The Demon

Rating:
Summary: some much potential - so little realised
Review: One of my friends put me onto this book and asked "Do you ever stop and find yourself imagining that if only i knew there was no risk of getting caught, what would this feel like, if only i had the nerve to explore this urge a little further, where would it lead?" Well, this book starts with so much potential to explore whether social taboos or that darker side of human nature are really psychological contructs - but falls well short.

The main character is Harry who is particularly talented in areas of life that others strive to achieve but all too often fail miserably (or "mediocrely"). Selby obviously knows a real-life Harry but only from a distance. Anyone with Harry's talents would realise that his attitude towards women and his carnal lust would never allow him to achieve those results (trust me). He is initially a believable character. But, selby chooses the easy option. He over-focuses on one aspect of Harry's inner demon without considering the other forces which would otherwise be likely to make up a complex character such as Harry. Forces that would cause a more tangible inner conflict. The result is a two-dimensional character and any rapport with the reader is quickly lost.

Unfortunately, for anyone who has experienced an inner force that has a life of its own and that drives them onward relentlessly to dizzying heights, the story-line quickly slides into the ridiculous (I wont spoil the ending for you). At best it is irrelevant. There was so much potential to explore this darker side of our society, especially those talented individuals who abuse their talents and frequently push the boundaries (because they can). But the book chooses the "forgotten script for a D grade hack and slash flick" route.

Also, the Techniques selby uses are used for technique's sake and detract from, rather than add to, a mood consistant with the text. I was so disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Touch of evil
Review: One thing to add to these fine reviews. Read this book and come closer to Evil than you ever have, unless you are evil. Feel the pride and mania and adreniline that courses through the evil mind of Harry White. If you find yourself liking it too much like I did, don't be surprised if your mind gives way to Evil thoughts. Selby is so good and right on about the dark side of humanity within all of us that he is infectious. Read this book and unless you are Sir Galahad or Virgin Mary, Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Terrifying, raw, emotional, intense, but above all....real.
Review: Selby is just about the best author I have ever read. His books speak to me and make me believe what each page says more than any other author. There is a fundamental, and somewhat un-nerving, realism to his books that makes them highly uncomfortable reading, but it is this discomfort which makes me come back to his books again and again. Last Exit To Brooklyn blew me away, with it's picture perfect description of desperate, (an perhaps a little extreme) cases of inner-city slum-type living, and the psychological effects it can have upon it's street dwellers. Requiem For A Dream carried on a nasty, horrid-tasting tale of drug-related woe that Trainspotting could only begin to thinly paint. And now I've read The Demon, and this is another gut-wrencher, ready to pull you under life and show you how it REALLY works.

The Demon focuses on Harry White, a young, high-flying office worker in a successful Manhattan firm, who basically spends his days working hard, travelling hard (he has to journey from his parents' place out of town to work and back every single day), and seducing hard, because Harry's favourite hobby is to pick up strange women (especially if they're married - it adds to the excitement), and then basically dump them right after he's had his fun. The book goes on to show how Harry derives an almost narcotic-like craving for women, and begins to pick up just about anyone on his lunch hour, take them to a motel, and then try to get back to work on time. The futility of his carnal desperation soon takes it's toll on his work-load, and he finds himself getting torn between 'Broads' and potential promotion.

As time goes by, it seems that Harry grows up somewhat. He gets married to a lovely girl he knows called Linda, who mentally captured him by not sleeping with him 'til they were married, thus becoming a sort-of 'chase' for Harry to find irresistable. But even through the wonders and beauty of this marriage, Harry finds himself uneasy at work, on his lunch break, and even at home. So, he wanders the streets of New York and the deep, dark depths of his psychological make-up to find new and exciting ways to fulfill his constant craving for elation, excitement, adrenaline and even terror.

The way in which the story is paced, and the way that Selby has set the story out so that it can swing from one scene of absolute horror to a beautifl, emotional journey is immense. The writing is so bafflingly simple that this, itself, provides the most starkly human quality of all. There is no complex meaning to the way Harry feels, and even if there is, trying to figure it out is futile. The mind of the character is set. No pacing, no adjustment brought on by psychological help. He is what he is, and this will shock you for being to frank. It's like looking through someone's eyes, and that's why it's so good.

