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A review by ashrafulla
The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren, Daniel Simon, Kurt Vonnegut, Studs Terkel, William J. Savage Jr.
4.0
This book would be even more enjoyable to those who love the writing style of the mid 20th century. Set in post-WWII Chicago, the book is a proper psychological drama around a cast of hard-luck characters. Each one in their own right has had too many problems caused by a combination of their environment, their upbringing and their craving for a quick buck. You end up feeling sorry for most of them due to their handicap by circumstance.
The story itself is fairly good, a deep version of an otherwise ordinary tale about disillusioned young adults in the late 1940s. The depth is the main attraction; the author spends long passages describing the psychological state of each character. At times, this can be tedious but in general the author paints a distinct and full picture of the mental anguish of each character. While most would point to Frankie's character as the most anguished, I think Zosh is the most troubled both due to her psychosomatic disorder and her persistent state of victimhood after being so strong in her late teens.
The diction fits the conversation, being a lot of contractions and quick one liners. You imagine for a moment that you are in a film from the 50s. That can lead to some hardship when stopping and starting where you left off. However once you're engrossed in the story you end up translating in your head from slang to English quickly.
Overall this a good book to read. It was a little long due to the psychological exposition but you can't skip that.
The story itself is fairly good, a deep version of an otherwise ordinary tale about disillusioned young adults in the late 1940s. The depth is the main attraction; the author spends long passages describing the psychological state of each character. At times, this can be tedious but in general the author paints a distinct and full picture of the mental anguish of each character. While most would point to Frankie's character as the most anguished, I think Zosh is the most troubled both due to her psychosomatic disorder and her persistent state of victimhood after being so strong in her late teens.
The diction fits the conversation, being a lot of contractions and quick one liners. You imagine for a moment that you are in a film from the 50s. That can lead to some hardship when stopping and starting where you left off. However once you're engrossed in the story you end up translating in your head from slang to English quickly.
Overall this a good book to read. It was a little long due to the psychological exposition but you can't skip that.