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Never Leave Me
Robbins' New York is the world of big business and the men and women who make it big. Honor and decency are nothing in a city where respect is measured by the size of your expense account. And it's the city that Brad Rowan, a man on the make, hopes to conquer on his climb to the top, bringing with him the women he loves, uses, and destroys. Drawing from his own experiences in New York, Robbins vividly portrays our eternal desire for greed, desire, and blind ambition, in this timeless tale of success and struggle in the city that never sleeps.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1953
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406 people want to read
About the author
Harold Robbins
322 books439 followersBorn as Harold Rubin in New York City, he later claimed to be a Jewish orphan who had been raised in a Catholic boys home. In reality he was the son of well-educated Russian and Polish immigrants. He was reared by his pharmacist father and stepmother in Brooklyn.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
His first book, Never Love a Stranger (1948), caused controversy with its graphic sexuality. Publisher Pat Knopf reportedly bought Never Love a Stranger because "it was the first time he had ever read a book where on one page you'd have tears and on the next page you'd have a hard-on".
His 1952 novel, A Stone for Danny Fisher, was adapted into a 1958 motion picture King Creole, which starred Elvis Presley.
He would become arguably the world's bestselling author, publishing over 20 books which were translated into 32 languages and sold over 750 million copies. Among his best-known books is The Carpetbaggers, loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, taking the reader from New York to California, from the prosperity of the aeronautical industry to the glamour of Hollywood.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
January 20, 2025
Never Leave Me revolves around Brad Brown, a NYC resident who fits in perfectly with the fast paced "city that never sleeps" mentality. He is on a mission to climb to the top of his profession and willing to do just about anything to get past that dastardly glass ceiling. Brad's bad behavior does not stop with the desire to have lots of green in his wallet, either.
A shameless womanizer, with nary a thought about treating women as if they were objects, Brad uses, loves, and ruins lives as he drags the various women in his life along to suit his whims - with no regard for anyone but himself.
Mr. Robbins never holds back when it comes to shock value, and why I always go back for more.
Narrator Daniel Thomas May was the perfect choice as the voice for this fun and decadent tale in the Big Apple.
A shameless womanizer, with nary a thought about treating women as if they were objects, Brad uses, loves, and ruins lives as he drags the various women in his life along to suit his whims - with no regard for anyone but himself.
Mr. Robbins never holds back when it comes to shock value, and why I always go back for more.
Narrator Daniel Thomas May was the perfect choice as the voice for this fun and decadent tale in the Big Apple.
December 22, 2015
Oh my goodness. Men's brains are so boooooring, darling. If you have to learn a lesson through multiple pussy encounters, what does that make you? A vaginal cosmonaut? The Russians sent a dog to check out the vagaries of space; it seems Harold Robbins did, too. Hunt-and -pecked on an Olivetti not with fingers but with a hard-on, this trip into the slavering businessman's mind leaves one staring up into the night sky asking "WHY?" much harder and more confusedly than any space mission ever could.
August 5, 2009
This book was OK. It was easy to read and moved along quiet well. The love affair was pretty corny and over dramatic. Not a memerable book I wouldnt recomend it.
March 13, 2021
Bernard “Brad” Rowan is a public relations counselor working for Paul Remey, an old war buddy who once gave him his start in public relations by getting him a job in the publicity division of the War Production Board. After the war, Paul and Brad partnered to start their own PR firm, with Paul as the principal owner.
Paul has already been a successful businessman before meeting Brad. And he had many friends who were looking for public relations help in the booming post-war economy.
They started in a small, one room office where Brad hired his secretary Mickey. Things went well for Brad and Paul, and after a few years the office grew as the business expanded. Their firm now had twenty-five staff and a steady stream of regular clients.
Over time, Paul divided his attentions between his business and the thriving political scene in Washington, D.C. Then, as time moved on, politics became a greater focus for him, (as of the start of the story he’s risen to the position of Special Assistant to the President). Paul’s gradual withdrawal from the day-to-day operations of the business left Brad as the titular head of the operations of the firm.
Brad’s personal life was also going very well. He was married to Marge, his intelligent and attractive wife of nearly twenty years. Together, they had two children, Brad Rowan Jr., nineteen and in his first year of college, and Jeanie, a precocious sixteen-year-old “Daddy’s Girl.”
As the story unfolds, we read of Brad coming into the office:
“Paul Remey’s been calling for you,” Mickey called out as Brad flew through the front office.
Brad dials his partner and soon finds out that he’s asking a favor of him. Paul’s wife, Edith was putting on another “D.C. Charity Event,” and asked her husband to ask Brad if he’d help out.
