Reviews

As an alcoholic with many years of sobriety under by belt, this is maybe one of the most important books in my library. If ever you need a reminder of what the bad years were like, read this book and see if it strikes you the way it did me. Its literally full of accounts of what my thirties were like in the 00’s. Its extremely unusual that I would romanticize drinking these days, but if I ever do, I’ll be reading this book again to remind me what it was really like.

bigboobs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

paulataua's review against another edition

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4.0

I saw the movie decades ago, so it was good to get around to the book. The book differs somewhat from the movie. Apart from focusing on an unsuccessful writer rather than a successful one and having a homosexual thread they decided to leave out of the film, it has a different ending. I felt the constant stream of thoughts really gave insight into how we think and rationalize our actions. I also loved the way while he was drinking in the bar, he looked in the mirror, got an idea for a novel, plotted it out, and moved straight to focus on the acclaim he would receive without ever getting down to writing a word. I wonder how many of us have been there.