Last Exit to Brooklyn is a raw depiction of life amongst New York's junkies, hustlers, drag queens and prostitutes. An unforgettable cast of characters inhabits the housing projects, bars and streets of Brooklyn: Georgette, a hopelessly romantic and tormented transvestite; Vinnie, a disaffected and volatile youth who has never been on the right side of the law; Tralala, who can find no escape from her loveless existence; Harry, a power-hungry strike leader with a fatal secret. Living on the edge, always walking on the wild side, their alienation and aggression mask a desperate, deep human need for affection and kinship.
Banned in Britain on first publication in 1964, Last Exit to Brooklyn brought its ex-marine, drug-addict author instant notoriety. Its truthfulness stunned a generation and continues to shock to this day.
I'm deeply moved by this novel. Some scenes in this book are really hard to bear. But its language is so strong and so beautiful in its coarseness, and the characters are so real and deeply tragic and unforgettable. Wow.