“You can count on me,” Brad assures Paul, then asks him to send on the details, which include meeting a certain Mrs. Hortense E. Schuyler. Brad registers the name, says goodbye to Paul, and moves on with the rest of his workday.
The day arrives for Brad’s meeting with Mrs. Schuyler…a meeting he’s forgot all about until his secretary reminds him that she’s waiting in the outer office, and when Brad looks vaguely at her, she says that the appointment was related to Paul’s wife’s charity event. Brad remembers, then asks Mickey to show the woman into his office. He’s expecting a middle-aged woman to step in, but when she walks through the door, Mrs. Hortense E. Schuyler was very different than Brad expected.
I had to smile when I read how the author “framed” Brad’s reaction to this woman,
“This one was class. Blue chip stocks on the big board. The gold standard. Big white orchids in florist’s windows. A Rodgers and Hammerstein score. A lazy sun in the summer morning. The green, friendly earth. Ruby port after dinner. A Billy Eckstine love chant..."
“What can I do for you, Mrs. Schuyler?” Brad asks, a little self-consciously.
“Make it Elaine,” the woman replied in a gently confidential tone of voice.
The woman then went on to explain herself, “Edith told me to look you up, because…” she laughed gently, “You were the only man in the world who could help me.”
“How?” Brad asked, beginning to feel in control again, after the shock of the woman’s elegant entrance.
Elaine’s eyes were wide, she said, “I’ve been appointed chairman of our local committee on the Infantile drive, and I thought you might be able to help me plan a campaign that would really produce results…”
She then looked at Brad expectantly.
Brad felt a twinge of disappointment, deciding to himself that the only think important to this woman was for her to get enough space in the papers for her cause. Based on that, he thought, this woman sitting across his desk was but another publicity-hungry socialite.
Despite his misgivings, he agreed to help, saying a bit brusquely, “I’ll be very glad to help, Mrs. Schulyer…” This was, after all, a favor for Paul, he thought.
Elaine stared up at him with surprise in her eyes.
Brad saw the surprise and went on, “Isn’t that what you want Mrs. Schulyer? After all, we can’t give you a written guarantee on the space we can grab for you, but we’ll get our share…and after all, isn’t that what you’re in this for?”
Brad watched as the woman’s eyes became dark and cold, silently she got to her feet, and was about to leave when she suddenly turned back to Brad, “You misunderstand me, Mr. Rowan, I’m not looking for any personal publicity out of this…I’ve had more than enough of it. The only reason I came to see you was to work out a campaign for the Infantile drive next January. The only reason I accepted the job was because I know what it means to lose someone to that dreadful disease, and I don’t want any other wife or mother to go through what I did.”
She turned and started for the door…
Brad looked at her, suddenly realizing that this woman was the widow of David E. Schuyler…he remembered the newspaper stories…this was the woman who lost her twin children, and husband to Infantile.
He quickly rounded his desk and caught her at the door, holding it so she couldn’t immediately leave. He felt like a fool for what he’d said earlier, and then felt worse yet when he saw the faint trace of angry tears in her eyes.
“Mrs. Schuyler,” Brad said contritely, “Can you forgive a stupid Third Avenue mug whop thinks he knows everything? I’m really ashamed.”
She seemed to be thinking it over, then turned and sat back down in the chair she’d occupied just a moment before. There was whirling dark pain in her eyes, her fingers trembled as she drew a cigarette. Then she spoke:
“If you’ll really help me, Brad, then I’ll forgive you.”
As you might have guessed, an affair happens between Brad and Elaine. The happy, but unfortunately, weak husband and the sad widow come together, and by doing so upend each of their worlds…
It was a story that had its moments of humor, one of my favorites being the scene where Brad is accompanied by a stoic security guard, on their way to the office of the boss for a meeting. The company is Consolidated Steel, one that the author did an admirable job of portraying as humorless in every way possible. The security guard was a symbol of this dreary company:
“This is almost as bad as getting to see the President,” Brad says to the guard as they ride up the elevator, thinking about all the security that surrounded the executive offices.
“Mr. Brady is the Chairman of the Board,” the guard deadpanned.
For a moment, Brad fought the impulse to tell him that he was actually referring to the President of the United States…but it would’ve been wasted, so he kept his mouth shut.
I had a laugh at that one.
The story had it’s share of characters that I came to care about, no small feat for a book that has just over 200 pages to tell its story. I liked the war aviator hero who turned corporate anti-trust crusader, then turned dog kennel owner. He was a character I could cheer for!