I highly recommend this book. No, I dare you to read this book. How does that sound?

Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal....
Review: Thats what i said as i closed the book, i will never touch again. This was the most disturbing book ive ever read, it gave me a bad "feeling" after i set it down, it probably sounds like a clique but this book got under my skin and made me think. i believe any person could at some level relate to Harry. The way we lie to ourself and say we will do something or finish it but we end up blowing it off. A brutally honest book and the way Selby describes Harrys emotion is what truly disturbs us. Ive read over 30 books over the past year and by far this one is the best, the best book i have ever read period.Nothing will ever truly make you feel like The Demon.

Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal....
Review: Thats what i said as i closed the book, i will never touch again. This was the most disturbing book ive ever read, it gave me a bad "feeling" after i set it down, it probably sounds like a clique but this book got under my skin and made me think. i believe any person could at some level relate to Harry. The way we lie to ourself and say we will do something or finish it but we end up blowing it off. A brutally honest book and the way Selby describes Harrys emotion is what truly disturbs us. Ive read over 30 books over the past year and by far this one is the best, the best book i have ever read period.Nothing will ever truly make you feel like The Demon.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and disappointing at the same time
Review: The demon is an interesting novel because we never know exactly what to expect, and there is something fascinating about the progressive worsening of the protagonist's psychological problems. This gives the novel a compelling quality, in the sense that the reader becomes "hooked" onto this man's bizarre struggle to keep his demons at bay.
But the book is disappointing in that Selby makes his main character completely unable to reflect on his problems, on their uncontrollable aggravation, and to realize that he needs to seek help. Toward the middle of the novel, his condition alters his behaviour so much at times that his entourage understandably makes him see a renowned psychiatrist for a fairly long time, but the author decided to keep this development a non-event by making the shrink horrendously bad at his job, with the consequence that the protagonist hides the true nature of his problem to him. But what this really shows, is that Selby doesn't know how shrinks work...

Also, I don't know how much he knows about psychopathology, but the extent to which, and the way in which he makes the illness evolve throughout the story just don't seem really plausible. I thus found myself having to suspend my disbelief in order to "enjoy" the book's nightmarish ride.
What this means is that, by the time it became clear that Selby had decided that no-one was going to help his main character in any way, it was obvious that the latter was doomed to go all the way down the infernal spiral, and that the novel would end with his death. But I willingly admit that the author takes the story there with enough imagination that I read on without hesitation.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome style and superb writing
Review: This is my first Selby book and now I am going to read all of them...this guy knows how to develop that inner chain of impulses that devours your will just if you keep feeding them or fighting them. He shows us how easy it is to loose control and the perspective of life just by letting your desires go free, first as a leisure then as a part of your life. Finally you get bored and then need something more intense. If you are a human being living in this crazy world, then you'll know how easy it is to let go a desire by its own and then ending up as its slave. First it serves you then you have to serve him. Just like a pact that you make with a demon or with 'Satan'. You fight your inner demons or you end up as their slave, that is how is life and Hubert Selby exposes it so clearly that it will make any writer get frustrated because this guy really knows how to write and how to look at humanitie's heart. (please excuse any mis-spellings. I am not a frequent English speaker or writer) Thanx

Rating:
Summary: THIS GUY CAN WRITE!!!
Review: This is the first selby novel I've ever read and I'll just got to say that the way is was written is amazing. I mean he write so you can totally get in the characters head. I've got to admit that it was a little slow moving and if it was written by anything else it may be boring. But it is very human and the last couple of chapters just grab on and don't let go.

Rating:
Summary: Read This Book
Review: This was the second Selby book I read. It is unique in that it eliminates the Selby stereotype that environment has an affect on his characters. In The Demon, a man with a seemingly perfect life is drawn to violence by an internal obsession with sin. Everyone should read The Demon and every other title by Selby. He hits home like no other author I've ever encountered.

Rating:
Summary: Bloody Disappointment
Review: To put it simply, this book stands out in my mind as one of the worst I've ever read. I kept wishing the main character would kill himself just so the book would end.