I finished reading Requiem for a Dream on the plane on Saturday, and am still amazed by how good it was. I’ve still got scenes running through my head over and over.
It’s a fast-paced stream of consciousness style book, with very little punctuation or use of paragraphs. This goes some way to ape the drug-users’ states of mind, and there is a distinct switch from rapid to slow whenever someone takes a hit.
Which is frequently. Very frequently. If graphic descriptions of hard drug use offend or upset, this is not the book for you. Selby does a fantastic job of putting across the euphoria that each person feels each time they score, and also of the desperation they feel to get that score.
The subplot of the mother’s character, feeding a different addiction, is horrifying, especially the resolution. During the last 30 pages, I was genuinely becoming upset each time the narrative switched to her. Anything else I say would spoil it.
The obvious comparison I made in my own head is to our cult British heroin novel, Trainspotting, which I unashamedly adore. The book is fantastic, as are the film and soundtrack. I’ve heard good things about Requiem’s film adaptation, so I will have to check it out soon.
So if you haven’t already picked up Requiem for a Dream, I highly recommend it.
