Customer Reviews

Portrait of a Young Man Drowning: A Novel (Old School Books)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fast-paced swirling vortex of a novel-I finished it in one night. The story concerns Harold Odom, a confused young man drowning in his own circumstances: Depression-era poverty, serious Oedipal/sexual confusion, a neurotic alcoholic mother, sensitivity and repressed rage, along with the Brooklyn mobsters who make him one of their own, with tragic results. Charles Perry manages to portray Harold's complex nature--his vulnerability and his violence--in a keen and convincing manner. The wise-guy dialogue is sharp and never hackneyed, and the stream-of-consciousness narration pulls you into the mind of Harold from beginning to end. The characters and settings are realistic yet electric, like film noir but with more of a troubled heart. A great read, through and through.

Simply one of the best narratives I've ever read. The book follows the main character Harold from the time he is a child to his death. Harold is struggling with a myriad of problems from his family and the gang violence that rules his neighborhood.

At first of a victim of many atrocities Harold develops a warped perception of the world that surrounds him. He struggles to understand the actions of his peers and the adults that rule his life.

As stated in the other reviews it is a graphic novel with perverse sexual undertones that are disturbing. Harold's actions in the book are as reprehensible as they come, but you will find yourself still believing in the goodness of his character.

The title is fitting for the imagery that is given. Harold strives to stay afloat but we are aware of his inevitable destruction from the very beginning. This novel carries a definite warning of what can happen to children when they are bereft of guidance or nurturing.

I'm all most all the way through this novel and so far it is great! I had never heard of it until i watched the movie Six Ways To Sunday thats based on it. The book just blows me away, and it's sad that Charles Perry never got to write anything else. xXx

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN DROWNING was a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed every page-even the slow ones. It had everything; drama, action, betrayal, sexual tension (some by the wrong parties involved), and psychological torment made the novel exactly what I needed at the time, which was a book that had each ingredient, and then some. I've passed this novel on to two of my co-workers and they both fell flat on their backs with praise. To Charles Perry, wherever you are, on behalf of the three of us, THANK YOU!

Considered one of the classics of black pulp fiction by many, this story of a young boy's gradual slide into a life of crime with Brooklyn gangsters owes a lot to Jim Thompson, especially in its Oedipal sexual themes. In fact, I think that if the author had been white, the book would probably not have garnered the praise it has and would be regarded as yet another Thompson imitator. In any event, while the insights into the criminal life might have been new stuff in 1962, there are no great surprises to found within the pages for the modern reader who has probably seen Goodfellas, et al.