A Small Journal of Heroin Addiction [Paperback]

Robin Marchesi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

Robin Marchesi's brilliant autobiographical book is at once a fine work of literature, and an uplifting if grim inspirational work to encourage those grappling with drug addiction. In any case, it is fascinating reading for the poetically minded in general. Mr. Marchesi's journal intermingles equally powerful threads of pure poetry and stream of consciousness prose. In Part I (Rosales), Mr. Marchesi vividly and richly captures the true story of his travels across Europe in 1979 and the epiphany of his incarceration in the Spanish Foreign Legion prison at Ceuta. In Part 2 (Mission) he recounts his journey to San Francisco around 1999 to rescue a young protege who was badly hooked on junk. Mr. Marchesi echoes something of the dark intensity of the earlier Beat Generation (a touch of Kerouac, Ferlinghetti, and City Lights) as well as his own 1960s generation. More importantly, he convincingly and artistically captures the timelessness of what happens when human beings and dangerous substances mix in bad ways. Despite moments of despair, he never loses sight of his optimism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Clocktower Books (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743300521
• ISBN-13: 978-0743300520
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars poetry and prose blended with artistic genius, April 20, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Small Journal of Heroin Addiction (Paperback)

This book is autobiographical and the English writer/poet, Robin
Marchesi's journal was written within two concentrated periods in his
life. There is a 20 year span which separates the two events. The
first of two chapters deals with his 6 week imprisonment in a Spanish
prison for possessing drugs. In it, he describes the loneliness and
struggle of his confinement. It is a sanctum from which he cannot
escape from, but is a resource from which he draws no self-pity, but
articulates some fantastic poetic imagery. I was drawn into his
literate gift for words which he freely spins and blends with amazing
skill and talent.

The second chapter deals with his flight to San
Francisco to secure a fellow English friend in the throes of his drug
addiction and to bring him back to England. He wanders the streets of
Haight Ashbury in search of his friend and again blends his magical
poetic and prose style in depths that I have never read or experienced
before.

I was fascinated from the first page and mesmerized by the
last page. After I put the book down and went back to reread the
memorable passages I had remembered in my mind, I looked to find that
the words were gone or perhaps were never there. This book stirred my
imagination because it went beyond the written word. It ignited my
imagination. I will surely enjoy reading this book again and strongly
recommend this book as nourishment to anyone's imagination.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nothing else like it, December 20, 2004

By 

James B (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Small Journal of Heroin Addiction (Paperback)

I just wanted to express the compassion that i felt after reading this book.
In a sort of twisted way this is a funny book. Marchesi's slant on the things that he experienced, particuarly in the first half, represents a truely unique perception on things. For example the names that he gives the people he meets, tend to be truly detached from reality. And yet all the while you just can't help but feel the big black cloud of emotion that hangs over him for a good deal of his journey, until eventually it shifts.
And it does shift. it shifts with such grace and beauty that i can't discribe it. an incredible feeling of freedom, from a pain that you thought would never end, like intolerable suffering that eventually dissolved and suddenly everything in the entire existence of this world unfolded to reveal it's true and most beautiful side again.
For me, I don't regret buying this book for one second. I don't enjoy fiction books but it was the experiences of the author that drove me on to keep reading. This is great book, give it a chance like i did.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title, September 5, 2005

By 

L. Sehdeva (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Small Journal of Heroin Addiction (Paperback)

This book focuses on the author's experiences in a Spanish prison and his efforts, decades later, to get another junkie into rehab. It does not deal directly with the author's own struggle to overcome heroin addiction.

The prose accounts of the author's first-hand experiences are more interesting (and in my opinion more skilfully written) than his poetry. I would like to see these prose sections expanded. The book could also benefit from more copyediting.