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Solipsist
"I saw the word Solipsist while reading the dictionary in 1993. I was living in NYC at the time and the word defined how the city made me feel. I worked on this book in several cities all over the world until 1996. The writing is obsessive and claustrophobic. To be solipsistic is to totally realize the ego and the nightmare of utter self-possession. I went for it and it swallowed me whole." --Henry Rollins
166 pages, Paperback
First published August 10, 1998
105 people are currently reading
2160 people want to read
About the author
Henry Rollins
106 books1,722 followersHenry Rollins (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; often referred to simply as Rollins) is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, author, actor and publisher.
After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006.
Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.
After joining the short-lived Washington, D.C. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006.
Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
February 15, 2008
Don't read this book, unless you want prose that is aggressive, cathartic, brutally honest, and exposes life for what it is. If you are an optimistic, happy, positive person who believes that most things work usually work out for the best in the end, I hope that your existence is one frought with joy, and you can go on reading Rhonda Byrne and Joyce Meyer self-help texts before staying up and watching the usual popular sitcoms.
However, for the rest of us who are actually awake and have eyes open to the way things truly are, this novel is a Bible. 'Candid' is a great word to describe Solipsist, but more than that, it is a document of pure authenticity, in the sense that it details reality with enough negativity to make even the most pessimistic look like jovial individuals. More than that, it is a book packed with enlightenment. Rollins is a machine full of human feeling, and he's in tune to what the world is really like, how horribly unfair, unpredictable, and atrocious it can be, how unusual and depressing late night insomniac despair can get. If you've ever felt like introspective suffering is an unavoidable, natural part of life, especially to thinkers, you're in for one of the best treats you'll ever come across in overlooked literature. This is just as good as Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, and Notes From the Underground by Dostoyevsky, equal to Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and infinitely better than The Stranger by Albert Camus. If existentialism and inwardly produced angst is what you're searching for, look no further. Henry Rollins has delivered a book here that even he recognizes as his best; it shall make life a little easier for you by giving you something to relate to, if you've ever had the sense that the world isn't what you want it to be. Do I recommend this book? Of course. I also consider it mandatory for anyone that has ever been humiliated, agitated, or down on themselves. Check it out, if you want a taste of the way the world is.
However, if you're comfortable in a little bubble of blind optimism, stay as far away as possible.
However, for the rest of us who are actually awake and have eyes open to the way things truly are, this novel is a Bible. 'Candid' is a great word to describe Solipsist, but more than that, it is a document of pure authenticity, in the sense that it details reality with enough negativity to make even the most pessimistic look like jovial individuals. More than that, it is a book packed with enlightenment. Rollins is a machine full of human feeling, and he's in tune to what the world is really like, how horribly unfair, unpredictable, and atrocious it can be, how unusual and depressing late night insomniac despair can get. If you've ever felt like introspective suffering is an unavoidable, natural part of life, especially to thinkers, you're in for one of the best treats you'll ever come across in overlooked literature. This is just as good as Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre, and Notes From the Underground by Dostoyevsky, equal to Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and infinitely better than The Stranger by Albert Camus. If existentialism and inwardly produced angst is what you're searching for, look no further. Henry Rollins has delivered a book here that even he recognizes as his best; it shall make life a little easier for you by giving you something to relate to, if you've ever had the sense that the world isn't what you want it to be. Do I recommend this book? Of course. I also consider it mandatory for anyone that has ever been humiliated, agitated, or down on themselves. Check it out, if you want a taste of the way the world is.
However, if you're comfortable in a little bubble of blind optimism, stay as far away as possible.
July 8, 2013
Some people say that you can't put a good book down. Well in my opinion a book is well written if I have to put it down after a few pages to get over the thoughts I've read. If I read a book I want to read about pain. There are so many books out there about pain and agony but the Solipsist has a brand new aspect. I don't need characters, I don't need frame stories I want pure pain and this book gives me what I want. Nothing else but the human mind/soul with it's deep, twisted, rotten illness. So real, so brutal, so sick it hurts. Perfect.
August 15, 2008
my absolute favorite of his.
the best passage is where he imagines he is the wall across the street from his former lover. and he sees her enjoying life without him and he is unable to change...
henry's thoughts are always so raw. his books are truly awesome.
the best passage is where he imagines he is the wall across the street from his former lover. and he sees her enjoying life without him and he is unable to change...
henry's thoughts are always so raw. his books are truly awesome.