This was my first Harold Robbins book, and based on what I experienced with this story, I’ll be looking for more titles by this very prolific author.
Paul has already been a successful businessman before meeting Brad. And he had many friends who were looking for public relations help in the booming post-war economy.
They started in a small, one room office where Brad hired his secretary Mickey. Things went well for Brad and Paul, and after a few years the office grew as the business expanded. Their firm now had twenty-five staff and a steady stream of regular clients.
Over time, Paul divided his attentions between his business and the thriving political scene in Washington, D.C. Then, as time moved on, politics became a greater focus for him, (as of the start of the story he’s risen to the position of Special Assistant to the President). Paul’s gradual withdrawal from the day-to-day operations of the business left Brad as the titular head of the operations of the firm.
Brad’s personal life was also going very well. He was married to Marge, his intelligent and attractive wife of nearly twenty years. Together, they had two children, Brad Rowan Jr., nineteen and in his first year of college, and Jeanie, a precocious sixteen-year-old “Daddy’s Girl.”
As the story unfolds, we read of Brad coming into the office:
“Paul Remey’s been calling for you,” Mickey called out as Brad flew through the front office.
Brad dials his partner and soon finds out that he’s asking a favor of him. Paul’s wife, Edith was putting on another “D.C. Charity Event,” and asked her husband to ask Brad if he’d help out.
“You can count on me,” Brad assures Paul, then asks him to send on the details, which include meeting a certain Mrs. Hortense E. Schuyler. Brad registers the name, says goodbye to Paul, and moves on with the rest of his workday.
The day arrives for Brad’s meeting with Mrs. Schuyler…a meeting he’s forgot all about until his secretary reminds him that she’s waiting in the outer office, and when Brad looks vaguely at her, she says that the appointment was related to Paul’s wife’s charity event. Brad remembers, then asks Mickey to show the woman into his office. He’s expecting a middle-aged woman to step in, but when she walks through the door, Mrs. Hortense E. Schuyler was very different than Brad expected.
I had to smile when I read how the author “framed” Brad’s reaction to this woman,
“This one was class. Blue chip stocks on the big board. The gold standard. Big white orchids in florist’s windows. A Rodgers and Hammerstein score. A lazy sun in the summer morning. The green, friendly earth. Ruby port after dinner. A Billy Eckstine love chant..."
“What can I do for you, Mrs. Schuyler?” Brad asks, a little self-consciously.
“Make it Elaine,” the woman replied in a gently confidential tone of voice.
The woman then went on to explain herself, “Edith told me to look you up, because…” she laughed gently, “You were the only man in the world who could help me.”
“How?” Brad asked, beginning to feel in control again, after the shock of the woman’s elegant entrance.
Elaine’s eyes were wide, she said, “I’ve been appointed chairman of our local committee on the Infantile drive, and I thought you might be able to help me plan a campaign that would really produce results…”
She then looked at Brad expectantly.
Brad felt a twinge of disappointment, deciding to himself that the only think important to this woman was for her to get enough space in the papers for her cause. Based on that, he thought, this woman sitting across his desk was but another publicity-hungry socialite.
Despite his misgivings, he agreed to help, saying a bit brusquely, “I’ll be very glad to help, Mrs. Schulyer…” This was, after all, a favor for Paul, he thought.
Elaine stared up at him with surprise in her eyes.
Brad saw the surprise and went on, “Isn’t that what you want Mrs. Schulyer? After all, we can’t give you a written guarantee on the space we can grab for you, but we’ll get our share…and after all, isn’t that what you’re in this for?”
Brad watched as the woman’s eyes became dark and cold, silently she got to her feet, and was about to leave when she suddenly turned back to Brad, “You misunderstand me, Mr. Rowan, I’m not looking for any personal publicity out of this…I’ve had more than enough of it. The only reason I came to see you was to work out a campaign for the Infantile drive next January. The only reason I accepted the job was because I know what it means to lose someone to that dreadful disease, and I don’t want any other wife or mother to go through what I did.”
She turned and started for the door…
Brad looked at her, suddenly realizing that this woman was the widow of David E. Schuyler…he remembered the newspaper stories…this was the woman who lost her twin children, and husband to Infantile.
He quickly rounded his desk and caught her at the door, holding it so she couldn’t immediately leave. He felt like a fool for what he’d said earlier, and then felt worse yet when he saw the faint trace of angry tears in her eyes.
“Mrs. Schuyler,” Brad said contritely, “Can you forgive a stupid Third Avenue mug whop thinks he knows everything? I’m really ashamed.”
