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Hubert Selby Jr.

The Room Unknown Binding – January 1, 2011

by Jr Hubert Selby (Author)

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'It is quite an experience to be locked up all by yourself in any size room' says the anonymous narrator of Hubert Selby Jr.'s second novel. What follows is a startling series of recollections and fantasies that illuminate the workings of a prisoner's unhinged mind. He yearns for his violent childhood, rages against obscure authorities, and imagines enacting horrible revenge on those who imprisoned him. The prisoner's remand cell becomes the scene of a surreal mental torture. Disorienting, nightmarish and structurally inventive, "The Room" is a shocking examination of the suffering humans can inflict on each other.

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Books
Publication date

January 1, 2011
Dimensions

5.08 x 0.55 x 7.8 inches
ISBN-10

0141195673
ISBN-13

978-0141195674
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books (January 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Unknown Binding ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141195673
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141195674
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.08 x 0.55 x 7.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #969,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #17,548 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
160 ratings

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Hubert Selby Jr.

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Hubert Selby Jr. (1928–2004), was a celebrated author of nine novels, including the classic bestseller Last Exit to Brooklyn. His other novels include Requiem for a Dream, The Room, and The Demon. Selby’s fiction, which was championed by writers such as William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was noted for its gritty portrayal of addiction and urban despair, and has influenced generations of authors, artists, and musicians. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Selby died in Los Angeles in 2004.

Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		13%
3 star		16%
2 star		8%
1 star		4%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Scarlett

Disturbing Without Justification

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2019

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I am a big fan of Hubert Selby, but this is just too much. I know it is artfully written, I know it is a fantasy of an incarcerated man, but the scenes of animal torture are unnecessary and too hideous to justify their use here. I think the esteemed author could have made his point without extending the torture scenes for over 15 pages. I have never left any book unfinished (with the exception of ‘The English Patient’ {I know, I know}), but I just can’t bear another word of this nauseating drivel. And don’t get me started on Mrs
Haagstromm. Cubby, I love you, but we are having a spat right now.

9 people found this helpful

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Damien C.

High art

Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2014

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I wouldn't give this book five stars if it wasn't for the residual effects of Cubby's writing. I've read Requiem and Brooklyn, and didn't actually enjoy reading them... But I was very affected. He has this way of making stories hurt your feelings.

I've done a prison term and have experienced solitary confinement. This book is about neither. It's a metaphorical account of human psychology. It explores the banality of violence and the repetition of fantasy. It's very abstract, cruel, morose, and depressing. I don't think many people understood the court transcripts and hellacious fantasy juxtoposistion, but it very effective if you get through it. I felt something after reading this and not disgust, rather an unexpected sympathy for a suffering mind. Once again Selby does the greatest literary magic trick of all and demands empathy for the strangers we would hurry past on the street.

And if that ain't high art... I'm not sure what is.

45 people found this helpful

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Brian Hartman

Brilliant, but *not* for the squeamish!

Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2012

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First, I would *highly* recommend that anyone considering reading this book (from Amazon, or your local library) read "Last Exit To Brooklyn" first. That will be like dipping your toe into the ocean of depravity that is "The Room".

The story centers on a nameless convict. He is now in a cell, and the reader is subjected to both his memories and his fantasies (mostly concerning revenge on the cops and the system that incarcerated him). The prisoner has a lot of time on his hands, and engages in elaborate fantasies about what he will do to the cops who arrested him, as well as how he will put the system itself on trial. These fantasies are told in narrative style, excruciatingly detailed.

The same kind of literary style Selby used in "Last Exit to Brooklyn" is on display here, only it's toned down. There isn't *quite* so much dialect, and less attention is paid to syntactical issues (e.g., "I'll" vs. "I\ll") than in that book. For me, that's a welcome change, because in "Last Exit to Brooklyn", the language and the syntax (and the fact that Selby isn't consistent with it) took me out of the stories. In "The Room", there's nothing to take you away from the prisoner's brutality.

One important aspect of the book is that the reader is never told the prisoner's crime (although it's implied towards the end), let alone whether or not he's guilty. That leaves the reader with a question: Was the prisoner *always* a sadistic monster, or was that created by the system he's now found himself in? I'd give my answer to that, but I think it's something each reader has to decide for himself or herself.

The only reason this gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that some of the imagined courtroom dialogue got kind of tedious to me. I guess Selby wanted to give the reader a break from the brutality.

To sum up: If you have the stomach for it (and not everyone does), I would highly recommend this book. It's not light reading, but it's important reading.

14 people found this helpful

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Tiffany L Porter

pass on this one

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2021

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I generally have a strong stomach for disturbing material, but the dog stuff was too much. It literally made me sick. That aside, I don’t think the book overall stands out in any significant way. I like Selby, and Requiem is one of my favorite books, but this was only so-so. Not much to take from it. I should’ve just passed on reading it.

