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Never Die Alone
Donald Goines, one of the most prolific writers of the 20th century, has influenced many of today's urban writers with his gritty, realistic look at the streets. For the first time in over a decade, his classic expose of a drug dealer's brutal rise to the top of Cocaine Mountain is now repackaged and reissued in trade with a whole new look to attract new readers, as well as long-time fans of the legend himself.
King David was determined to claw his way out of the mean streets of New York City any way he could. It didn't matter if that meant battering and robbing old people, conning the innocent, or even killing a kid's mother. Lacing cocaine with battery acid for revenge was acceptable too. Ultimately, it meant leaving town. Now King's made it big, and made his way back, flush with cash and a Cadillac. But he hasn't been forgotten--or forgiven. And when payback time hits, he's only got one wish--not to die alone.
King David was determined to claw his way out of the mean streets of New York City any way he could. It didn't matter if that meant battering and robbing old people, conning the innocent, or even killing a kid's mother. Lacing cocaine with battery acid for revenge was acceptable too. Ultimately, it meant leaving town. Now King's made it big, and made his way back, flush with cash and a Cadillac. But he hasn't been forgotten--or forgiven. And when payback time hits, he's only got one wish--not to die alone.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
24 people are currently reading
1391 people want to read
About the author
Donald Goines
30 books757 followersDonald Goines was born in Detroit to a relatively comfortable family - his parents owned a local dry cleaner, and he did not have problems with the law or drugs. Goines attended Catholic elementary school and was expected to go into his family's laundry business. Instead Goines enlisted in the US Air Force, and to get in he had to lie about his age. From 1952 to 1955 he served in the armed forces. During this period he got hooked on heroin. When he returned to Detroit from Japan, he was a heroin addict.
The next 15 years from 1955 Goines spent pimping, robbing, stealing, bootlegging, and running numbers, or doing time. His seven prison sentences totaled 6.5 years. While in jail in the 1960s he first attempted to write Westerns without much success - he loved cowboy movies. A few years later, serving a different sentence at a different prison, he was introduced to the work of Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck). This time Goines wrote his semi-autobiographical novel Whoreson, which appeared in 1972. It was a story about the son of a prostitute who becomes a Detroit ghetto pimp. Also Beck's first book, Pimp: The Story of My Life (1967), was autobiographical. Goines was released in 1970, after which he wrote 16 novels with Holloway House, Iceberg Slim's publisher. Hoping to get rid of surroundings - he was back on smack - he moved with his family to the Los Angeles ghetto of Watts.
All of Goines's books were paperback originals. They sold well but did not receive much critical attention. After two years, he decided to return to Detroit. Goines's death was as harsh as his novels - he and his wife were shot to death on the night of October 21, 1974. According to some sources Goines's death had something to do with a failed drugs deal. The identity of the killers remained unknown, but there were reports of "two white men". Posthumously appeared Inner City Hoodlum (1975), which Goines had finished before his death. The story, set in Los Angeles, was about smack, money, and murder.
The first film version of Goines's books, Crime Partners (2001), was directed by J. Jesses Smith. Never Die Alone (1974), about the life of a drug dealer, was filmed by Ernest R. Dickerson, starring DMX. The violent gangsta movie was labelled as "junk masquerading as art."
During his career as a writer, Goines worked to a strict timetable, writing in the morning, devoting the rest of the day to heroin. His pace was furious, sometimes he produced a book in a month. The stories were usually set in the black inner city, in Los Angeles, New York or Detroit, which then was becoming known as 'motor city'. In Black Gangster (1972) the title character builds a "liberation" movement to cover his planned criminal activities. After this work Goines started to view the social and political turmoil of the ghetto as a battlefield between races.