July 16, 2008
One of the best cynical, jaded, brain spews I've read to date. No, it's the best. This book just does it for me. In it's tenth year of publication this year I finally got my head wrapped around it, and ate it up with vigor. I absolutely loved this book, but it is not for the faint of heart. I don't know many who can get through the entire book for the blackness it spews. It is what it says it is: a solipsistic novel. Look it up in the dictionary before attempting to tackle this read. There are SEVERAL pieces in this book that I have found disgustingly inspiring and found myself uttering "wow" or "damn" aloud while reading. I fell in love with this book.
May 14, 2013
I read this for the first time when I was in my early 20's. I had realized my career in broadcasting wasn't going to happen. I had been fired from a serving job and I was living at home with my mom. I was stuck in her house during an ice storm with no power, no running water and no way out. This book and all of the powerful words inside described the way I was feeling better than anything else ever could. I was an alien in my childhood home and everywhere I went and this spoke to me in a way that nothing else could.
December 28, 2008
I read this when I was going through my Rollins phase. I liked that he liked the English language. I liked that he had edgy ideas and a different look at life and society. I had built him up in my head and loved everything he did. But, of course, that faded when he started repeating himself, contradicting himself, and just not making sense. Oh well, the books were still enjoyable to read.
January 21, 2010
This is the book that changed my life.
November 28, 2008
Also a really, really good read! I read it when I wasn't really gripped with depression but it spoke to me because it is never far from how I'm feeling. I felt a kinship with Henry Rollins for being able to articulate the isolation that comes with being an alternative thinker in a conservative society and for coping with depression as well. He has a way with words and this is my favourite collection of his words.
June 20, 2017
Solipsist—what a word, what a definition, what an eerily fitting title! Brutal honesty is the only way I know how to describe Henry Rollin's writing. He's cynical, he's jaded, he's self-possessed, but he's also intelligent, observant, and frank. The protective shield he has emotionally constructed for himself over the years is clearly apparent; however, there are moments where you can see the tenderness, longing, and loneliness that harbors beneath his shield of disdain.
August 2, 2022
75% raw emotional word vomit, 25% incel energy.
Rollins gets away with this one (barely) because of the way his brain works. There are plenty of resonant sections, and I relate to his need for solitude and his rejection of the archetype that only social humans are happy, though I think it's more complicated than "I'm always happier alone." Sometimes his prose does seem effortless and his phrasing is impressive.
It's problematic, though. Far too much "men are too weak and women suck" diatribe. Even at a sparse 165 pages, it's overlong. It reads like the diary of a linguistically gifted teenager with a mountain of emotional issues.
I read up on Rollins because so much of it the book felt real, and sure enough the guy lives his truth - he's romantically isolated and shirks most human relationships while also dedicating his life to worthy causes. The death of a friend in front of him inspired much of "Solipsist."
Ultimately it's a unique reading experience and there's plenty of gold, and maybe we're all just a bunch of selfish animals motivated by our hungry, horny brains and better at fucking each other over than helping, but I don't think that committing oneself to loneliness entirely would work for most people. I wonder if it really works for him.
Rollins gets away with this one (barely) because of the way his brain works. There are plenty of resonant sections, and I relate to his need for solitude and his rejection of the archetype that only social humans are happy, though I think it's more complicated than "I'm always happier alone." Sometimes his prose does seem effortless and his phrasing is impressive.
It's problematic, though. Far too much "men are too weak and women suck" diatribe. Even at a sparse 165 pages, it's overlong. It reads like the diary of a linguistically gifted teenager with a mountain of emotional issues.
I read up on Rollins because so much of it the book felt real, and sure enough the guy lives his truth - he's romantically isolated and shirks most human relationships while also dedicating his life to worthy causes. The death of a friend in front of him inspired much of "Solipsist."
Ultimately it's a unique reading experience and there's plenty of gold, and maybe we're all just a bunch of selfish animals motivated by our hungry, horny brains and better at fucking each other over than helping, but I don't think that committing oneself to loneliness entirely would work for most people. I wonder if it really works for him.
Read
February 8, 2010this book drips with pain. and therefore it is something to read in small doses. But it inspires in ways I am always surprised by.
This book, written from a fiction standpoint was even more diabolically poignant and sad. It has that quality to make you think and feel and breathe in all that Henry puts before you, in a way that I think makes you stronger. Better for having the experiance.
It is dark and tells snippets from lives we wish to ignore in life but are being lived right beside us, with humanity or lacks thereof.
This book, written from a fiction standpoint was even more diabolically poignant and sad. It has that quality to make you think and feel and breathe in all that Henry puts before you, in a way that I think makes you stronger. Better for having the experiance.
It is dark and tells snippets from lives we wish to ignore in life but are being lived right beside us, with humanity or lacks thereof.
