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Dancing to Broken Records
Henry Gallagher is a failure.
Born into a broken family, now a young alcoholic struggling with mental illness, Henry is successful at one destroying his life. While spending his time and waning finances at local bars and on any woman who will show him affection, Henry reflects on his past, seeing no future than the one he believes has been preordained for him. From a funeral in Ireland, to a chance meeting with a German millionaire, to a booze-soaked and bloody version of Last Tango in Paris, Henry's life is both darkly humorous and unapologetically human. Accompanied by stories of other down and out characters fighting their way through the underbelly of society, Jack Moody's debut collection poses Henry's greatest Do we end up where we do purely because of the choices we've made, or are some of us simply doomed at birth to fail?
Born into a broken family, now a young alcoholic struggling with mental illness, Henry is successful at one destroying his life. While spending his time and waning finances at local bars and on any woman who will show him affection, Henry reflects on his past, seeing no future than the one he believes has been preordained for him. From a funeral in Ireland, to a chance meeting with a German millionaire, to a booze-soaked and bloody version of Last Tango in Paris, Henry's life is both darkly humorous and unapologetically human. Accompanied by stories of other down and out characters fighting their way through the underbelly of society, Jack Moody's debut collection poses Henry's greatest Do we end up where we do purely because of the choices we've made, or are some of us simply doomed at birth to fail?
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First published June 21, 2019
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Jack Moody
8 books41 followersJack Moody is a novelist and short story writer whose work includes Miracle Boy, The Lights That Dim, and The King of Everything. He is a former contributor for Return Magazine, The Bel Esprit Project, and Brick Moon Fiction, and his stories have appeared in various publications, most notably The NoSleep Podcast and The Saturday Evening Post. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 15, 2022
This dope debut book is bout a ne'er do well named HENRY GALLAGHER living n dealing wit MENTAL ILLNESS that expresses itself too often thru SEX & ALCOHOL. This is a Troubled Man (insert MARVIN GAYE'S song TROUBLE MAN Here). He has a Main Squeeze named LAURA hoo essentially has 2 put up wit his shit (butt then again: She aint no saint either....the girl got issues). Across a number of Vignettes we git the violent/traumatic issues that form da background to this book dat may well touch you in places--and shine lite on even yo own problems. In shawt: it resonates. It did wit me cuz I been thru mo shit than Roto-Rooter. Maybe dats YOU too. MOODY goes in. FO REAL. The Life and Sex and the Werds of DANCING TO BROKEN RECORDS are truly bout a BROKEN Man. LAURA is like dat one woman U meet hoo U want to SAVE U Frum Yo Self. Butt Alas, maybe its not 2 B. Listen: jes git into this joint. Because JACK MOODY writes frum da HEART/his VISCERA and SINEW and pours out sum SOUL/DISTURBING renderings. We all got issues. This book may just help U. NO JOKE. They say the first step to HEALING Yo ADDICTIONS/PROBLEMS is ADMITTING dat U have one. I digg writers like MOODY hoo R not afraid to git down n dirty and tell the TRUTH thru FICTION. And dat takes GUTS. U kan count on MOODY 2 push the envelope again in his newst joint CROOKED SMILE droppin in MARCH. I advise U 2 B there 4 it.
January 13, 2020
Henry is a very relatable character and throughout the book I kept feeling as though we were connected in our own imperfections.
Jack Moody created a story that is reminiscent of Burroughs and you could almost imagine that Henry Gallagher is somehow related to Bukowski.
Jack Moody created a story that is reminiscent of Burroughs and you could almost imagine that Henry Gallagher is somehow related to Bukowski.
February 18, 2022
Gritty, Gripping, and Intense.
This collection was a blast to read! I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorites were Death Wish, June, Success, and A Considerable Fate. I'm looking forward to reading more from Moody in the future. Highly recommended!
This collection was a blast to read! I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorites were Death Wish, June, Success, and A Considerable Fate. I'm looking forward to reading more from Moody in the future. Highly recommended!
December 24, 2020
*No Spoilers*
Dancing to Broken Records pulls you in from the first couple pages. It has a way of compelling you to keep reading, something that I can appreciate in any novel.
Jack Moody has created a relatable protagonist that doesn't shy away from the controversy that comes with being honest with oneself. A destructive personality, an addiction, and several problems with women -- Henry is an entertaining protagonist to read and reading his story feels more like you are in the passenger seat with him, along for the ride.
Personally, I loved reading Henry's journey of an existential crisis: do our choices matter in life or are we all a part of some tyrannical fate where our choices make no difference? It's existentialism versus nihilism and it is a concept that Transgressive Fiction in itself addresses often but what I can appreciate in Dancing to Broken Records is that it has a good balance between a universal existential question and also producing an entertaining fictional read.
All in all this novel is a perfect fit for the genre of Transgressive Fiction and I highly recommend to anyone who is already a reader of Transgressive Fiction or who just starting to delve into the genre.
Dancing to Broken Records pulls you in from the first couple pages. It has a way of compelling you to keep reading, something that I can appreciate in any novel.
Jack Moody has created a relatable protagonist that doesn't shy away from the controversy that comes with being honest with oneself. A destructive personality, an addiction, and several problems with women -- Henry is an entertaining protagonist to read and reading his story feels more like you are in the passenger seat with him, along for the ride.
