Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
A small time criminal is kept locked in a cell, we do not get to know his name, nor the exact reason why he is in jail, but we know that he is going to be there for a very long time, and we get to share all that comes to his mind. At the beginning we can feel him suffer the isolation, longing for the sporadic moments of human interaction, but after a time, he retreats more and more inside his own mind, in a world made of bitter memories and violent fantasies of retribution towards the people he considers responsible for the obliteration of his life. As the time passes, and the fantasies become sicker and sicker, he completely withdraws himself from reality, and comes to dread the human contact he had earlier so much longed for. His room, finally becomes the only place where he feels safe, the world outside, a distorted nightmare.
A very poignant and touching book.
“Insightful” Review from a Mainstream Reader
I’ll bet this is Henry Rollins’ favorite Selby novel, because the imagery is right up his alley, what with a psychopathic prison inmate fantasizing his arresting officers as dogs on leashes forced to have sex with each other.
I guess probing the mind of a criminally insane prick seemed like something worth writing about, but after thirty pages I realized that Selby had nothing illuminating to say. Which means it’s utter trash.