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Tag Archives: hubert selby jr

Book Review | ‘The Room’ by Hubert Selby Jr.

28 Thursday Oct 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Review

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

book review, hubert selby jr, Pulitzer Prize, the room, violence


The RoomThe Room by Hubert Selby Jr.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars/ 5 of 5 stars

WARNING: Contains explicit language/ gratuitous sexual violence/ torture scenes. Adults Only.

I have put off writing about this book for as long as I possibly could for different reasons. The first issues from a very genuine difficulty I have of expressing myself when I really like a book – an experience that, I am sorry to say, is becoming harder to come by. The other reason (which applies to this particular book) is that due to the way it’s written, I feel it deserves two separate reviews: one for story, and another detailing Selby’s own unusual ‘homegrown’ writing style. This is why I gave the novel two ratings; 3/5 for story and 5/5 for technique. Why only three for the story you ask? Well, sometimes people skip pages to get around what I call ‘authors waffle’. You get this in almost every book, including Pulitzer prize-winners. The other reason is because of extreme graphic violence; violence that is convincingly and almost lovingly written. Selby’s novel falls into the latter category.

He certainly has a way of getting inside the twisted mind of a convict and make a reader feel like an accomplice to all those terrible fantasies. While I’m not the type to shy away from violence, everyone has a limit, and I found myself being quite severely tested. As it goes, I am still debating as to whether it really was necessary to go as far as he did in some instances, and maybe it’s this ongoing debate that made me sit on the fence with my rating.

But my own pedantic shortcomings aside, I am still going to try to explain how I feel about this book.

At first glance, the premise is no different to other prison-based novels. A small-time criminal is jailed for a petty crime and begins to await his hearing. However, the similarities cease here, as Selby’s stance to imprisonment culminates around notions of ‘inaction’ rather than action. His approach is in the vein of intuitive story-telling, bordering on what might be called the writer’s version of ‘method acting’. This is definitely not a character-based plot, as the narrative is driven by the concept of thought and the ‘organic’ direction it may take in a setting severely limited in the psychological and physical sense. This makes Selby seem very unsympathetic towards his characters, yet like all good writers he knows that this kind of detachment is vital. It leaves him free to use his cast to the full cause of the story.

Having said this, what is the ‘organic’ direction of thought in a prison cell? Selbys answer to this is very clear, as he cultivates an intensely inbred narrative that continually reflects and refracts back into itself. A man in a six by four cell cannot go anywhere. His past is behind him, his present is without stimulation and his future is uncertain. The inertia and weight of waiting turns all actions to the depths of the psyche and what lies there. Like a plant that becomes stunted and pale through lack of sunlight, so does the protagonist, as he turns inward to stagnate in his own turmoil. Time is a torture as he populates his days with past memories and elaborate revenge fantasies embellished with all sorts of sexual and physical degradation.

‘Well, anyway, time has to pass. But sometimes its so goddamn long. Sometimes it just seems to drag and drag and weigh a ton. And hang on you like a monkey. Like its going to suck the blood out of you. Or squeeze your guts out. And sometimes it flies. Just flies. And is gone somewhere, somehow, before you know it was even here. As if time is only here to make you miserable. Thats the only reason for time.”

A great example of the mounting frustration and rage that grows throughout the narrative is illustrated in the form of a pimple. Selby returns to this symbol to indicate first annoyance, alarm and finally total internal destruction followed by resignation. At the end the prisoner finds his shameful release by eventually popping it. The emotional breakdown that follows is a great example of how resourceful a writer Selby is.

“He leaned closer and touched the red spot with a finger tip. The beginning of a pimple. He squeezed it, then lowered his hands. Why bother? Itll just bruise the skin. I/ll wait until it comes to a head… if it doesn’t just disappear first.”

