Last Exit to Brooklyn discussion

I have always wondered how much of the characters were based on the author's life.

As have I. I get the feeling Selby came across at least one or two of each of these types of people throughout his time in the slums of Brooklyn, the queen, the thug, the addict, the abusive husband/father, the (how to describe her?) Tralala. If I'd seen such things, any of them half as disturbing as what Selby reveals here, I'd surely need an outlet as effective as writing, without question.

The characters are so raw, there has been nothing done to enhance them or romanticize the details of their lives. There is a callousness that is palpable. For example, the chapter with the baby that wanders out onto the ledge; they are cheering his demise on if only to make their own lives seem less bleak by comparison.

This book changed my life. It made me realize how much The Beats looked pampered & how Bukowski makes a self-serving romance out of his own private hell.

Through Selby's jarring prose one can see he isn't just an observer--he has been a participant. His world is a dark & hopeless one. He doesn't create an alter-ego for himself (a la Bukowski) or put himself in the story (The Beats 1st person narrative). He lets the characters bare their souls through their words & actions--telling the story for him.

Selby proves a rose can blossom out of pile of human garbage. One of my favorite books ever.

I read this book as the Sixties were erupting with protest and change. It made me realize that there is a viscous cycle of self-defeat that whole segments of society buy into, and that change was going to be a long, hard slog. Though I haven't read the stories in a long, long time, I recall the keenness of the writing as if I'd just put the book down.

This book also changed my life. It inspired me in so many ways. Yes it's dismal and drepressing but it also evokes so much raw emotion that it left me feeling empowered and dragged me out of a really dark place I was in at the time. That was 1994. I totally need to read this book again and see if it still has the same effect and impact on me.

I felt like Selby had a really poignant understanding of what it's like to be on the dark side...and he wasn't afraid to stay there, exploring that side of human nature. All too often, authors take the easy way out so they don't lose their audience. Selby didn't seem to care.

Stefani wrote: "I felt like Selby had a really poignant understanding of what it's like to be on the dark side...and he wasn't afraid to stay there, exploring that side of human nature. All too often, authors take..."

Good point. Much of the long-lasting effect of these stories is that he didn't offer up endings that were tacked on to ease the painfulness.

The only character who I know Selby really knew a version of in real life was Georgette, a hip queer from the area. Selby said that she/he died in the gutter, literately. Selby had a certain affection for her and wanted to keep her story alive without being corny. There's a great documentary which focuses on this, "It Will Be Better Tomorrow."

one other thing, don't compare writers, there experiences are theirs alone as are their aims. Bukowski lived in California so his experience was going to be different and Burroughs lived in several countries with the FBI up his ass so do you really want compare these writers?

Henry Rollins, singer and poet, found Hubert Selby Jr living in California and brought him back into the limelight briefly. There was a movie made of Last Exit, but I thought that it was terrible, the European director revered Hubert but totally misunderstood the book. For instance, in the book he is very cynical about the labor union, but the movie depicts the strike in heroic terms. As to the original question of whether he based his characters on real people, I really think he did, and also, he didn't glorify their lives unless you think that showing them persist in spite of very grim hopes for the future is heroic.

I first became aware of Selby because I'm a huge, long-time Rollins fan. Then, Selby became one of my all time favorite authors.

This book is what made me want to become a writer. Thank you Hubert. You and your work will always hold a special place in my heart. Thank you.

Yes Chris, I agree that the movie was a bad rip off of the book, although my memory is vague on the details. I remember a few scenes were completely unwatchable but I don't recall why.

I never get tired of this book. When I've nothing new in the house to read, I'll pick up Last exit to Brooklyn and read it again. and yes, i bought my copy from Henry rollins' book company, 21361.

Last Exit remains vastly under-appreciated. Today, it is also a historical document -- for any Brooklynite who wants to know what Brooklyn was like before it turned into "Brownstone Brooklyn," the gentrified landscape that it is today.

With that said, as much as I was impressed by Last Exit, I enjoyed Requiem for a Dream even more, which is a masterpiece in its own right.

Yes, the gritty, urban landscape seems to be a thing of the past in the parts of Brooklyn closest to Manhattan, however, I would argue that the deeper into the heart of the borough you travel, the more you might find that things remain the same. I believe he used Canarsie as the locale for Last Exit.

Stefani, you are right about that. The "real" Brooklyn is still out there, but its boundaries have been pushed back by Mayor Mike and his corporate cronies.

Of course, one could probably say something similar about Manhattan as well....

Hey Chad that is true. The Manhattan part. The Brooklyn that he writes about is the Brooklyn of the heart. He speaks about this in great depth in some interviews. Check out link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE2AxI...

I'd be interested to hear from the people who said 'Last exit to Brooklyn' changed their life, as to what they got from the book. I really enjoyed it but partly wondered what I was doing reading about a bunch of perverts, thieves and losers. Could anyone expand on what they thought the point of the book is?

I don't think there was a "point" to Selby's book, beyond fictional entertainment. He is showing us the dark seamy underside of life; experiences that we may not be familiar with. It is not for everyone.

I think some of Selby's stories are based in reality-he writes about a very gritty part of ungentrified Brooklyn teeming with people who don't conform to mainstream standards. Personally I'm fascinated with the segment of society-I suppose you could call it a subculture-that exists outside of the politically correct obsessed world we currently live in. They are becoming much more of a rarity.

I thought the movie had a very different headset than the novel. As soon as the strike was over, in the flic, the pathologies disappeared and people became normal. I could be mistaken about this but I saw the movie when it first came out and became a Jennifer Jason Leigh fan thereafter. A rare, under appreciated actress.