Customer Reviews

Go Now

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have read this book twice and I sometimes open it at random just to get the feeling and human excitement the writing brings to me. I grant you it's not perfect. There is some sloppiness and places where he goes too far, but this book is mesmerizing and lovely. I see that some of the reviewers seem to resent a person who is a rock and roll musician publishing a book of fiction. Well it so happens that Patti Smith IS a remarkable writer, and so is Richard Hell. (So is Jim Carroll for that matter -- it's his rock and roll that's doubtful. Same goes for Patti Smith in my opinion.) People also resent writing that deals with drug users. The lead character in this book is a drug addict -- yearning to get free of it -- but the book is about being human, in other words having animal drives that are contrary to one's ideals. It's sexy too. But even more it's about perception. The book's insights are as deep as any novel that's appeared in thirty years. You should read it.

The fasciniating thing about Go Now is the fact that it lacks the elements that so many "struggling junky artist" stories seem to use as a crutch: any kind of apology, regret, or pity. Hell exercises the same brilliance and articulation of his lyrics with the Voidoids and Dim Stars in this cut-and-dried, action/reaction novel set in the life of a decadent early eighties NYC junky musician.. a subject Hell, sadly, knows a little about. This book is neither weak nor dull; neither is the author's mind.

Richard Hell has scored with novel Go Now. An insiders look at the internally working of an addict and his skewed but sometimes beautiful view of the world. The writing is lyrical, agile and graceful. Definity the inheritor of the junkie-prose tradition Hell has created a novel that is sublime in spots and gritty in other but all together a thrilling ride

I must confess I bought this book after becoming completely infatuated with Richard Hell and books about heroin. I've read both "Junkie" by William S. Burroughs and "Go Now" and I just have to admit I liked this book better that the two. The choice of words and poetic prose make this book both make you want to cry at the beauty the main character (Billy) sees and feels, and yet can also thrum up feelings of utter disgust, and I love this book for that. Thank you, Richard Hell, for such an amazing book.

Richard Hell has been around music for a long time, most notably as a founding member of the Voidoids. He's also been around drugs for a long time. No wonder they came together -- sort of -- in the Rock Fiction book, Go Now.
Actually, I'd call this more of a Road Trip book than a work of Rock Fiction. Sure, we're told Billy is in a band, but between the drugs and the adventure, we don't really see much in terms of music. At most, I'd call this one of those fringe books in the Rock Fiction genre: there's a guy who makes music, but that's the extent of it.
So we've got this road trip, and at the same time, we've got the story of a junkie. The two can't mesh well, and they don't. Billy is a train wreck, but what junkie isn't?
This is my issue. I'm not a fan of junkie fiction. I'm not a fan of train wrecks. I need something redeeming in a character, and there just isn't much redeemable about someone who's trapped in a very dark, needy place. Add in the fact that I can't relate to a junkie's lifestyle and ... yeah. I'm doomed.
In the right hands, this book will be viewed as a fabulous work of fiction. Billy's written with an authenticity that rings so very true, even if I hadn't known anything about Richard Hell, I'd be able to tell Billy is based on some autobiographical traits.
While this wasn't my sort of read, that doesn't mean it's not a good one. If you're into Road Trip Junkie stories with only a hint of Rock Fiction, go for it.

When I first heard of this book, I had to get it... I mean Richard Hell! I love him!
From the second I opened this book I couldn't put it down. Not to say it was fantastic, but it was so real. It felt like walking into someone's brain (primal/animalistic urges). Fascinating.
Through every chapter you got to know the inner workings of this addict, what moved them and destroyed them. In short, how fragile life is, and how misdirected we can be by our intuition under the influence of anything and everything. Air included. Buy this. Read it. Be disturbed.

this book was amazing and beautiful. almost poetic in all of it's disgusting and lovely ways. the way things are taken, meditated on, disected, and explained is talent on richard hell's part. it's a great novel. and i think everyone should be exposed to it. have a chance to read it.

Richard Hell really knows how to write. This book made me feel just like I was on the road (and in the motels) with the characters. I could actually feel the undeniable pain of BillyŠ his craving for junk, his craving for sex. I read the book in one sitting, not realizing at all that I was doing so. It is so brutally honest and skillfully crafted that you simply must believe in its utter realism. One great read to recommend to anyone who might like music, sex, drugs or just plain good writing. Thank you, Mr. Hell

I agreed with the Kirkham Review of this book. Mostly I found "Go Now" boring and extremely pretentious, like a 200-page self-indulgent piece of stream-of-consciousness.The only slightly redeeming part of the novel came at the very end, which would have, I believe, made a better and more intriguing beginning. Any comparisons to "Junkie" insult William Burroughs.

I bought this book for cheap from an amazon seller, mostly because I am a big fan of Richard Hell the musician. His lyrics always struck me as being particularly inspired, so it was a revelation to me that his prose is lacking. Basically, the story centers on young, drug-addicted, underground rock star wannabe, Billy Mudd, who goes on a cross country trip to retrieve someone else's car from the west coast. His ex lover accompanies him on the trip, and a rather predictable string of conflicts emerges along the way. Predictable that is, until the very end, when Hell throws the reader somewhat of a curveball. Billy narrates the story in the first person the whole way through, and he has a frustrating tendency to drift off on long tangents of introspection and verbal diarrhea, much in the same way someone on drugs might do. If you were to say that the style of this novel is reminiscent of Kerouac, I'd have to respond by saying only just barely. Its like the work of a young, misguided Kerouac who hasn't quite made it past those first few ill-conceived attempts at something original and worthwhile. Or else, perhaps its more akin to the work of an old and tired Kerouac who's resorted to merely going through the motions of his once potent creative process. The only enjoyable part of this novel to me is the notion that perhaps this story is loosely based on people and events in Hell's own life, which had me trying to guess who these characters were supposed to be modelled on. For instance, my best guess is that the English band manager that sends Mudd to Los Angeles is supposed to be Malcolm McLaren, but I'm not too certain about that. In any case, I'd advise you to skip this novel unless you are an absolutely die-hard Richard Hell fan, and simply must own anything with his name on it, or you find a copy for extremely cheap and just want an easy read for your down time during the day.