Selby’s novel also brings up the concept of ‘think crime’, as all the grotesque things dreamed up by the prisoner puts the notion of guilt in a different perspective. The mind is a flexible thing, susceptible to impressions, but is the ‘thought’ of a terrible crime equal to the crime made manifest? Does thinking about it make you guilty? One could be forgiven at being shocked by the base examples of imaginary rape and torture; yet the quality of these daydreams are so vivid they give the impression of having happened on some scale,an imaginary sphere, which in this claustrophobic world is often more real than reality itself.

There is only one other aspect that surpasses the terror factor of the fantasies, and that is the awful realisation that man is capable of thinking awful things, and that if Selby could do it, so could we. The character; stripped as he is of identity, is still a human creation. In this abstraction of humanity, the reader finds a shocking alternative to notions of innocence. Throughout the novel the name of the protagonist is unknown and his crime is stated as a small offence. His mind however gives us the impression of a monster.

This begs the question, ‘how much is a person’s thoughts are oriented by their environment and how much by their innate capacity for evil? Maybe it is this underlying question that made Selby dedicate it ‘with love, to the thousands who remain nameless and know.’ The thousands of inmates, whose identities are either forgotten by time or erased by the prison regime; the thousands who know exactly where the mind goes when it is also closed off like a prison.

View all my reviews

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (18/10)

18 Monday Oct 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Book Challenges, Meme

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

50 books a year, angela carter, hubert selby jr, Its monday what are you reading?, meme, Robert Rankin, wilkie collins


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Another Monday, another meme. Things have slowed down since the last time I posted. The good news is, I’ve finally reached my 50 Books A Year target (yay!). And I’ve also began to focus more on my writing, which is why I haven’t been posting as frequently. More posts will follow on my thoughts and feelings on that.

But here is what’s going on from the book front:

Books Read
1. ‘The Passion of New Eve’ by Angela Carter
The Passion of New Eve 
This gets 5/5 stars. An absolute joy to read. Review coming up!

2. ‘The Room’ by Hubert Selby Jr.
The Room
Scary stuff. This gets two ratings: 3/5 for story and 5/5 for execution of the writers’ craft. I’ll elaborate later in a full review.

Currently Reading
1. Retromancer by Robert Rankin

Retromancer
Still monkeying around with this one, but that’s only because (look below)…

2. ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins
The Woman in White (Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural)

… this one has taken over! Who’d have thought Collins would turn out to be such a brilliant writer?

That’s it for now. Happy reading everyone!

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It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? (27/09)

27 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Book Challenges, Meme

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

angela carter, hubert selby jr, Its monday what are you reading?, meme, Robert Rankin


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

I missed last weeks ‘Monday’ meme, partly because I forgot (oops) and partly because I’ve been obsessed about the filming of the new ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 4’ movie that’s taking place in Greenwich. I’ve been travelling up there since Monday to see if Johnny’s arrived yet (excitement!), but no… it was just production setting up bluescreens, castle facades and other piratey stuff. If you’re interested you can check out my blog post complete with pictures.

I heard through Twitter that Johnny’s going to be there today. Whether I’ll go to see him is another thing entirely. For one I’ve got a sore throat which will probably turn into a monster cold! But I suppose that’s what you get for standing around in the cold waiting for a celebrity to turn up! I’d hate to have a job as a London paparazzi. If I do see him, I’m going to *hopefully* have him sign my copy of ‘The Rum Diary’ and ‘Fear and Loathing’ by Hunter S. Thompson. He’s supposed to have the filming rights for it (Hunter gave it to him before he died).  

That aside, I’ve also been busy writing a guest review for The Blue Bookcase – the first one for me, so I’m pretty excited about that! About my 50 Books a Year thing… yeah, I’m on no. 50 at the moment and I’ve got about 3 books on the go. So it’ll be a surprise to see which one gets it!

Enough of the banter, more about the books.

Books Read
1. ‘Lavinia’ by Ursula Le Guin
Lavinia 
This gets 4/5 stars. Review can be found here!

2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 

Madame Bovary (Wordsworth Classics)
Although executed in a masterful way, this gets 3/5 stars. Review can be found here.

