of 5 stars "Last Exit" a masterpiece by a problematic writer
"Last Exit to Brooklyn" is undeniably considered Selby's masterpiece by most literary critics, towering over the rest of his literary output. Read more

Published on 10 Jul 2007 by gary shooter

3.0 out of 5 stars Shocking, Exciting but Chapter 5 - Boring
I had never read any of Selbys books before, the closest I came to any of his work was watching Requiem for a Dream. Read more

Published on 22 Jun 2006 by Nathan Strange

5.0 out of 5 stars First word on the last exit
Last Exit To Brooklyn is a masterpiece and an incredible work of genius. In effect Last Exit is a collection of short (and shortish) stories with a variety of themes ranging from... Read more

Published on 4 Jan 2005 by Michael McCambridge

5.0 out of 5 stars An unusual experience
Everyone should read this book once; sometimes it hurts to turn the page and watch another character that you have grown quietly fond of reach their inevitable downfall, or make... Read more

Published on 12 Dec 2004 by shadowed_sarah

› See all 23 customer reviews...

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Last Exit to Brooklyn (Paperback)

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	84% buy the item featured on this page: Last Exit to Brooklyn 4.0 out of 5 stars (23)
	6% buy Requiem for a Dream 4.6 out of 5 stars (5) �5.89
	4% buy The Demon: A Novel 4.5 out of 5 stars (11) �4.99