Finished: Down and Out on the Murder Mile

Title: Down and Out on the Murder Mile

Author: Tony O'Neill

Started: 22 December 2010

Finished: 23 December 2010

Listen. When you bill a book as a "novel" (because that subtitle is given on the cover of the book), the implication is that the book is fictional. So, when the names and identities of characters turn out to be the names of real-life individuals, and when events happen exactly the same way they happened to you, the author, it's not a novel. That, Mister O'Neill, is a memoir. I know as a life-long musician with a stint of several years as a junkie you cannot be held to the same standards as those who studied English and creative writing and put their dues in, learning the trade; still, in this day and age, Google can be greatly helpful. I just checked the Wikipedia page for "novel," to confirm my rant, and all over it says that it is fictional. So please, learn the terminology. It is not difficult to learn...well...anything, with the information superhighway at our fingertips.

Moving on!

Despite my dissatisfaction with the poor editing and nomenclature, I enjoyed this book on a visceral plane. I found myself standing in the kitchen with a beer in one hand and the book in the other, glued to the powerful narrative in my hand.

However, the memoir was chronologically unclear (I was shocked by the end to discover that the book spanned several years), punctuated by filthy anecdotes of the dire circumstances of drug addiction. Every situation was the worst possible situation, starting from page one, through until the last few chapters, during which, in a jarring reversal of circumstance and barely any explanation, Tony finds his girlfriend is pregnant, he gets clean, and anticipates his daughter's birth.

Two stars. Maybe I just don't relate because I'm not a drug addict.

Currently Reading

Title: Down and Out on the Murder Mile

Author: Tony O'Neill

This book is depressing. I think that it is intended to be at least semi-autobiographical, and honestly, the way he has written, I could not imagine any person describing his experiences in such gruesome detail without having experienced it himself. A junkie and his junkie wife living in LA, then London, unconvincingly battle their addiction.

I still haven't figured out how I really feel about this book.

Edit: Two things are true: O'Neill seems to be quite careless with his writing, and his editor is not terribly meticulous. I have seen the word "where" used in place of "were" at least twice, and there have been many blatant typos, particularly letters missing entirely from words.

Finished: The Snapper and The Van

Title(s): The Snapper and The Van

Author: Roddy Doyle

I read The Snapper when I was in high school, and was always interested in completing the Barrytown Trilogy (first book, The Commitments). Purchased a book with all three, read The Commitments, started to re-read The Snapper and slacked off.

Well, after spending three or four days glued to my computer screen during break, I decided I needed to find a different way to spend my time. Generally, during breaks, I get down to business reading right away. But because it has been several months since I have had even a free second to read, I forgot how enjoyable a pastime it is and skipped straight to the computer. Furthermore, I had no idea what to read!

Then, I remembered that I had to complete the Trilogy, and once I picked up my book, I could not stop. I plowed through the first hundred pages of The Snapper, virtually without stopping, in one night. Woke up and finished it the next day, then read two-hundred-and-thirty pages of The Van later that day, hardly even noticing that I had almost finished.

The books are written in a very colloquial Irish style. The casualness, and large amounts of dialogue, make it easy to get lost in these books. Rarely do we see a book in the third-person-omniscient, but these books are, well done, too. In said person, it is easy to confuse the reader by detailing the thoughts and feelings of all characters, but Doyle's writing is anything but confusing.

The only thing I would say is confusing is the dialect used by the characters, but that is only due to the fact that I am not accustomed to calling the bathroom "jacks" and rarely use the word "bollix." Anyway, once the reader begins to understand the dialect, it is easy to get into the flow of the writing.

Excellent books, realistically and relatably written.

Four stars.