Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
If I had to chose one book as my favorite of all time, it would be The Basketball Diaries. I’ve basically lost track of the number of times I have reread it.
The fact that the book is, in fact, Carroll’s diary makes it so much more real. His experiences aren’t censored and modified. Instead, you are given an intimate and raw look into a portion of Carroll’s teenage years and his struggles with substance abuse, as well as just growing up, in 1960’s New York City.
“Insightful” Review from a Mainstream Reader
Gonna get flamed for this one. Couldn’t get through more than a couple pages at a time. Tried skipping forward, same result. Put in about 30 minutes of effort on this.
I may be confused as to what the book is supposed to be. It was my understanding that this is Carroll’s actual diary from his time as a pre-teen and teen in NYC. This reads like my grandmother trying to write like a 13-year-old based upon what she has seen on Welcome Back Mr. Kotter and the Disney Channel. If this is how Mr. Carroll actually wrote when he was 13-15, then he may have something wrong with him.