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jazzy_daveHubert Selby Jr. "Waiting Period" (Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd)
So I love Selby, and reading Henry Rollins and 2-13-61 as well, he has been something of a cult figure for me and I'd been wanting to read this book for some time, but let me say it was rather disappointing. He seemed out of his element - he's done stunning stream of consciousness sort of prose, as with The Room and parts of his more well-known novels - but here he just falls short. We enter the mind of a man pushed to the edge of living, ready to commit suicide until he finds meaning in the murder of wicked others; sounds great, but the mind of this man, it turns out, isn't terribly interesting, illuminating, intelligent, or insightful. Perhaps that's the point, but I don't think so; I think Selby was just sort of lazy, beginning with a fine concept but unwilling or unable to really dive deeply into it. Selby's little omnipotent musings here and there, condoning our murderous narrator, also seemed to be forced and ridiculous (not that we shouldn't condone the narrator). I wouldn't recommend this novel, especially if you've never read the author before; check out Last Exit to Brooklyn, a contemporary masterpiece, instead.
So I love Selby, and reading Henry Rollins and 2-13-61 as well, he has been something of a cult figure for me and I'd been wanting to read this book for some time, but let me say it was rather disappointing. He seemed out of his element - he's done stunning stream of consciousness sort of prose, as with The Room and parts of his more well-known novels - but here he just falls short. We enter the mind of a man pushed to the edge of living, ready to commit suicide until he finds meaning in the murder of wicked others; sounds great, but the mind of this man, it turns out, isn't terribly interesting, illuminating, intelligent, or insightful. Perhaps that's the point, but I don't think so; I think Selby was just sort of lazy, beginning with a fine concept but unwilling or unable to really dive deeply into it. Selby's little omnipotent musings here and there, condoning our murderous narrator, also seemed to be forced and ridiculous (not that we shouldn't condone the narrator). I wouldn't recommend this novel, especially if you've never read the author before; check out Last Exit to Brooklyn, a contemporary masterpiece, instead.
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