Under the pseudonym Al C. Clark, Goines created a serial hero, Kenyatta, who was named after the 'father of Kenya', Jomo Kenyatta. The four-book series, beginning with Crime Partners (1974), was published by Holloway House. Kenyatta is the leader of a militant organization which aims at cleaning American ghettos of drugs and prostitution. All white policemen, who patrol the black neighborhoods, also are his enemies. Cry Revenge! (1974) tells of Curtis Carson, who is tall, black, and used to giving orders. He becomes the nightmare of the Chicanos, who have crushed his brother. Death List (1974) brings together Kenyatta, the powerful ganglord, Edward Benson, an intelligent black detective, and Ryan, his chisel-faced white partner, in a war against a secret list of drug pushers. In the fourth book, Kenyatta's Last Hit (1975), the hero is killed in a shootout.
The next 15 years from 1955 Goines spent pimping, robbing, stealing, bootlegging, and running numbers, or doing time. His seven prison sentences totaled 6.5 years. While in jail in the 1960s he first attempted to write Westerns without much success - he loved cowboy movies. A few years later, serving a different sentence at a different prison, he was introduced to the work of Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck). This time Goines wrote his semi-autobiographical novel Whoreson, which appeared in 1972. It was a story about the son of a prostitute who becomes a Detroit ghetto pimp. Also Beck's first book, Pimp: The Story of My Life (1967), was autobiographical. Goines was released in 1970, after which he wrote 16 novels with Holloway House, Iceberg Slim's publisher. Hoping to get rid of surroundings - he was back on smack - he moved with his family to the Los Angeles ghetto of Watts.
All of Goines's books were paperback originals. They sold well but did not receive much critical attention. After two years, he decided to return to Detroit. Goines's death was as harsh as his novels - he and his wife were shot to death on the night of October 21, 1974. According to some sources Goines's death had something to do with a failed drugs deal. The identity of the killers remained unknown, but there were reports of "two white men". Posthumously appeared Inner City Hoodlum (1975), which Goines had finished before his death. The story, set in Los Angeles, was about smack, money, and murder.
The first film version of Goines's books, Crime Partners (2001), was directed by J. Jesses Smith. Never Die Alone (1974), about the life of a drug dealer, was filmed by Ernest R. Dickerson, starring DMX. The violent gangsta movie was labelled as "junk masquerading as art."
During his career as a writer, Goines worked to a strict timetable, writing in the morning, devoting the rest of the day to heroin. His pace was furious, sometimes he produced a book in a month. The stories were usually set in the black inner city, in Los Angeles, New York or Detroit, which then was becoming known as 'motor city'. In Black Gangster (1972) the title character builds a "liberation" movement to cover his planned criminal activities. After this work Goines started to view the social and political turmoil of the ghetto as a battlefield between races.
Under the pseudonym Al C. Clark, Goines created a serial hero, Kenyatta, who was named after the 'father of Kenya', Jomo Kenyatta. The four-book series, beginning with Crime Partners (1974), was published by Holloway House. Kenyatta is the leader of a militant organization which aims at cleaning American ghettos of drugs and prostitution. All white policemen, who patrol the black neighborhoods, also are his enemies. Cry Revenge! (1974) tells of Curtis Carson, who is tall, black, and used to giving orders. He becomes the nightmare of the Chicanos, who have crushed his brother. Death List (1974) brings together Kenyatta, the powerful ganglord, Edward Benson, an intelligent black detective, and Ryan, his chisel-faced white partner, in a war against a secret list of drug pushers. In the fourth book, Kenyatta's Last Hit (1975), the hero is killed in a shootout.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
October 18, 2020
Black O Ween: A book by an underrated Black author
This is actually a reread. I first read Never Die Alone in high school after I had gone to the movies to see the movie starring DMX. I loved that movie and still do, in fact I think the movie actually fleshes out the story. This book is short it only has 177 pages but I think the movie takes an already great story and makes it even better.
Donald Goines probably invented the Street Lit genre along with Iceberg Slim. Goines novels are gritty and bleak. There don't tend to be any good guys in his stories, everyone tends to be awful. I will say that Never Die Alone does have one person who is nice but that's a rarity in Donald Goines novels.