She seemed to be thinking it over, then turned and sat back down in the chair she’d occupied just a moment before. There was whirling dark pain in her eyes, her fingers trembled as she drew a cigarette. Then she spoke:
“If you’ll really help me, Brad, then I’ll forgive you.”
As you might have guessed, an affair happens between Brad and Elaine. The happy, but unfortunately, weak husband and the sad widow come together, and by doing so upend each of their worlds…
It was a story that had its moments of humor, one of my favorites being the scene where Brad is accompanied by a stoic security guard, on their way to the office of the boss for a meeting. The company is Consolidated Steel, one that the author did an admirable job of portraying as humorless in every way possible. The security guard was a symbol of this dreary company:
“This is almost as bad as getting to see the President,” Brad says to the guard as they ride up the elevator, thinking about all the security that surrounded the executive offices.
“Mr. Brady is the Chairman of the Board,” the guard deadpanned.
For a moment, Brad fought the impulse to tell him that he was actually referring to the President of the United States…but it would’ve been wasted, so he kept his mouth shut.
I had a laugh at that one.
The story had it’s share of characters that I came to care about, no small feat for a book that has just over 200 pages to tell its story. I liked the war aviator hero who turned corporate anti-trust crusader, then turned dog kennel owner. He was a character I could cheer for!
This was my first Harold Robbins book, and based on what I experienced with this story, I’ll be looking for more titles by this very prolific author.
May 8, 2014
One of the lovely and wonderful novel by Harold Robbins.
"Never Leave me" is a spiritual kind of story and I feel in it a scents of " Sun Rising"the Love poem by Jhon Donne.It is Great novel which can not be described by some words.
Really Herald Robbins is great storyteller.
"Never Leave me" is a spiritual kind of story and I feel in it a scents of " Sun Rising"the Love poem by Jhon Donne.It is Great novel which can not be described by some words.
Really Herald Robbins is great storyteller.
December 2, 2007
A strange love story...intense and deep rooted though in shallow waters.
December 31, 2014
A pocket book. Breaking sexual barriors in 1954.
August 4, 2010
Muito boa história
September 27, 2014
I hate when trash lit tries to be anything than trashy. The result is so tacky and cheesy that would make Paulo Coelho blush.
August 2, 2022
This was written earlier - a fast read - seems to be trying to write a romance but has too much infidelity - he does manage to write a decent ending.
July 23, 2025
Bastante kakita, machista… el señor no sabe ser fiel ni a la séptima.
August 4, 2016
Never leave me – Harold Robbins
Fiction is more real than not and it is probably not written out of thin air. The idea is always born out of reality. It is interesting to accept or decline ideas surrounding us in the form of a story and Harold Robbins allows us just that.
You can feel the truth of this story in the air around you and you’d probably be lying if you say that you have had no real acquaintance with a similar story be it your own or another’s. Noteworthy however, is how one perceives, faces and learns from it.
The story allocates every character their space and warmth without detracting the lime-light from the lead protagonist who is happily married, has children and runs a successful PR business yet suddenly falls in love with a widow. The story portrays life as it is behind the gloss of many a successful career without generalization. It is a wild ride showcasing the perpetual longing for ambition, greed, love, lust, passion, betrayal and maybe even return. It lays a hand on the disasters caused by ego and the results of acceptance and forgiveness.
A beautiful aspect of this book is that the passion for love and desire is clearly not limited to one side of the sexes. There is no one to blame.
It was a quick read and I really liked it owing to the dialogues that are simple yet absorbing, dramatic yet real.
My favorite quotes from the book:
• “This baby had class and the only way you could play was for keeps”
• “The only thing of value on this earth is that each of us is an individual and not a cog in a machine. No man is better than another because of circumstance or fortune, but each important to his own”
• “I looked at her and in that moment I knew she was no longer a child. She was a woman, with all the grace and intuition and inscrutability of her sex.”
• “Wouldn't it be terrible, if she were to go through life knowing she could never have you?”
• “I had found no answer in the night; perhaps the climbing sun would point out a way.”
• “You pay for everything you get in this world. You get nothing for nothing. Little happiness - little pain, big happiness - big price. Everything comes out even. The books are always in balance.”
• “Can’t we be friends? Maybe we can when love goes.”
• “You may know a person all your life and never really know what he is like.”
• “Sometimes something happens and you find that all the people you knew are like nothing and someone you never saw before will reach out a hand to help.”
• “Say something nice about somebody and nobody will listen. Make it mean, malicious, scandalous and everybody in town will help you spread the word.”
