Last Exit to Brooklyn
Hubert Selby(Author)
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
1st Edition
Published on 5. July 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-7475-7459-0 (ISBN)
Description
Last Exit To Brooklyn is a raw depiction of life amongst New York's junkies, hustlers, drag queens and prostitutes. An unforgettable cast of characters inhabits the housing projects, bars and streets of Brooklyn: Georgette, a hopelessly romantic and tormented transvestite; Vinnie, a disaffected and volatile youth who has never been on the right side of the law; Tralala, who can find no escape from her loveless existence; Harry, a power-hungry strike leader with a fatal secret. Living on the edge, always walking on the wild side, their alienation and aggression masks a desperate, deep human need for affection and kinship. Banned in Britain on first publication in 1964, Last Exit To Brooklyn brought its ex-marine, drug addict author instant notoriety. Its truthfulness stunned a generation and continues to shock to this day.
Reviews / Votes
'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 'One of the six best novelists writing in the English language' Financial Times 'A masterpiece' Al Alvarez 'As dramatic and immediate as the click of a switchblade knife' Los Angeles TimesMore details
Series
Edition
1., Aufl.
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 17.8 cm
Width: 11.1 cm
Weight
181 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7475-7459-0 (9780747574590)
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Hubert Selby Jr. was born in Brooklyn, New York. After leaving school he went to sea until illness forced him to leave the Merchant Marines. He began publishing stories in the 1950s, but it was the appearance of Last Exit to Brooklyn in the mid-sixties that brought him widespread recognition. On British publication the book was prosecuted for obscenity, but won its protracted court case on appeal. He died in April 2004.