Broken on the Wheel of Sex - Trade Paperback [Paperback]

Jack Ketchum (Author), Cortney Skinner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

This edition of Jack Ketchum's "Broken On The Wheel of Sex: The Jerzy Livingston Years" is the most complete edition of the "Stroup" stories ever collected together. These stories, written from 1976 to 1981, and appearing in various men's magazines and other outlets, offer Ketchum readers a look into this author's formulative years. This is where Jack Ketchum honed his writing craft that has become so well known with his novels The Girl Next Door, The Crossing, Off Season and The Lost. Collected here is his character simply known as the "Stroup" stories written under the pseudonym Jerzy Livingston, which are rare and difficult to locate almost thirty years after the original publications gave them life. "I've called these the Jerzy Livingston years because over half of them were written under that name and the rest under my real one. Somehow Jerzy seems more appropriate for this collection. My adoption of that particular pseudonym was both a joke - a play on words -and a nod to a very good writer, which I hoped some day to be." - Jack Ketchum, from the author's introduction. Also includes Afterwords for each story by the author.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Ketchum takes us from the hardcore times of the ‘70’s and early 80’s when free sex, love, and everything related in between was a dream living on borrowed time. But after reading Ketchum’s stories, what a dream it was. A total of nineteen stories appear here, some published for the first time or virtually impossible to find at all can now be found in Broken On The Wheel of Sex: The Jerzy Livingston Years in this newly revised edition. Available in a Signed Limited Hard Cover Edition. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Author

"I've called these the Jerzy Livingston years because over half of them were written under that name and the rest under my real one. Somehow Jerzy seems more appropriate for this collection. My adoption of that particular pseudonym was both a joke —a play on words — and a nod to a very good writer, which I hoped some day to be." – Jack Ketchum, from the author’s introduction. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Connection Press (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892950421
• ISBN-13: 978-1892950420
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,263,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Part Bukowski, Part Film Noir, All Jack Ketchum, January 3, 2012

By 

Carl Hose (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Broken on the Wheel of Sex (Kindle Edition)

I am a Jack Ketchum fanatic. The man has a way with words. This particular book was a gem to find. Part Bukowski, part film noir, lots of balls to the wall, gritty writing. This is Jack Ketchum in a way you've never experienced him before. "Broken on the Wheel of Sex" is an unflinching collection of stories that feature pieces Jack did for various men's magazines. The sex is raw, the plot lines varied, and the character studies so brutally honest that you can't help but be drawn into each tale. Highlights for me were the stories involving Jack's recurring character Stroup (you actually see an evolution in the character's brash personality through the course of the stories) and the brilliant nonfiction pieces. I really didn't expect to dig the nonfiction, Jack has a way of making them read in such an entertaining fashion that you can't help going along for the ride. That is due primarily in the fact that he lives his nonfiction and brings his experiences to the printed page. Kudos to Jack Ketchum for bringing this glimpse of his early writing days to light for fans. This is a collection any Jack Ketchum fan should read.

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars For hardcore fans only, February 6, 2010

By 

R. S. Fernandez "Rodrigo" (Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Broken on the Wheel of Sex - Trade Paperback (Paperback)

A collection of Jack Ketchum's first short stories, originally published in men's mangazines. And they could have stayed there... Almost all the stories are pretty dull, with some ideas that would end up used in other novels (like She Wakes, a pretty dull novel as well, if you ask me) and have no more interest than seeing the begginnings of what would become a great writer.
They're not a great begginning, if truth be told, and Ketchum shows a strong influence of Charles Bukowski, and little of the writer's skills or hardcore sensibility he'll come to deliver later in his books.
So, buy it if you're a completist, skip it if you you're not a hardcore fan.
For a taste of the truly great Ketchum, you should go for The Girl Next Door, Off Season, or Red [RED] [Mass Market Paperback].
Thinking about it, there are some really good books by Ketchum out there, buy this one if you've read every other and you're still hungry of the Ketchum flavour. Although here you'll find it a little bit raw...