February 19, 2021
boy did i hate this book.
October 30, 2010
My Favorite Rollis book. I have gifted this book to many of my friends.
July 2, 2018
I like Henry Rollins and I’ve liked the other books of his that I’ve read. This one however, I don’t like at all. To be honest I can’t even finish it.
February 19, 2020
O Henry, you bonkers old dudie.
August 1, 2018
Solipsist is a book that shouldn't exist. No human being should carry so much pain, hatred and insanity in his soul. The book is incredibly suicidal. In fact, in some parts, it became so unbearable that I had to put it down and read something else just to cheer me up.
You can't really call this a collection of short stories because there isn't any plot. It's not an essay collection because there is no theme or point to any of the entries. It's basically a mad collection of journal entries of a deeply wounded and unsettled man who just spews his hatred and poison and hates himself and his life and the entire humankind. It's incredibly sad.
You can't really call this a collection of short stories because there isn't any plot. It's not an essay collection because there is no theme or point to any of the entries. It's basically a mad collection of journal entries of a deeply wounded and unsettled man who just spews his hatred and poison and hates himself and his life and the entire humankind. It's incredibly sad.
Want to read
July 12, 2015"I saw the word Solipsist while reading the dictionary in 1993. I was living in NYC at the time and the word defined how the city made me feel. I worked on this book in several cities all over the world until 1996. The writing is obsessive and claustrophobic. To be solipsistic is to totally realize the ego and the nightmare of utter self-possession. I went for it and it swallowed me whole." --Henry Rollins
December 29, 2011
Henry Rollins collects a bunch of random angry prose in this book, and it's not really enjoyable to read. He has a decent thought or image here and there, but on the whole it is anything but engaging. I hate wasting my time on a book. Luckily, this one was a bathroom reader.
August 20, 2012
I haven't read this book for many, many years. But for some reason it still sits in my mind. Rollins is best known for his work in the music scene but he is also a thoughtful -if not overly dark- writer.
July 30, 2019
Some of Henry's best work in my opinion. Short stories and prose of loneliness, love, humiliation, death, depression and violence. If you are familiar with Rollins work it is often intense read but on occasion, it has often beautiful glimmers of self-analysis of himself. Some of my fave pieces here are in this book. A lot of this was mostly around 1993 when his best friend had past and it shows here a lot in his writing. Not as intense as "see a grown man cry.." and one of the better introductory books like "black coffee blues" is to the first time reader.
January 16, 2024
I read this a long time ago. I remember little of the contents but I remember that it made me depressed and a little insane. Not for everyone.
January 17, 2020
Rollins’ best in my opinion, loudest cry for help too. Very enjoyable read, cerebral, almost poetic. True art!
December 9, 2008
Completely think Rollins is a fuckneck but I LOVE this book -- if not only for his unknowingly contributing to the lyrics of a one-night band I was hollering in-- but man, dude says some crazy shit that freaks me out, and sometimes you just think "you know henry, you're right"... fucked uuuup.
September 20, 2009
Beat lives.
Life is pain.
I hurt myself so you can't hurt me.
Blah, blah, blah.
That being said,
he can turn a phrase:
"please break in, I would love the opportunity to kill you legally..."
Life is pain.
I hurt myself so you can't hurt me.
Blah, blah, blah.
That being said,
he can turn a phrase:
"please break in, I would love the opportunity to kill you legally..."
June 26, 2007
Another fun and dirty read.
January 23, 2008
Maybe it was the mental space I was in when I attempted to read this book but it was so dark and sad that I couldn't finish it. Maybe I will try it again sometime....
June 21, 2009
Solipsist by Henry Rollins (1998)
April 19, 2013
Nothing but love for this book!
August 27, 2013
Rollins best work by far
October 26, 2021
"It was all a mystery while I was amongst you. I tried to love and failed. I tried to hate and got bored. Now I just drift through scenes and watch what you say and do. I write it down at night through a microscope. I burn specs of dust into planets, moments into eternities. I know that many married men have affairs. I know that from time to time women hate men's guts. I know the same goes for men. I know you think about sex all the time. I know you have killed people in your mind. I know that you say a lot of things to yourself that you would never say out loud. I know you say a lot of things you don't mean for fear of what the other chicken shit lying motherfuckers will say about you. I know you say one thing and do another. I know some of you hide behind the flimsy shield of political correctness. I know you, though. You want to fuck, own, and kill as much as anyone else. And all that, is what we have in common. One tragic laugh riot. No such thing as heroes, just crazy motherfuckers with good press relations."
