Requiem for a dream book review năm 2024

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Requiem for a dream book review năm 2024

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The notorious dark, modern-day fable of New York from this cult master, new to Penguin Modern Classics

Harry Goldfarb, heroin addict and son of lonely widow Sara, cares only about enjoying the good life with girlfriend Marion and best friend Tyrone C Love, and making the most of all the hash, poppers and dope they can get. Sara Goldfarb sits at home with the TV, dreaming of the life she could have and struggling with her own addictions - food and diet pills. But these four will pay a terrible price for the pleasures they believe they are entitled to. A passionate, heart-breaking tale of the crushing weight of hope and expectation, Requiem for a Dream is a dark modern-day fable of New York.

  • Published: 20 June 2012
  • ISBN: 9780141195667
  • Imprint: Penguin Classics
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 240
  • RRP: $22.99

Praise for Requiem for a Dream

Selby's place is in the front rank of American novelists ... to understand his work is to understand the anguish of America New York Times Book Review
Selby deploys street slang, common speech, argot and scatology to create a high poetic art ... it seems to derive from the greatest American poetry--Whitman, Pound, Williams, and Olson The Nation

Selby brings a scorching light to a limited area of human existence, which most people know of but do not know

The rich internal monologues and heavily accented dialogues, giving away the socio-cultural background of these Brooklyn residents, are what make Hubert Selby Jr.’s 1978 novel Requiem for a Dream such compelling reading. The fact that all of this dialogue is fully embedded in paragraphs, one sliding into the other, and that it lacks quotation marks (as well as apostrophes), can make for challenging and slow reading. Without clear breaks and punctuation indicating where one character’s voice stops and the other begins means that the reader must rely on the different speaking styles, slang and accents of the various characters to decipher who is talking.

The story opens with Sara Goldfarb, a middle-aged widow, having to yet again retrieve her television from Mr. Rabinowitz’s pawn shop, after her son Harry pawned it for pocket money. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the television is Sara Goldfarb’s life. She lives largely abandoned by her son, in a modest Brooklyn apartment. Other than watching television, especially game shows, her joy in life comes from eating a box of chocolates in her viewing chair, enjoying a fresh bagel with cream cheese or savouring a danish. Sara Goldfarb is profoundly lonely, yet is always ready to come to the defence of her good-for-nothing son. She is a tragic figure with whom one is simply compelled to empathize. Some of her charm comes from her regular use of Yiddish words, like zophtic (as in having a nice, plump figure), ipsy pipsy (as in everything is just fine, or dandy) or the affectionate term boobala.

Some of the richest Yiddish (or Yinglish) comes from the pawn shop owner, a minor character, Mr. Rabinowitz. Speaking to Sara Goldfarb, as she comes to retrieve the television, Mr. Rabinowitz notes: “Vy dont you tell already the police so maybe they could talk to Harry and he vouldnt be stealing no more the TV, or maybe they send him somewhere for a few months he can tink and ven hes coming out hes already a good boy and takes care of you and no more all the time taking the TV?” Sara will hear nothing of the suggestion that she should have her son arrested. As she explains: “Hes the end of the line. The last of the Goldfarbs. How could I make him a criminal? They would put him with such terrible people where he could learn such terrible things. No, hes young. Hes a good boy my Harold. Hes just a little mischief. Someday he/ll meet a nice young jewish girl and make me a grandmother.” Sara, of course, was in denial about her son and Mr. Rabinowitz knew it. The scene ends with one of the most memorable internal monologues, when Mr. Rabinowitz says to himself, thinking about his own wife and going home at the end of the work day: “Oi, such a life. I hope she gets home already. Im not vanting cold soup. A man my age is needingk (sic) hot food for his stomach and hot water for his feet. Oi mine feet. Ahhhhhhh…such a life. Tsouris...Tsouris…”

The story centres around Sara Goldfarb thinking that she has been chosen to be a contestant on a game show. She must lose enough weight to fit into a red dress and golden shoes–attire that her late husband loved. She is so proud and excited about the prospect of “starring” on television and the neighbours in her building, with whom she sunbathes during the day, seem fascinated too. Meanwhile her son and his girlfriend Marion dream of making enough money to open an artsy café in New York. Their plan of getting rich hinges on trafficking drugs, with the help of Harry’s friend Tyrone. While Sara becomes addicted to dubious weight loss pills, Harry, Marion and Tyrone descend into drug addiction.

Selby himself struggled with addiction for much of his life. He was put on prescription painkillers after serious health problems experienced in his youth and became addicted. As such, he speaks from experience. The scenes of psychosis in his story seem authentic, gripping and disturbing. The voices of his characters are authentic and credible too. But it is Sara’s voice and her story that really stayed with me the most. I was drawn most to the scenes that featured her. At first, these were sweet and light-hearted. But they, along with the powerful narrative as a whole, became gut-wrenching.

What is the main message of Requiem for a Dream?

Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. is a haunting and disturbing tale that delves into the lives of four individuals trapped in the downward spiral of addiction. It sheds light on the harsh realities of drug abuse and the devastating consequences it brings.

Why Requiem for a Dream is a masterpiece?

The range of emotions felt, and the depth of them are fantastic. The cinematography is creative and flawlessly executed. Excellent acting by a perfectly selected cast. The soundtracks main theme is so powerful, it has been reused in numerous films.

Why is Requiem for a Dream Rated R?

Both versions of this film have enough language, explicit sex, violence, blood, and nudity (included female full-frontal) to merit an R. Both versions try with hypnotic imagery and music to capture both the allure and the insidious damage of intoxicants.

What is the theme of Requiem for a Dream novel?

On the surface, it seems that the novel is a story of the thwarted love between a man and a woman, but the masterpiece major theme is about the American dream. The author writes about a man who takes the dream too far and becomes unable to distinguish his false life of riches from reality.