Personally, I loved reading Henry's journey of an existential crisis: do our choices matter in life or are we all a part of some tyrannical fate where our choices make no difference? It's existentialism versus nihilism and it is a concept that Transgressive Fiction in itself addresses often but what I can appreciate in Dancing to Broken Records is that it has a good balance between a universal existential question and also producing an entertaining fictional read.
All in all this novel is a perfect fit for the genre of Transgressive Fiction and I highly recommend to anyone who is already a reader of Transgressive Fiction or who just starting to delve into the genre.
August 14, 2020
Dancing To Broken Records is a fiction work of the author Jack Moody. The protagonist of the story is Henry Gallagher. He struggles with so many mental disorders that he has. He is too much into alcohols and is a sex addict.
Scott introduced Henry to a girl Laurel of his kind. He started spending time with her. Henry found himself sober when he is in Laurel's company. They even made out in public. What happens next to Henry kind of made me laugh (Itch....itch....itch 😁😳). But Laurel is not just the only girl in Henry's life. He has slept with various women.
One could relate to the character of Henry and how he feels failing at everything in life. They story is fine but there is a scope of refining the content. The sexual content in the book is too much. I like to warn my fellow readers about the very strong language and mature content in the book. So, if you are comfortable reading R rated books with strong language you can pick this one and know the story of Henry and what all he went through.
Scott introduced Henry to a girl Laurel of his kind. He started spending time with her. Henry found himself sober when he is in Laurel's company. They even made out in public. What happens next to Henry kind of made me laugh (Itch....itch....itch 😁😳). But Laurel is not just the only girl in Henry's life. He has slept with various women.
One could relate to the character of Henry and how he feels failing at everything in life. They story is fine but there is a scope of refining the content. The sexual content in the book is too much. I like to warn my fellow readers about the very strong language and mature content in the book. So, if you are comfortable reading R rated books with strong language you can pick this one and know the story of Henry and what all he went through.
October 13, 2020
Written Review Of "Dancing To Broken Records" By Jack Moody
It's an amazing book written by Jack Moody and published by Beacon Publishing Group. It has about 191 pages.
It's a story of henry gallagher who is currently struggling with many mental issues & disorders. He is addicted to alcohol & sex too.
He is a playboy kind a boy who fuck around many places. Scott introduce Laura to Henry and they started spending time with each other and Laura is kind of same as he. Read
book to know the story of henry.
The vocabulary of the book is very good and
even if you're a beginner reader you can read it easily.
The cover of the book is very good and I really loved it. It really grab your attention on first look.
Overall It's an amazing read and I highly recommend this book to all the readers who like this types of story.
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.
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Rating 5/5
It's an amazing book written by Jack Moody and published by Beacon Publishing Group. It has about 191 pages.
It's a story of henry gallagher who is currently struggling with many mental issues & disorders. He is addicted to alcohol & sex too.
He is a playboy kind a boy who fuck around many places. Scott introduce Laura to Henry and they started spending time with each other and Laura is kind of same as he. Read
book to know the story of henry.
The vocabulary of the book is very good and
even if you're a beginner reader you can read it easily.
The cover of the book is very good and I really loved it. It really grab your attention on first look.
Overall It's an amazing read and I highly recommend this book to all the readers who like this types of story.
.
.
.
Rating 5/5
October 21, 2020
Dancing To Broken Records by Jack Moody
It's a debut book nicely written by Jack Moody, about 191 pages long the story revolves around Henry Gallagher who is struggling with mental illness. He is addicted to such things like sex and alcohol.
Henery is destroying his life by doing such nasty thing and he is good at that. One day Scott introduce Laura to Henry and they started spending time with each other. Even Laura is same kinda person that he is. Grab this book now to read the full story.
The cover of the book is great and the ending is very strong and some of the scenes with Henry's past lovers. The language is easy and strong content.
*AVAILABLE ON AMAZON*
It's a debut book nicely written by Jack Moody, about 191 pages long the story revolves around Henry Gallagher who is struggling with mental illness. He is addicted to such things like sex and alcohol.
Henery is destroying his life by doing such nasty thing and he is good at that. One day Scott introduce Laura to Henry and they started spending time with each other. Even Laura is same kinda person that he is. Grab this book now to read the full story.
The cover of the book is great and the ending is very strong and some of the scenes with Henry's past lovers. The language is easy and strong content.
*AVAILABLE ON AMAZON*
September 11, 2022
I’d heard a lot of good things about Crooked Smile and really enjoyed Moody’s short stories. I’m so glad I decided to start at the beginning with Dancing to Broken Records. Although I had an idea of what to expect I was still blown away. I must have been four chapters in before I remembered this was a collection of short stories. Moody is so true to his individual style that it knits these sometimes harrowing, often humorous and never far away from the gritty reality of life together in perfect harmony. Comparisons to Bukowski are inevitable in Moody’s writing but you can really tell that this is an influence rather than definitive of the exceptional talent he is. Moody isn’t just a great indie writer; he is well on his way to being one of the modern greats. Now on to Crooked Smile…
February 24, 2024
I give this book one star!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews