Reviews - Requiem for a Dream

494 reviews for:

Requiem for a Dream

Hubert Selby Jr.

4.02 AVERAGE

janread's review against another edition

2.0

Pacing was too slow and I just did not feel connected to the characters.

tararobyn's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

"Occasionally Marion would notice her sketch pads and pencils and the memory of the plans for the coffee house and some other vague memories started to work their way to her consciousness, but she just pushed them aside and stared at the tube, thinking about her stash. A few times the pangs of remorse would start to unnerve her as she stared at a scene of sunny Italy in a Cinzano ad, but she just reminded herself that she had been, and a bag of good stuff was a hell of a lot better than a mob of garlic smelling Italians."
i dont really reread this book i just kind of pick it up, flip to chapter seven where shit gets real and then jump around to all the parts i love. it's a bruise i can't stop prodding. i think so often about marion thinking about how to hold her cigarette in arnold's room, or sara's shock treatments, or harry and tyrone's doomed journey to florida. idk man i don't think any work has ever affected me as deeply (both the book and the movie). hubert selby jr is one of my biggest writing inspirations. thank u requiem for a dream
EDIT: just learned that the writer who inspired hubert selby to become a writer is chris sorrentino's dad, aka the guy who wrote that amazing speculative fiction piece abt christine chubbuck i'm obsessed with. no way.

ashcookie32's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 10%

While I understand the author is creating a disjointed, clunky, and jittery environment for the reader to feel immersed in the world of poverty and addiction, I simply cannot focus well enough to figure out what’s happening. I’m swapping over to the audio version.

alehlir's review against another edition

3.0

"Yo creo que ése es uno de los problemas del mundo de hoy, que nadie sabe quién es. Todo el mundo anda por ahí en busca de una identidad, o tratando de tomar una de prestado, lo que pasa es que no lo saben. En realidad creen que saben quiénes son, ¿y qué son? Sólo una panda de vagos"