okay, i admit it, i jumped on the Selby Jr. bandwagon along with every other self-described hipster who saw Aronofsky's adaptation of 'Requiem for a Dream' however, this book is so much more intimate than 'requiem'. granted, the visceral depictions of violence, rape, and drug-abuse can be unsettling and shocking, even today. yet, Selby, Jr. portrays the lives of the destitute with an empathy reminiscent of Nathanael West of Nelson Algren. indeed, any author that can make you really feel for drug-addicted transvestites and hyper-violent gang-leaders is an author with a very special gift. ( )

Raw, aggressive, and captures prefectly the petty vicousness required to survive at the bottom. The story "Georgette" is the best by far. ( )

It seems like whenever I hear about the 1950s people tend to talk about how wholesome and pleasant it was. One would think that nothing untoward or degrading ever happened. We all know that isn't true, and if you don't believe me read Last Exit to Brooklyn. It is more than just a story about a neighborhood in New York; hell, I wouldn't even call it a novel. It is more like a synopsis to impoverished, urban American culture in general. It is a string of interconnected characters moving tangentially yet chaotically out of control.

I've read some pretty rough, crude, scary stuff, but this one takes the cake. It has everything: neighborhood ruffians/criminals; cross-dressing, drug-addicted prostitutes; sluts; rapists; closet homosexuals that sink so low as to molest children; wife beaters; child neglectors. I mean, this book is really sick.

I wasn't sure I liked the book until the final part, the coda. When I began reading this, I finally understood the method to Selby's madness. This part is a day in the life of the projects. Moving from individual to individual and family to family, the reader meets, parts from, and re-meets people and sees their situations and circumstances. None of them are good. This book takes those wholesome images and shoves them right up the reader's ass, twists, and then leaves them there. Truly, you don't leave this book quite the same person.

Not for the faint of heart. Hard to imagine this work was published over 40 years ago. Reading Last Exit left me feeling emotionally drained. The book depicts a group of vile low-life criminals, hookers, drag queens, dealers and addicts. It's a relentless journey into America's underbelly post WWII. The prose is raw, crude, hellish and dark. I'm not sure why I even kept reading. I did though. The second and third read years later allowed me to appreciate the fact that this was Selby's debut novel. Within Selby's nightmare is something beautiful and raw. If you haven't read any of his other works, read this one later. ( )

I liked this movie, although, I would have preferred Tra-lala's and Georgie's portions to be longer. I think Tra-la-la's rape scene is one of the most gruelling read I have had. ( )