Currently Reading
1. The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter
The Passion of New Eve
This wasn’t really on my list of reads, but my curiosity got the better of me. And would you believe it, its explosive stuff. It’s a novel of beautiful contradictions which looks like it’ll get the full 5/5 from me. A literary buffs heaven. Who said Women’s fiction was all romance and barbie-doll stuff. Angela Carter will eat you for breakfast! Djuna Barnes, read it and weep!

2. Retromancer by Robert Rankin
Retromancer
…And now for something totally different. Fancy a bit of Monty Python on tap? Then I recommend Rankin. He’s awesome. Can’t believe I haven’t come across him earlier. He totally takes the crap out of big, blockbuster novels. This one is a play on WIlliam Gibson’s famous cyber-thriller ‘Neuromancer’. Another 5/5’er, methinks.

3. The Room by Hubert Selby Jr.
The Room
We’ve had comedy and we’ve had uber-feminism. To counterbalance all this we have: the Selby. Which by the way, is beginning to irk me very much. I’m skipping pages. Too, much, graphic, gore. I’m not the squeamish kind, but I kid you not when I say that if I didn’t have a firm grasp on what Selby was actually trying to do as  ‘writer’ in his art, I’d put this book away and never touch it again. This one will be a tough review indeed.

That’s it for now. Happy reading everyone!

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Teaser Tuesday | Hubert Selby Jr.’s Ode To A Heart of Darkness…

21 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Meme

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

hubert selby jr, meme, teaser tuesday


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today’s teaser is from a book I’ve had on my shelf for many weeks even though I’ve been dying to read it. Hailed as one of America’s best authors, Hubert Selby Jr. is not that widely read anymore. ‘The Room’, was described by the Times Literary Supplement as his best book and even Selby was astonished by the glowing reviews. Not even his more popular works ‘Requiem For A Dream’ (a major motion picture dealing with the perils of drugs) and ‘Last Exit To Brooklyn’ gathered as much attention as ‘The Room’. But the reviews disappeared just as quickly as they came, and the book itself disappeared from favour.

It appears that this still stands today, as it took me quite a while to locate a copy from my library. It’s a difficult text, and not for the faint-hearted. Selby isn’t one to mince his words. In fact, I had trouble finding two sentences that DIDN’T include expletives.  This segment describes children playing cowboys and indians in the streets.

The Room

“Hiding behind the tree or bush and using the rifle you slipped from the saddle holster as you slipped from your horse and shooting at your pursuer and missing an occasional shot and the bullet kachanging off a rock and the other rider slides from his horse and returns the fire  and soon everyone is crawling, running, hiding, shooting.

And everyday, before the game started everyone yelled Im a bad guy – Im a good guy, and, somehow, in a matter of seconds there were two sides and they were running, riding and shooting.”

So there it is. I wish I could put up something that was more juicy, but I don’t want to offend people. Suffice it to say that if you enjoyed the likes of ‘American Psycho’ and ‘A Clockwork Orange’ then you’ll definitely like this. Selby pushes the boundaries of language in many ways, without destroying the fabric of the story. Recommended for the brave!

Note: I reproduced the text as it is, because Selby had a very particular way of writing. He wasn’t keen on sticking to grammar, so any mistakes are totally intentional.

NOTE: Just realised, he’s writing in second person narrative. That’s very rare!

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (13/09)

13 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in 50 Books A Year, Meme

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Anne Frank, Cara Lopez Lee, Cheri Laser, gustave flaubert, hubert selby jr, Its monday what are you reading?, meme, Robert Rankin, ursula le guin


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Another Monday, another post! Okay, so this time there’s been some ‘movement’ in the way of reading. I’ve managed to finish one book, but I have another four lying about. This bumps my 50 books a year to a total of 47. It gets harder and harder as I get to the end! But I did have a weird week… in fact it got so bad I did a little rant about it.

Other bookish news include the fact that two bloggers I admire are getting their books published this year. That makes me very happy. Cheri Laser’s ‘The Truth About Cinnamon’ is currently on Amazon.com. You can check out her blog on the link provided. It’s pretty unique, as she’s been using it to track her road to becoming a published author. The insight she gives is invaluable to people who are also looking to follow that rocky path.