• “I have no complaints, no matter what happens. None of us comes with a life-time guarantee”
• “People are not like a business. You can’t buy and sell them like so much property. You can’t lock them up in a vault and expect them to appreciate it”
• “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to say what every woman faces in her secret heart, in her most terrible nightmares. We live in dread that one day he will come and say that he no longer cares.”
• “How selfish both of us really were. We who were ready to sacrifice both our worlds for the sake of a moment’s passion”
Fiction is more real than not and it is probably not written out of thin air. The idea is always born out of reality. It is interesting to accept or decline ideas surrounding us in the form of a story and Harold Robbins allows us just that.
You can feel the truth of this story in the air around you and you’d probably be lying if you say that you have had no real acquaintance with a similar story be it your own or another’s. Noteworthy however, is how one perceives, faces and learns from it.
The story allocates every character their space and warmth without detracting the lime-light from the lead protagonist who is happily married, has children and runs a successful PR business yet suddenly falls in love with a widow. The story portrays life as it is behind the gloss of many a successful career without generalization. It is a wild ride showcasing the perpetual longing for ambition, greed, love, lust, passion, betrayal and maybe even return. It lays a hand on the disasters caused by ego and the results of acceptance and forgiveness.
A beautiful aspect of this book is that the passion for love and desire is clearly not limited to one side of the sexes. There is no one to blame.
It was a quick read and I really liked it owing to the dialogues that are simple yet absorbing, dramatic yet real.
My favorite quotes from the book:
• “This baby had class and the only way you could play was for keeps”
• “The only thing of value on this earth is that each of us is an individual and not a cog in a machine. No man is better than another because of circumstance or fortune, but each important to his own”
• “I looked at her and in that moment I knew she was no longer a child. She was a woman, with all the grace and intuition and inscrutability of her sex.”
• “Wouldn't it be terrible, if she were to go through life knowing she could never have you?”
• “I had found no answer in the night; perhaps the climbing sun would point out a way.”
• “You pay for everything you get in this world. You get nothing for nothing. Little happiness - little pain, big happiness - big price. Everything comes out even. The books are always in balance.”
• “Can’t we be friends? Maybe we can when love goes.”
• “You may know a person all your life and never really know what he is like.”
• “Sometimes something happens and you find that all the people you knew are like nothing and someone you never saw before will reach out a hand to help.”
• “Say something nice about somebody and nobody will listen. Make it mean, malicious, scandalous and everybody in town will help you spread the word.”
• “I have no complaints, no matter what happens. None of us comes with a life-time guarantee”
• “People are not like a business. You can’t buy and sell them like so much property. You can’t lock them up in a vault and expect them to appreciate it”
• “Don’t tell me. I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to say what every woman faces in her secret heart, in her most terrible nightmares. We live in dread that one day he will come and say that he no longer cares.”
• “How selfish both of us really were. We who were ready to sacrifice both our worlds for the sake of a moment’s passion”
April 23, 2011
First published in 1954 as a paperback original by Avon Books,
Never Leave Me
is a curiosity in the Harold Robbins canon – along with
Stiletto
(1960) it’s probably the least-known Robbins book to be published during his lifetime. Almost certainly written quickly and for quick cash, it was published between
A Stone For Danny Fisher
(1952) and
79 Park Avenue
(1955), while Robbins was still under contract to Alfred A. Knopf, and does not appear in the latter book’s list of Robbins’s novels published up to that point. Nor do either
Never Leave Me
or
Stiletto
(which was published as a paperback original by Dell Books in 1960, between
79 Park Avenue
and
The Carpetbaggers
, which was published in 1961) appear in the list of his novels included in
The Carpetbaggers
or
Where Love Has Gone
, (1962), which were his first two books for Trident Press/Simon & Schuster (Knopf was originally to publish
The Carpetbaggers
, but he found the novel so distasteful that he ultimately let Robbins take it elsewhere, and did not regret the loss of Robbins from his list, nor the millions of copies
The Carpetbaggers
sold for other publishers). Not until
The Adventurers
in 1966 does either title appear in such a list. Although both books were reprinted numerous times over the years, sales lagged behind other Robbins titles because they were not part of the aggressive publishing campaigns of Pocket Books/Simon & Schuster.
Although I think I started Never Leave Me at some point many years ago, I definitely didn't finish it, so here goes . . .
4/23: Readable, if decidedly minor Robbins, peppered with what were to become Robbins trademarks: power struggles and sexcapades with beautiful, available women. It's pretty tame compared to later efforts; set in the world of public relations and advertising, fans of Mad Men might enjoy giving it a whirl. It's certainly no Executive Suite, though.