One person found this helpful

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Hippie Grandma

I hated this book

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2018

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I hated this book. I felt claustrophobic while reading it so I guess Selby did a great writing job, as usual. But it was not my kind of book...and I loved "Last Exit..." so I can take a hard read.

6 people found this helpful

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Shannon Barber

Slow ride to Null.

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2006

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Room by Hubert Selby Jr is a slow painful ride into Hell. This isn't the path to the fiery pits but, to null. In this book Selby presents a man who is slowly and inexorably losing his mind in prison. The Room is no fast paced page turner, this book isn't for those seeking instant literary gratification. Both the pace and Selby's style of little punctuation and long thick paragraphs can make for a tedious read at times but, in my opinion this book is worth sticking with.

Room delves into the sick fantasies of a man locked not only in prison but in his own head. His decline is vividly and painfully described in scenes that run the gambit from bittersweet memories of first sexual fumblings to highly detailed sado-masochistic visions of vengance. All in all The Room delivers. I recommend this book for those willing to take the long way to madness.

9 people found this helpful

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Anthony

unbelievably good

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2014

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Not too many novels leave you gasping. What the ... !! Hard, savage, sad and in places achingly funny. One of his rants towards the end had me in stitches. But this is certainly not a comedy. I am going to be thinking about it for days. Sort of stunned. One of the truly great novels you will never forget.

11 people found this helpful

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David Eric Shur

Like all Selby novels

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2016

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Like all Selby novels, this exposes the dark side of the human soul. The writing catches your breath with the great emotion Selby is able to place on each page. I was racing through the book, because I couldn't believe what I was reading. I would wake up in the middle of the night and relive each chapter. Not for everyone, but worth it for me.

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

DBT

Makes Brett Easton Ellis look like Enid Blyton.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2019

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I do understand and support the author's right to write, and I do understand the context, the reason and the rationale behind this novel: I do understand the style and the rhythm and the rhyme of the prose - all of which are excellent, undated and addictive. But I found the extended rape scene and graphic dehumanisation of the two policemen just too much - which although is a purely personal opinion, is what a review is. The fact that writing can so powerfully evoke such a reaction is to be applauded, but I was left harrowed and left with images I would rather not have been left with. Very powerful and incredibly important - but makes Brett Easton Ellis, with whom many have made comparisons, look like Enid Blyton.

5 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Hubert Selby Jnr Virgin

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 10, 2021

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It was my first Hubert Selby Jnr book and I enjoyed his writing style, I just didn’t necessarily enjoy the story or understand much of what was happening in the narrative. I understand the protagonist was going crazy and was in his cell alone, but nothing really unfolded for me as the reader. Not clearly anyway. I also didn’t find the rapes scenes as vivid as what I’d thought they’d be. It seemed like a realistic account of a women being brutally raped and tortured by it didn’t necessarily strike the emotion I wanted from the scene considering the nature of it. I’ve read trainspotting and it made me feel physically sick at points, this however did not. I understand this isn’t his best work but I did enjoy his style so I’ll look forward to reading the Last Exit to Brooklyn.

One person found this helpful

Arthur Dent

Very disturbing, very very disturbing..

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2018

Verified Purchase

My first experience of reading Selby jr and it is rather grim, no very grim. No, don't get me wrong his writing is up there amongst the finest I have ever read but nothing prepares you for what the story this novel will tell. You can feel every second of misery and torture and blind hope that distills into more despair. Glancing images, I assume, from his childhood are written in much of a matter of fact way but you still feel defiled and that is just the least disturbing parts. This book will not give you hope, it will not make you feel better about anything, it has the capacity to make you continue your life with the dread of dysfunction looming above.

Yet Selby's writing is something else. He sets the scene perfectly and his freedom of writing with the blatant abandonment of grammar and punctuation gives the feels that the words would fly out of him in rushes and chunks. It would be interesting to know if he planned the plot from the beginning or just let it flow onto the page as he went. A mixture of both I would guess. I gave The Room five stars for the ingenuity and flow of the novel. You get used to the lack of punctuation quite quickly.

5 people found this helpful

Cockles

A very good and unsettling book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2018

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A very good and unsettling book. In fact, one of the most difficult reads I've ever read. Some very gratuitous parts of this, featuring torture, humiliation and sexual assault, but a very clever book looking into the psyche of someone yearning for revenge. A bit of a slog at times though owing to the style of not using any grammar or punctuation in certain points

One person found this helpful

geoff grainger snr

The most violent and disturbing book ever written where a ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 3, 2018

Verified Purchase

The most violent and disturbing book ever written where a prisoner fixates on revenge against all those who wronged him and how he'd take his revenge out on them all one by one.

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