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Lost Weekend New York Classics Charles Jackson 9780815604198 Books

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Lost Weekend New York Classics Charles Jackson 9780815604198 Books

... this strange and extremely disturbing 1936 novel has to be THE classic of alcoholic literature. The narration is third-person, but stuck inside the head of Don Birnam, the quintessential egomaniacal [without acknowledging it], self-centered [without realizing it], self-pickling [no question], self-justifying [without a single qualm] alcoholic. In addition to the excruciating details of its chronicle of Don's self-destruction in the course of said weekend, the brilliance of the author's narrative voice is to expose the
gargantuan denial and rationalization of Don's thoughts, even as he is thinking them.
Spoiler's Alert: there is no happy ending, either for Don or the reader.


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Lost Weekend New York Classics Charles Jackson 9780815604198 Books Reviews

Charles Jackson's portrayal of the process of addiction has the ring of truth to it. I have worked with people suffering from alcohol addiction and have family members who also struggle with this awful disease, so I have read a lot about it. This novel offered more insight into the alcoholic's self-destructive process than anything I had read previously.
It’s an incredible inside view on alcoholism made by the alcoholic. See the movie if you can. Everything you need to know about alcoholism is here and made frighteningly real in the film.
The Lost Weekend by Charles Jackson is a total masterpiece. It's such a shame he is not better known. A story about 5 days in the life of alcoholic Don Birnam as he lies, cheats, and steals to get his booze. Some really, really great scenes in this book, like when he attempts to steal a purse from a nightclub, or desperately walking the streets of New York City looking for an open pawn shop to sell his typewriter. But I don't want to ruin the story for you. An absolute must read!
This book is definitely an instance of the book being better than the film, mainly because there is a wealth of inner dwelling in the book that cannot be captured on a screen. Jackson's prose starts out seeming a bit overblown, but quickly develops into a selfish, self-absorbed, and often offhandedly comical muse of the befuddled brain.

Charming gallantry, lies and fictions, excursions seeking pawn money, reminiscing of days past, each one poetically narrated by Jackson. His protagonist, Don Birnam, never once denies who or what he is. He's an alcoholic, and he serves only himself.

This book captures not just the degrading life of the alcoholic but the romanticism the addict infuses upon it. Even bungled up from a bad fall on the stairs, Don emphasizes his independence and self worth, at least internally, and leaves the hospital without treatment. He doesn't need anyone but himself, except when it comes to money to buy the booze.

Don knows he is charming, and knows he can hurt people by charming them, but he does it anyway because of the need for his own personal release. His mental escapades are astounding, his tales larger than life, his delusions more than reality his highs are extraordinarily high and his lows are extraordinarily low. What we know now that we didn't know back when this book was written is how many addicts are bi-polar, but Jackson managed to capture this aspect of addiction long before science did.

'The Lost Weekend' isn't necessarily a fast-paced read, but rather something to nibble on when one is reflecting on what life has to dish out for us. For some, the monumental hurdles are mortgage and job promotions, for others, its finding those few bucks to get the next high.

'The Lost Weekend' is a must-have for your addiction collection, exploring the inner-space of addiction rather than the outer-space, or consequences, of it. The complacency, the drama, the edginess, the fulfillment, the tides it's all here in the quick, inside look at a singular weekend. Enjoy!
Great read, but awfully hard to get through (I had to take a few days off half-way into it)
because it's a real downer. Charles Jackson superbly portrayed the mind of an alcoholic, or any addict, and the terrible emotions felt after the failures to conquer the habit. The character, Bim, is fascinating, too.
Riveting reading but very frustrating for it to end with our narrator hiding liquor in the toilet tank at brother Wick's house, counting his cash left, then the book's over. Last chapter(s) missing in my kindle version.
The pacing and plot is constant motion, pulling you into the chaos. What is extraordinary is the depth and immediacy of the description of the alcoholic's interior state. The stages of a bender. The characteristics of the active alcoholic, who are all alike - yet each story is a little different. It is an insightful look into human defects of character. There is no redemption here, but there is illumination. Read this if you have alcoholism in your life. And if you don't.
... this strange and extremely disturbing 1936 novel has to be THE classic of alcoholic literature. The narration is third-person, but stuck inside the head of Don Birnam, the quintessential egomaniacal [without acknowledging it], self-centered [without realizing it], self-pickling [no question], self-justifying [without a single qualm] alcoholic. In addition to the excruciating details of its chronicle of Don's self-destruction in the course of said weekend, the brilliance of the author's narrative voice is to expose the
gargantuan denial and rationalization of Don's thoughts, even as he is thinking them.
Spoiler's Alert there is no happy ending, either for Don or the reader.