Although I think I started Never Leave Me at some point many years ago, I definitely didn't finish it, so here goes . . .
4/23: Readable, if decidedly minor Robbins, peppered with what were to become Robbins trademarks: power struggles and sexcapades with beautiful, available women. It's pretty tame compared to later efforts; set in the world of public relations and advertising, fans of Mad Men might enjoy giving it a whirl. It's certainly no Executive Suite, though.
March 18, 2014
Como toda buena novela negra comienza con un trágico final para devolver la línea de tiempo al inicio de los acontecimientos. El autor es una de las grandes expresiones de los best sellers de los años 50, coincidiendo con la época dorada hollywoodense del género, llevándose varias de sus novelas al cine.
Nos encontramos con una historia de amor imposible, en la que el protagonista sucumbe a la infidelidad cegado por las nuevas sensaciones, terminando por estar atenazado por amar a dos personas por igual pero de distinta manera. Escrita de una forma sencilla y directa, incluso un poco detallista en las relaciones amorosas y sexuales, viviendo las situaciones como si estuviésemos en primera persona. Tiene ese toque machista tan habitual de la sociedad americana de aquel entonces (por desgracia también de la actual), llena de mujeres floreros que viven sometidas a los deseos de los hombres.
Todas las tramas poseen una gran fuerza narrativa, sucediéndose rápidamente sin perder un cariz de emoción. Una historia de extorsión y manipulación mezclada con amor e infelicidad.
Nos encontramos con una historia de amor imposible, en la que el protagonista sucumbe a la infidelidad cegado por las nuevas sensaciones, terminando por estar atenazado por amar a dos personas por igual pero de distinta manera. Escrita de una forma sencilla y directa, incluso un poco detallista en las relaciones amorosas y sexuales, viviendo las situaciones como si estuviésemos en primera persona. Tiene ese toque machista tan habitual de la sociedad americana de aquel entonces (por desgracia también de la actual), llena de mujeres floreros que viven sometidas a los deseos de los hombres.
Todas las tramas poseen una gran fuerza narrativa, sucediéndose rápidamente sin perder un cariz de emoción. Una historia de extorsión y manipulación mezclada con amor e infelicidad.
September 26, 2017
A depressingly deep short tale
A pretty depressing story but one that was focused on one theme: of loneliness and its consequential effects of infidelity. Very much like all of Robbins' books, you get a piercing glance up front, at the souls of ordinary men, their strengths and their flaws and what it means to be human. I think that is just pure awesomeness.
A pretty depressing story but one that was focused on one theme: of loneliness and its consequential effects of infidelity. Very much like all of Robbins' books, you get a piercing glance up front, at the souls of ordinary men, their strengths and their flaws and what it means to be human. I think that is just pure awesomeness.
May 21, 2014
It's a love story. Or isn't it? Published in 1956, but still a good story. One without any dull moment. The fact that it is a bit older, makes the setting feel very real. :) A good story about passion (in many ways, not only love).
Currently reading
July 23, 2007gOsH tHis iS a pAsSiOnAte bOok wHicH oPeNed mY eYes aBoUt tHe rEaL wOrLd...
aDuLtEry...
gLutOnY...
aNd oTheR wOrLdLy sTuFf...
wHeW...
aDuLtEry...
gLutOnY...
aNd oTheR wOrLdLy sTuFf...
wHeW...
August 12, 2015
In typical Harold Robbins fashion I was drawn into the story by the strong characters. A quick and intriguing read that kept me captivated from beginning to end.
November 10, 2012
Un aperitivo nomás.
July 19, 2013
this book wasfull of passion , love and life. The letter at the last of the novel sums it up :)..... good one
September 29, 2014
Love story early harold robbins. Quiet good actually. Love is something happens spontaneously (specially extra-marital).
Read
June 26, 2016Harold Robbins books have always been a good read for me. They always hold my interest. Some sex, some romance, some suspense.
September 4, 2020
I'm not sure how many thousands of books I've read in my lifetime, but I am certain that this is the worst one.
September 4, 2021
Es de mis novelas favoritas. La forma de hacer ver el amor como algo que no es siempre color de rosas, la dualidad del protagonista con su romance. Es hermoso.
May 19, 2024
My unhinged book review. Unedited, don’t come at me because I really have no clue what I read. It’s all a blur. I don’t know if I want to join Elaine or have an illicit affair with Brad.
TW: Suicide.
Quick recap (probably not in order bc I skipped all over the book): Mickey, the secretary, tells Brad that Paul is on the line. Paul tells Brad that Elaine has unalived herself. NOT ELAINE! Sleeping pills, explains Paul. Of course.
