Another Day in Paradise [Paperback]

Eddie Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

In the tradition of Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries, Eddie Little's debut novel traces the outlaw life of a young Irish American. A teenage speed freak and petty thief, Bobbie and his Puerto Rican girlfriend, Rosie, are taken under the wing of an all-round criminal opportunist named Mel, who is old enough to be Bobbie's father, and Mel's girlfriend, Syd. Bobbie's chance to get back on his feet begins as the inside man in a pharmaceutical company break-in. The ensuing crime spree takes the foursome across the Midwest and California of the early '70s--and deeper into the dark world of heroin addiction.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

At age 13, Bobbie leaves the violent, abusive home where he was raised, and this book details his following year. He has an older girlfriend, carries a gun, takes drugs, and is on an ever-tightening spiral to hell, his crimes escalating until they include murder. The plot, which highlights Bobbie's increasing dependence on the highs of violence, is not pointless but instead emphasizes a frightening reality. For Bobbie, read Little. He's been there, and his graphic story is written with an immediacy and realism that will make normal thinking people cringe and parents anxious to protect their children from the harshness in which some youth live. Movie rights have been sold, so expect some interest.?Andrea Lee Shuey, Dallas P.L.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A gutsy, fresh, and fierce drug novel, something like walking over broken glass barefoot, by first-novelist and former addict Little. Most of the story, set during the late '60s and early '70s in the Midwest and California, has an autobiographical tang. Bobbie, the 14-year-old Irish hero, has been on the street since he was 11, and hasn't much hope of living to 20. As Bobbie matures into a copper-bottomed Huck Finn on heroin, pursuing a life of crime and bloodshed, one fears that the novel's big rainbow buzz will fade and Bobbie head for rehab. But since 12- step programs haven't yet been invented, all stays hopped up and oblivion-bound till the end. Before the drug takes charge of him, Bobbie is braced--even empowered--by the heroin. But after a year of this, no amount of the stuff can return him to well-being. The good days, he realizes, are gone forever, and the need to support his habit with various crimes, petty and big-time, only intensifies. And so little Bobbie takes up with a professional burglar named Mel, twice his age, who recruits him as a worthy sidekick for drug errands usually run around midnight. Bobbie, near the same time, falls in love with Rosie, a star-crossed 17- year-old, also a druggie. Little's strongest suit is to suggest Bobbie's masked fear of exposing his love and friendship for Rosie and Mel: A pro, after all, is supposed to show no feeling. Little keeps Bobbie's emotions capped but pulsating at every step of the way. Little, who runs an AIDS assistance organization in Los Angeles, writes like a bad dream on wheels, unique in the electric authenticity that he brings to every sentence. The stages of addiction have seldom been so vividly drawn. (Film rights to Miramax; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140267727
• ISBN-13: 978-0140267723
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not every person's typical day in paradise, January 9, 2002

By 

Janice M. Hansen (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Another Day in Paradise (Paperback)

There are certain books you can pass along to friends and loved ones with high marks, and, then, there are books you give very high marks to, but choose not to pass them along.

Your aunt Maude would probably not understand this fantastic novel at all. Your mother would wonder why the hell you loved it so much. You would feel frustrated to defend your preferences, and, so, it may be easier to keep it in your bookcase and only offer it, if at all, to persons evaluated to be of the nature to appreciate a literary genius.

This is potent material. As a nurse working in emergency medicine and in forensics, I search for an understanding of such pathology. Aside from a gripping novel, I can not escape the impact of such revelations by the author. He opened more than his soul to expose this kind of wound on paper.

If you want to understand addiction, read this novel.
If you want to know what to expect when you are completely addicted to your drug of choice, go to page 226, paragraph 11. There, in full blown absolute reality, is the truth. Only someone intimate with the issue could tell it straight. Eddie spent some very difficult nights and days in order to elucidate the hell he went through. The gift for all users is to be good enough to translate the truth into words that the most unyielding addict will pay attention to.
In an extraordinary novel, Eddie has done just that.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very surprised., November 29, 2005

By 

RVJ (Fort Lewis, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Day in Paradise (Paperback)

When I first heard the premise for this book I thought it would be garbage. The idea of a fourteen year old running with hard criminals seemed ridiculous to me, but I really enjoyed this book. I liked it so much I got the sequel (steel toes) immediately after I finished it. This book really hit me in some hard way, it was disturbing at times, and filled with such pain that it could only be written by someone who has seen hard life. Look past the insignificant details, like the kids age and get lost in this one. It's one of those books that has changed me a little, and it might do the same for you. I hope Eddie Little gives us some more reading sometime soon.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A teen's initiation into the world of crime..., June 15, 2000

By 

D. Ross "http://directorblue.blogspot.com" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Another Day in Paradise (Paperback)

...hooking up with an experienced burglar and his girlfriend (both of whom have significant substance-abuse problems), Bobbie endures a roller-coaster ride of joy and pain, with each peak more pronounced than the next. One gets the sense that this is an autobiographical glimpse at the life of Eddie Little. Regardless, it is a brilliantly executed time capsule which snapshots a troubled youth's charged foray into adulthood.

Tremendous work... highest recommendation.