Solipsist (Rollins, Henry) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Maybe all presidents should be semi-literate, overweight and out of shape then they could always be remembered as ""A true man of the people.""..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This completely new volume of more than 170 new gritty prose works and poems by self-declared "Anti-Man", Henry Rollins, presents a literary x-ray of the landscape of modern America and the walking wounded who inhabit it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: 2.13.61 (August 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1880985594
• ISBN-13: 978-1880985595
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,488 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful..., April 11, 2000

By	"mausmaus" (Santa Barbara, CA USA) - See all my reviews

In an age where I'd almost given up on honesty and authenticity in writing, a friend introduced me to Hank - and I was amazed. Maybe one or two people on earth are capable of having me in a screaming, raging fury of disgust at one moment, then two lines later can write something that lances straight into the center of my soul and gouges out something that I've been ignoring - or afraid to say - for years.

Henry Rollins speaks with a voice that has been forgotten by most of us. The voice of anger, sorrow, joy, love and murderous hatred... honest and truthful in its own fictional way, consequences be damned.

There are many people who'd tell you he's the Messiah, but in reality, he's just a screwed-up guy with some really good things to say - and the talent required to say them. I have great respect for people like that - and I recommend this book highly. It is, for me, and incredibly profound read.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rollins' most consistent work to date, November 16, 1998

By A Customer

"I saw the word Solipsist while reading the dictionary in 1993," Rollins writes on the dust jacket to his latest book. "I was living in NYC at the time and the word defined how the city made me feel. I worked on the book in several cities all over the world until 1996. The writing is obsessive and claustrophobic. To be solipsistic is to totally realize the ego and the nightmare of utter self-possession. I went for it and it swallowed me whole." That pretty much sums it up. While Rollins' writing has always been misanthropic, this is his manifesto. Lines like "all you ever did was take and watch yourself in the mirror the whole time" litter the pages. It's tough going at times, but there's an oddly positive undercurrent that tempers much of the negativity that's overshadowed much of his past work. Rollins has turned a corner with this one. As he explores the themes of alienation and self-knowledge, he lets a little more of himself bleed onto the pages than before. The topics of sellouts, fans and critics are also addressed in a much more holistic manner. Rollins seems more at ease with himself and his lot in life. Some have criticized him for being a cartoony punk Celine, but there's more to his writing than that, and it shows through in SOLIPSIST, his most consistent and literate book to date.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i can not change or hide what i am even if i wantd to...., October 20, 2003

By	hadar tomer (haifa Israel) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

when i first read "solipsist" i cried.
yes. i did... i am not some rollins fanatic,but i have to admit that this guy really knows what he is talking about.the way he describes loneliness,pain,humiliation that goes along sometimes with "being real" with women,the alienation that big cities can make you feel...this book sums it all up-in living colour,simple language and gut wrenching honesty.
rollins talks about situations that many of us go through- the need for someone,the sleepless nights after a loved one leaves...
the burning need to know where she is and what she is doing....
but! unlike others,rollins offers different solutions.rollins confronts his fear instead of being over sensitive (although his writing IS very sensitive and intelligent)- rollins offers confrontation instead of fear,long periods of loneliness instead of forced agony in marriage. he does NOT give the easy option.
he tells it like it is:"wonder where your EX is? let me assuer you-she is with someone else".brutal? yes.. but true.
this might not be easy reading,but whenever i was down,whenever i have felt bad about myself-whenever i woke up in the middle of the night- i opened "solipsist".didnt even matter which page ,and started reading.
this book is a MUST for everyone who has ever had a hard time and DIDNT break.
i will close this recommendation with a quote from "solipsist":

AND YOU NEVER FORGET WHAT YOU ARE.

WARRIOR.