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judelon's review against another edition
3.0
Grim, but poetic. I listened to the audiobook, which was lyrical.
whackboy's review against another edition
4.0
I can't find an ISBN on my old Fawcett Crest edition of this one so I'm just listing this first edition that popped up. The version I'm reading has a 1964 pub date.
This was an amazingly well written novel. I enjoyed being transported in time, although only about 2 miles in space. I picked this off my bookcase thinking "oh yeah, that's a neat King Arthur type of fantasy novel" and boy was I off the mark. WWII vet having very difficult times with drug addiction at Damen and Division Avenue in the late 1940s. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Good voice, good characterization, a stylistic zip and rhythm to the prose that just about jumps off the page at you. Read it.
This was an amazingly well written novel. I enjoyed being transported in time, although only about 2 miles in space. I picked this off my bookcase thinking "oh yeah, that's a neat King Arthur type of fantasy novel" and boy was I off the mark. WWII vet having very difficult times with drug addiction at Damen and Division Avenue in the late 1940s. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Good voice, good characterization, a stylistic zip and rhythm to the prose that just about jumps off the page at you. Read it.
ashrafulla's review against another edition
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.
cpa85's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mattbutreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A strange midnight dignity, indeed
bobbo49's review against another edition
3.0
A very challenging read - recounted in the language and style of rogue inner city hustlers and junkies, a devastating portrait of everything that can go wrong in a life framed by drugs and crime.
drewbios's review against another edition
Simply one of the best books I have ever read.
kingds's review against another edition
5.0
One of the bleakest books I've ever read, but also (in parts) one of the funniest, and most beautiful. Sort of like a cynical/realist version of "Cannery Row." Nelson Algren seemed to treat this novel as an exercise in generating sympathy for generally unsympathetic characters. Most of the characters are thieves and grifters, with very few redeeming qualities to share between them, but by the end of the novel I was rooting for them all to have a happy ending ().
I wanted to read this book because I live close to the area of Chicago where it's set, and I thought it would be interesting to get a picture of what that part of Chicago was like in the seedy post-war days. It certainly was interesting, even if it didn't make me want to take a time machine back to Division Street in the late forties (little too much squalor for this guy).
Spoiler
They don't, at all.I wanted to read this book because I live close to the area of Chicago where it's set, and I thought it would be interesting to get a picture of what that part of Chicago was like in the seedy post-war days. It certainly was interesting, even if it didn't make me want to take a time machine back to Division Street in the late forties (little too much squalor for this guy).