Ο Henry Rollins είναι γνωστός για πολλά πράγματα. Τραγουδιστής των Black Flag, μίας από τις θρυλικότερες μπάντες των 80ς, συγγραφέας, stand-up performer, αρθρογράφος είναι μόνο μερικές από τις δραστηριότητες που απαρτίζουν το βιογραφικό του. Το Solipsist είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του με το οποίο ήρθα σε επαφή, και η εντύπωση που σχημάτισα ήταν άκρως θετική.
Ο ντοστογιεφσικός άνθρωπος του υπογείου μετενσαρκώνεται ως άγραφο μέλος της Γενιάς Χ, αναπτύσσοντας και πολλαπλασιάζοντας τις ιδέες του προκατόχου του. Τα ψέματα που ρυτιδώνουν το περισπούδαστο ύφος των ηθικολόγων δεν έχουν καμία θέση στον κόσμο του σολιψιστή. Με μία γραφή κλειστοφοβική, λυτρωτική και απεικονιστική των βαθύτερων φόβων του ανθρώπινου ψυχισμού, ο Rollins θέτει ως υπέρτατη αξία την ειλικρίνεια απέναντι στον εαυτό, ανυψώνοντάς την ως το κυριότερο μέσο για την κατάκτηση της ετερότητας μέσα στην οποία τον καταβυθίζει ο αποξενωτικός χαρακτήρας της σύγχρονης καθημερινής διαβίωσης. Είναι επόμενο, λοιπόν, πως ένα τέτοιο αξίωμα δεν μπορεί να λάβει σάρκα και οστά χωρίς το απαραίτητο λεξιλόγιο και ύφος, ένα σύνολο από νύχια, αίμα και δόντια, συντρίμμια των μύθων που οι άνθρωποι λένε στους εαυτούς τους ώστε να αισθανθούν ανώτεροι από τον μέσο όρο.
Το τίμημα της μοναξιάς όμως είναι βαρύ. Ο κόσμος του σολιψιστή δεν αφήνει χώρο για την ανάπτυξη άλλων οντοτήτων, αυτοπεριοριζόμενος σε μία μοναδικότητα που φέρνει στο νου το αμλετικό σύμπαν. Σκιές, μακρινές φωνές, ψήγματα εμπειριών που πασχίζουν να σπάσουν τις αλυσίδες τους, μη κατορθώνοντας όμως να ενταχθούν στη σφαίρα του προσωπικού και του απτού. Η κατανόηση και η αναγνώριση του υπαρξιακού αυτού αδιεξόδου μαυρίζει τον καυτό ήλιο του Λος Άντζελες, στα σοκάκια και τις πλατείες του οποίου δεν υπάρχει τίποτα που να υπερβαίνει την έννοια του φευγαλέου.
Ο έρωτας, ο οποίος παρουσιάζεται ως βραχύβιο mirage, με την περιβολή που του δώρισε ο διαφθορέας του Kierkegaard, είναι και αυτός κάτι το ανεπαρκές, μία σύντομη έκρηξη μέσα στο κενό που απλώς έπεται της προηγούμενης και αναμένει αδιάφορα την επόμενη. Στον κόσμο του σολιψιστή, η διάρκεια σκοτώνει, οδηγεί στην σιχασιά και στην βαρεμάρα, σε συνθηκολογήσεις που απομειώνουν τον εαυτό και σείουν τα θεμέλιά του. Η αγάπη για το σαξόφωνο του Coltrane είναι ειλικρινής, σε αντίθεση με τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις. Και παρά την ανασφάλεια στην ανάληψη ρίσκων, την οποία ο απρόσωπος αφηγητής παραδέχεται ανοικτά, το μοτίβο συνεχώς επαναλαμβάνεται, τα ίδια λάθη και οι ίδιες ενοχές. Ο σολιψιστής ενίοτε χάνεται στα θέλγητρα της καθημερινότητας, σύντομα όμως επιστρέφει στην άβυσσο του άδειου υπογείου, αναζητώντας την κρύα ζεστασία του.
Ένα βιβλίο καθηλωτικό, και ίσως ένα από τα λίγα έργα όπου η μονοτονία δρα υπέρ και όχι κατά του εγχειρήματος. Ένα τιμωρητικό μανιφέστο, μία αεναη ροή πόνου και απελπισίας, η οποία μαγνητίζει τον αναγνώστη και που αρνείται πεισματικά να κρύψει τον καθρέφτη, μέσα στον οποίο τον αναγκάζει να αντικρίζει συνεχώς το άσχημο είδωλό του.
