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Rating: 
Summary: Algren's most polished work.
Review: Country boy Dove Linkhorn, son of Fitz ( hell-fire preacher and cesspool cleaner ),defiler of women, smarter than he looks bum, leaves Texas for New Orleans where he fits right in for a while, with the depression-era cripples, prostitutes, pimps, flimflam artists,and prison-life.Much of this book is a re-run of Somebody in Boots and Never Come Morning, with modifications. Unlike those books, the prose style is Algren at his most polished. Even so he overdoes it on many occasions where a simple statement would have sufficed. But redeems himself by pretty much avoiding the annoying switch in viewpoint within multiple character scenes that mar his other, otherwise excellent work. Nelson Algren didn't write all that many books in his long career, a state of affairs that could be condensed into two titles: A Walk on the Wild Side and The Man with the Golden Arm.
Rating:
Summary: Walking the Walk
Review: Don't be misled by the title. A walk on the wild side? Sounds like fun, hey? Well, you can walk the walk, but you can't go home again, or if you do, you may be a little the worse for wear. Algren is a poet of pain. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Not exactly an uplifting read
Review: I've read this book twice now. First in college for a literature class, and again 8 years later. Both times it depressed me. Granted, that is the book's purpose. To provide a realistic and tragic glimpse into the lives of some of America's least fortunate during the depression. Though it is interesting and well written, I can't say that I would tell my best friend to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly an uplifting read
Review: I've read this book twice now. First in college for a literature class, and again 8 years later. Both times it depressed me. Granted, that is the book's purpose. To provide a realistic and tragic glimpse into the lives of some of America's least fortunate during the depression. Though it is interesting and well written, I can't say that I would tell my best friend to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Neglected Classic
Review: On its own, this might be worth three and a half stars. The problem is that it contains too many segments lifted right out of The Neon Wilderness. Yes, this is true of some of Algren's other works, but it happened in far too many places here. The lack of focus on the main character makes it feel like Algren simply assembled a skeleton to hang together some of his short stories. The reader deserves better.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This book is about people who have nothing to lose, so they can afford to take chances. It's funny, sad and provocative. Yes, I know that some parts have been lifted from "Neon Wilderness" but it works for me. My advice to anyone who's read the book but not seen the movie that's "supposedly" based on this book: DON'T. You will be disappointed. The story is not the same. It's so different from Algren's book that Algren himself didn't even attend the premiere. If you haven't read this book and are a fan of stories about marganalized people, then by all means, read it. It shows the "downtrodden" as complex and real people.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This book is about people who have nothing to lose, so they can afford to take chances. It's funny, sad and provocative. Yes, I know that some parts have been lifted from "Neon Wilderness" but it works for me. My advice to anyone who's read the book but not seen the movie that's "supposedly" based on this book: DON'T. You will be disappointed. The story is not the same. It's so different from Algren's book that Algren himself didn't even attend the premiere. If you haven't read this book and are a fan of stories about marganalized people, then by all means, read it. It shows the "downtrodden" as complex and real people.
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