Another fabulous author is Cara Lopez Lee with her memoir ‘They Only Eat Their Husbands’. It’s about a journey around the world and ultimately to the centre of one’s being. It’s coming out from Ghost Road Press and Cara’s going to be doing some book signings too. You can find out more from her website.

I met these lovely ladies through the blogosphere. Their generosity with their experiences have inspired me to take up the pen yet again. hopefully this time I’ll follow through and be like them. I wish them every luck in the future.  

OK, so here’s the rundown folks. The titles are familiar now to everybody. You could recite them in your sleep!

1. ‘Madame Bovary’ by Gustave Flaubert – (evil little book! Very good, but refuses to be finished!)

2. ‘Diary of Anne Frank’ by Anne Frank – (Just started after I finished ‘Lavinia’. So far so good.)

3. ‘Retromancer’ by Robert Rankin – (Should have had this finished 2 weeks ago. After it fell on the floor in a hospital, I didn’t pick it up again.) 

4. ‘The Room’ by Hubert Selby Jr. – (I want to finish Bovary before I get onto this. I need totally concentration!)

The book I finished was ‘Lavinia’ by Ursula K. Le Guin.

That’s it from me. Nothing exciting as of yet, but I might have something coming up in the following weeks. Fingers crossed :).

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (26/07)

26 Monday Jul 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Meme

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

chinua achebe, ford madox ford, hubert selby jr, hunter s thompson, Its monday what are you reading?, jm coetzee, l. frank baum, meme, sara stockridge


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Welcome to ‘It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?’, a weekly meme initially hosted by Sheila at the ‘Book Journey – One Persons Journey Through a World of Books’. This is a great way of letting people know what I’ve been reading over the past week and what I’ve got lined up for this week.

The past week has been a VERY busy one for me, and quite exciting. Apart from the fact that I’ve managed to read 3 books (yay!), I’ve also had the pleasure of receiving my first blog award by Readitin7days and join in the Book Blogger Hop hosted by the fabulous Jen @ Crazy for Books.

I had a great week meeting and talking to other book bloggers and getting into the spirit of the whole experience. I also had a chance to pick up on some fab books that I’ll hopefully be reading in the near future.  Without further ado, here is the round-up: 

BOOKS READ:
1.The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson
The Rum Diary
Finally finished this one. I don’t know why it took me so long, but there you go. Johnny Depp supposedly has the rights to this story (given to him by Hunter himself when he was alive) and is planning to shoot/ has already shot the film version. I wonder if we’ll see Depp as the good Doctor again?

2. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart
This was a quick read. I loved the story and everything about it. Review is here.

3. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)
Did you know this story was 110 years old? Being part of the ‘Rory Gilmore Challenge’ made it a fun read, but I also enjoyed being a little kid again. Anyone who hasn’t read this yet should do so, in fact read it with your kids if you have any. It makes it twice as enjoyable. Lots of moral lessons to be learned! I’ll be writing a review for this one soon.

CURRENTLY READING:
1. Disgrace – JM Coetzee
Disgrace

Again, this one got pushed to the back of the pile! I’m notorious for switching my reading preferences, but I promise I will read it for next week. PROMISE!!!

2. ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khalid Housseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns
An excellent book so far. My mother and I are joint reading it so I only get a peek in when I get the chance.

3. ‘The Good Soldier’ by Ford Madox Ford
The Good Soldier
Part of the 1001 book list, I picked this up by chance. I have only taken a quick peek so I have no idea what it beholds yet.

4. Hammer by Sara Stockridge
Hammer
This was a library pick. I just liked the cover! And I’m a sucker for anything based in and around ancient Victorian London. It’s a mystery/ suspense novel written by a British actress.

BOOKS TO READ:

1. ‘The Room’ by Hubert Selby Jr.
The Room

I know I said it would be ‘Last Exit to Brooklyn’ last week, but after reading about ‘The Room’ I decided I would throw myself into the deepest, darkest, dankest of Selby’s novels to see if I survive the ordeal. It’s the kamikaze in me I suppose.