Brad thinks Elaine has unalived herself because he called off their affair. I mean why wouldn’t Brad think that, after all, Jeannie his daughter of questionable age told us that he is better looking than Clark Gable. Of course Elaine offed herself because of him. *eyeroll*
There are so many phone calls with men named Paul and Pete and Matt and Chris and big time accounts because this is the big time and everyone has to constantly reassure us of who they are talking to by constantly using everyone’s name: “hello, brad.” “Yes, Pete..” “I know, Chris.” “Mickey?” “Yes,
Brad?” I fully expected Dr. Scott and Janet to make an appearance!
Then there is a random woman named Sandra who is just a sexploit and only here to remind us that Brad is highly desirable. I guess his daughter was right! Brad has dubiously consensual yet passionate sexual relations with Sandra.
Meanwhile, his wife Marge is waiting at home with the kids and dinner on the table and always willing to listen to Brad’s troubles.
The book conveniently lets us know that the sad phone call scene at the beginning is actually the end of the book (The End at the Beginning) and now we get to spend 214 pages in the life of Brad, some kind of big time business man who pounds just as much scotch has he does women, until we get to the bottom of everything. Does Brad’s wife know about the affairs? Why did Chris take off with all the big-time accounts? Why is Grandpa telling Jeannie (Brad’s young daughter) that the woman in the obituary was probably in love with Brad?
Well, at the end which was actually the beginning we find out that Elaine actually killed herself—not because Mister More Handsome Than Clark Gable ended their affair—but because her own husband, David, and! their children are dead and buried and she had no other way of ever being with her family again. (Oh good, Brad doesn’t have to spend his life feeling guilty!)
We also find out that our troubled affluent big time protagonist has been smoking so much and having so many scotch and waters and banging women in his office because his son Junior is in the hospital with…
POLIO.
I think that’s why anyway. But not to worry: the real end, NOT THE END AT THE BEGINNING, but the end at the Beginning at the End, is a happy ending because Elaine is happily dead and reunited with David and the kids in the cemetery; and Junior is “GOING TO BE OKAY,” the doctor exclaims with outstretched hands while every body and I mean everybody—the mailman, the usually grim orderlies, Sister Angelica, and all the nurses smile on as Brad realizes the true meaning of love, …I guess?
Either way, we know he and Marge (wife) are going to be okay because, on the very last page he has a giftbox for her from the furrier. When you are big time, true love is a coat made from the fur of a beautiful animal mutilated and skinned for fashion.
I just… I don’t even know what to think.
2 stars for keeping me on my toes?
TW: Suicide.
Quick recap (probably not in order bc I skipped all over the book): Mickey, the secretary, tells Brad that Paul is on the line. Paul tells Brad that Elaine has unalived herself. NOT ELAINE! Sleeping pills, explains Paul. Of course.
Brad thinks Elaine has unalived herself because he called off their affair. I mean why wouldn’t Brad think that, after all, Jeannie his daughter of questionable age told us that he is better looking than Clark Gable. Of course Elaine offed herself because of him. *eyeroll*
There are so many phone calls with men named Paul and Pete and Matt and Chris and big time accounts because this is the big time and everyone has to constantly reassure us of who they are talking to by constantly using everyone’s name: “hello, brad.” “Yes, Pete..” “I know, Chris.” “Mickey?” “Yes,
Brad?” I fully expected Dr. Scott and Janet to make an appearance!
Then there is a random woman named Sandra who is just a sexploit and only here to remind us that Brad is highly desirable. I guess his daughter was right! Brad has dubiously consensual yet passionate sexual relations with Sandra.
Meanwhile, his wife Marge is waiting at home with the kids and dinner on the table and always willing to listen to Brad’s troubles.
The book conveniently lets us know that the sad phone call scene at the beginning is actually the end of the book (The End at the Beginning) and now we get to spend 214 pages in the life of Brad, some kind of big time business man who pounds just as much scotch has he does women, until we get to the bottom of everything. Does Brad’s wife know about the affairs? Why did Chris take off with all the big-time accounts? Why is Grandpa telling Jeannie (Brad’s young daughter) that the woman in the obituary was probably in love with Brad?
Well, at the end which was actually the beginning we find out that Elaine actually killed herself—not because Mister More Handsome Than Clark Gable ended their affair—but because her own husband, David, and! their children are dead and buried and she had no other way of ever being with her family again. (Oh good, Brad doesn’t have to spend his life feeling guilty!)
We also find out that our troubled affluent big time protagonist has been smoking so much and having so many scotch and waters and banging women in his office because his son Junior is in the hospital with…
POLIO.