Ο Henry Rollins είναι γνωστός για πολλά πράγματα. Τραγουδιστής των Black Flag, μίας από τις θρυλικότερες μπάντες των 80ς, συγγραφέας, stand-up performer, αρθρογράφος είναι μόνο μερικές από τις δραστηριότητες που απαρτίζουν το βιογραφικό του. Το Solipsist είναι το πρώτο βιβλίο του με το οποίο ήρθα σε επαφή, και η εντύπωση που σχημάτισα ήταν άκρως θετική.
Ο ντοστογιεφσικός άνθρωπος του υπογείου μετενσαρκώνεται ως άγραφο μέλος της Γενιάς Χ, αναπτύσσοντας και πολλαπλασιάζοντας τις ιδέες του προκατόχου του. Τα ψέματα που ρυτιδώνουν το περισπούδαστο ύφος των ηθικολόγων δεν έχουν καμία θέση στον κόσμο του σολιψιστή. Με μία γραφή κλειστοφοβική, λυτρωτική και απεικονιστική των βαθύτερων φόβων του ανθρώπινου ψυχισμού, ο Rollins θέτει ως υπέρτατη αξία την ειλικρίνεια απέναντι στον εαυτό, ανυψώνοντάς την ως το κυριότερο μέσο για την κατάκτηση της ετερότητας μέσα στην οποία τον καταβυθίζει ο αποξενωτικός χαρακτήρας της σύγχρονης καθημερινής διαβίωσης. Είναι επόμενο, λοιπόν, πως ένα τέτοιο αξίωμα δεν μπορεί να λάβει σάρκα και οστά χωρίς το απαραίτητο λεξιλόγιο και ύφος, ένα σύνολο από νύχια, αίμα και δόντια, συντρίμμια των μύθων που οι άνθρωποι λένε στους εαυτούς τους ώστε να αισθανθούν ανώτεροι από τον μέσο όρο.
Το τίμημα της μοναξιάς όμως είναι βαρύ. Ο κόσμος του σολιψιστή δεν αφήνει χώρο για την ανάπτυξη άλλων οντοτήτων, αυτοπεριοριζόμενος σε μία μοναδικότητα που φέρνει στο νου το αμλετικό σύμπαν. Σκιές, μακρινές φωνές, ψήγματα εμπειριών που πασχίζουν να σπάσουν τις αλυσίδες τους, μη κατορθώνοντας όμως να ενταχθούν στη σφαίρα του προσωπικού και του απτού. Η κατανόηση και η αναγνώριση του υπαρξιακού αυτού αδιεξόδου μαυρίζει τον καυτό ήλιο του Λος Άντζελες, στα σοκάκια και τις πλατείες του οποίου δεν υπάρχει τίποτα που να υπερβαίνει την έννοια του φευγαλέου.
Ο έρωτας, ο οποίος παρουσιάζεται ως βραχύβιο mirage, με την περιβολή που του δώρισε ο διαφθορέας του Kierkegaard, είναι και αυτός κάτι το ανεπαρκές, μία σύντομη έκρηξη μέσα στο κενό που απλώς έπεται της προηγούμενης και αναμένει αδιάφορα την επόμενη. Στον κόσμο του σολιψιστή, η διάρκεια σκοτώνει, οδηγεί στην σιχασιά και στην βαρεμάρα, σε συνθηκολογήσεις που απομειώνουν τον εαυτό και σείουν τα θεμέλιά του. Η αγάπη για το σαξόφωνο του Coltrane είναι ειλικρινής, σε αντίθεση με τις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις. Και παρά την ανασφάλεια στην ανάληψη ρίσκων, την οποία ο απρόσωπος αφηγητής παραδέχεται ανοικτά, το μοτίβο συνεχώς επαναλαμβάνεται, τα ίδια λάθη και οι ίδιες ενοχές. Ο σολιψιστής ενίοτε χάνεται στα θέλγητρα της καθημερινότητας, σύντομα όμως επιστρέφει στην άβυσσο του άδειου υπογείου, αναζητώντας την κρύα ζεστασία του.
Ένα βιβλίο καθηλωτικό, και ίσως ένα από τα λίγα έργα όπου η μονοτονία δρα υπέρ και όχι κατά του εγχειρήματος. Ένα τιμωρητικό μανιφέστο, μία αεναη ροή πόνου και απελπισίας, η οποία μαγνητίζει τον αναγνώστη και που αρνείται πεισματικά να κρύψει τον καθρέφτη, μέσα στον οποίο τον αναγκάζει να αντικρίζει συνεχώς το άσχημο είδωλό του.
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