There we are. My grand week in a single post. Hope everyone else has had a great one, and I look forward to your thoughts.

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It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? 19/07

19 Monday Jul 2010

Posted by mywordlyobsessions in Meme

≈ 23 Comments

Tags

chinua achebe, hubert selby jr, Its monday what are you reading?, jm coetzee, kazuo ishiguro, l. frank baum, nocturnes, rory gilmore reading list, rum diary, sylvia plath, winter trees


It's Monday! What are you reading this week?

Welcome to ‘It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?’, a weekly meme initially hosted by Sheila at the ‘Book Journey – One Persons Journey Through a World of Books’. This is a great way of letting people know what I’ve been reading over the past week and what I’ve got lined up for this week.

Reading-wise things are finally beginning to pick up a bit. I’m spending far too much time on the blog and real-life seems to be a pain in the backside. There’s been a couple of inteesting reads and a nice little discount discovery I made the Stephen King’s ‘Under The Dome’ – only half price at WHSmith’s which is far better than the full £8.99. I recommend that UK book bloggers check it out as it’s supposed to be quite a cool read. My goodreads friends have recommended it to me. I’m also waiting on news from the arrival of ‘Last Exit To Brooklyn’ by Hubert Selby Jr., an author I’ve been dying to read ever since I heard about him.  

So, here’s the round-up for last week’s reads:

BOOKS READ:
1. Winter Trees by Sylvia Plath
Winter Trees
A very short collection of poems that were written during the last 9 months of Plath’s life. As you can imagine, not a happy read, but it certianly satisfied my need to exercise that part of the brain that deals with poetry. It took a while to get into her mindframe, but when I did it totally blew me away. Click here for review. 

2. Nocturnes – Kazuo Ishiguro
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall
Although the cover looks good (very inviting for a music lover like myself), I found this collection of five loosely interwoven stories a little lacking. I felt there was something missing. Maybe the short story isn’t for Ishiguro, he should stick to novels. Having said that, a concept like this would be wonderful to read from Haruki Murakami who also uses Jazz music as an element in his story-telling.

CURRENTLY READING:
1. The Rum Diary – Hunter S. Thompson
The Rum Diary
Currently on page 110 of this fictional account of Thompson’s journalistic experiences during his short stay in Puerto Rico in the late 1950’s. It was written before Fear and Loathing, and retains the linear writing style of your average reporter. But I’m glad to say I can spot flecks of the pioneering Gonzo style very now and then.

2. Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart
I’m halfway through this incredible read. It’s so engrossing that I stayed up till 2am reading till my eyes felt sore. I’ve never read anything as detailed as this about African tribes. Okonkwo is a very powerful character, and the tribe members are all very distinct from each other. The sense of community is very strong in Achebe’s story. Reading his work is like touching warm, fertile soil for the first time. 

3.Disgrace – JM Coetzee
Disgrace

Thanks to the Achebe, I haven’t had a chance to give this one much attention. But it will be finished today, so I’ll have lots to write about next week.

BOOKS TO READ:

1.‘Last Exit To Brooklyn’ by Hubert Selby Jr.
Last Exit to Brooklyn
I heard about Selby Jr. through the movie ‘Requiem For A Dream’. I didn’t know it was originally a novel by Selby, and after some research about him I was surprised that not much is know about this unique author. His ad hoc writing style and gritty, dark subject matters make Chuck Palahnuik look like a writer for YA. I quickly decided that Selby Jr. was the real deal, and I would not rest until I’ve read something by him.   

2. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)
And for something completely different! I’ve gotten tired of the ‘heavy’ books lately. I feel like a soldier with combat stress! This is on the Rory Gilmore Reading List, and surprisingly I’ve never read it before. Something warm and fuzzy for the child in me.

That’s this weeks round-up fellow book bloggers. I hope you all have a great reading week and if you have any suggestions for good reads I’d be glad to know your thoughts! I’m off to make the rounds!

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