I think that’s why anyway. But not to worry: the real end, NOT THE END AT THE BEGINNING, but the end at the Beginning at the End, is a happy ending because Elaine is happily dead and reunited with David and the kids in the cemetery; and Junior is “GOING TO BE OKAY,” the doctor exclaims with outstretched hands while every body and I mean everybody—the mailman, the usually grim orderlies, Sister Angelica, and all the nurses smile on as Brad realizes the true meaning of love, …I guess?
Either way, we know he and Marge (wife) are going to be okay because, on the very last page he has a giftbox for her from the furrier. When you are big time, true love is a coat made from the fur of a beautiful animal mutilated and skinned for fashion.
I just… I don’t even know what to think.
2 stars for keeping me on my toes?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2017
An uneven and intriguing book examine one man as a lecherous lout and getting away with it.
I nabbed this book due to the entrancing cover illustration. Then realized i had never read a Robbins book. So, now I have.
Approaching this book as if there is a hero in it is a mistake. The main character seems the family man, but unveils something very different along the way. That way reveals author Robbins inability to tell a good story and his ability to derail a perfectly overly simple tale with various sexual encounters that adds nothing to the book itself.
The writing is good and drew me into the mess that is written for the main character. However, the main character's ambition to use all to achieve questionable goals in the end left me empty.
Robbins does a very good job of presenting each character. The women, particularly well defined. In more ways than one.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book: 4 out of 10 points.
I nabbed this book due to the entrancing cover illustration. Then realized i had never read a Robbins book. So, now I have.
Approaching this book as if there is a hero in it is a mistake. The main character seems the family man, but unveils something very different along the way. That way reveals author Robbins inability to tell a good story and his ability to derail a perfectly overly simple tale with various sexual encounters that adds nothing to the book itself.
The writing is good and drew me into the mess that is written for the main character. However, the main character's ambition to use all to achieve questionable goals in the end left me empty.
Robbins does a very good job of presenting each character. The women, particularly well defined. In more ways than one.
Bottom line: I don't recommend this book: 4 out of 10 points.
November 23, 2023
Retrato do esquema de prostituição nos Estados Unidos do século XX.
Elaine é uma mulher que após sofrer uma violência, é internada num hospital psiquiátrico. Ao sair, sua única change de reintegração social é justamente a dita, marginal. Ela se torna primeiramente uma prostituta e, posteriormente, uma agenciadora de luxo para as figuras de elite.
Brad, que foi namorado de Elaine, é o promotor que tenta desmanchar o esquema e vai desvendando pouco-a-pouco todo o império extendido no comércio da carne.
Como na vida real, não há exatamente um fim para a história. E mesmo o que o autor se propôs a escrever, deixou um gosto amargo.
Recomendo.
Elaine é uma mulher que após sofrer uma violência, é internada num hospital psiquiátrico. Ao sair, sua única change de reintegração social é justamente a dita, marginal. Ela se torna primeiramente uma prostituta e, posteriormente, uma agenciadora de luxo para as figuras de elite.
Brad, que foi namorado de Elaine, é o promotor que tenta desmanchar o esquema e vai desvendando pouco-a-pouco todo o império extendido no comércio da carne.
Como na vida real, não há exatamente um fim para a história. E mesmo o que o autor se propôs a escrever, deixou um gosto amargo.
Recomendo.
October 29, 2024
The cover tells us this is a shocking novel, but by 2024 it has aged poorly and only shocks by its ancient sexism. When your protagonist calls women “dames” all the time, expects little but either sex or slavish devotion from them, and is chock-full of misplaced machismo, he turns me off. The business machinations are somewhat interesting but are seemingly there to reinforce the gender stereotypes. Save your time and pass on this excuse to overuse the word ‘huskily’, as in “I replied huskily” after some dame asked him if he still loves her.
May 24, 2024
Read a Harold Robbins after decades. Felt badly let down. The book is full of pornographic passages. While Robbins always threw in a good deal of sex to make his books sell, it wasn't sleazy. But as per the publisher's note, when this book was originally published these sleazy passages had been edited out. But in this new edition, they were re-inserted at the behest of Harold's widow. Anything for dollars, I guess!
There is also a story. And that's reasonably interesting and racy.
There is also a story. And that's reasonably interesting and racy.
August 21, 2020
A fun fast trashy read - and not all that trashy, the often mentioned sex scenes were pretty short and while not tame, they were much more of an item back in the 50's when this was written. Story was fine and better than I expected, and we'll just call this a guilty pleasure and move on... entertaining.
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