Donald Goines wrote about the lifestyle that he lived. He was a street hustler, a pimp and a drug addict. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. Our main character King David is human garbage. The things this man did were horrific and yet you are drawn completely into his story.
If you have any triggers than Donald Goines isn't the author for you. Goines spares no punches and he writes the way people who lived the street life talked in 1970's(lots of slurs aimed at everyone) so if that bothers you than stay away from Donald Goines novels.
Donald Goines books aren't for everyone but I find they give you an insiders look at 1970's gangster life.
This is actually a reread. I first read Never Die Alone in high school after I had gone to the movies to see the movie starring DMX. I loved that movie and still do, in fact I think the movie actually fleshes out the story. This book is short it only has 177 pages but I think the movie takes an already great story and makes it even better.
Donald Goines probably invented the Street Lit genre along with Iceberg Slim. Goines novels are gritty and bleak. There don't tend to be any good guys in his stories, everyone tends to be awful. I will say that Never Die Alone does have one person who is nice but that's a rarity in Donald Goines novels.
Donald Goines wrote about the lifestyle that he lived. He was a street hustler, a pimp and a drug addict. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. Our main character King David is human garbage. The things this man did were horrific and yet you are drawn completely into his story.
If you have any triggers than Donald Goines isn't the author for you. Goines spares no punches and he writes the way people who lived the street life talked in 1970's(lots of slurs aimed at everyone) so if that bothers you than stay away from Donald Goines novels.
Donald Goines books aren't for everyone but I find they give you an insiders look at 1970's gangster life.
March 4, 2008
The French newspaper La Croix said of Donald Goines that he "...dives into the hellish world of the ghetto dear to Chester Himes, minus the humor." Unlike most of the paternalistic, misguided, and subtly racist "international raves" from French publications that are printed in every Holloway House edition of Goines's novels, this is actually a pretty good description of his writing, and gets to the heart of both what I like and don't like about his novels. Like Himes, Goines wrote rough-hewn, nightmarish narratives about pimps, pushers, and killers in timeless black American ghetto settings. (I say "timeless" because there's very little specificity in Goines's writing. Aside from a few things like model years of cars, his narratives could really take place at any point between 1945 and 1990.) Unlike Himes, however, Goines has absolutely no sense of humor, irony, or compassion for his characters. All of this might go down easier if I had the sense that it was deliberate, but it's hard to feel that way, since Goines was clearly not fully in control of his narratives or his subject matter. Every single sentence he wrote could have been improved upon. When reading his books I get a strong sense that he wrote single drafts that he never revisited after he pushed off for the rest of the day. There are points in Never Die Alone in which something happens ... and then the opposite thing happens in the next chapter. If Goines had an editor, then he or she wasn't a very good one. On the plus side, however, Goines's novels are raw and nihilistic in ways that very few books are, and that alone makes them worth reading.
August 3, 2017
Fire baby hot love this man!
January 8, 2009
A shocking expose on the rise and fall of King David
I told you'll that I was going to read it! I was pleased to see how close the book, and movie were to one another! With very minor differences.
What's that saying? You live by the sword you die by the sword. OH YES! King David was a grimy dude insistent on doing whatever it took to get whatever he wanted and the cost didn't matter. Your last dollar, your dignity, your life he took and took until the tables flipped and his greed cost him dearly in the end as he tried to settle with the past.
What goes around comes back around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I told you'll that I was going to read it! I was pleased to see how close the book, and movie were to one another! With very minor differences.
What's that saying? You live by the sword you die by the sword. OH YES! King David was a grimy dude insistent on doing whatever it took to get whatever he wanted and the cost didn't matter. Your last dollar, your dignity, your life he took and took until the tables flipped and his greed cost him dearly in the end as he tried to settle with the past.
What goes around comes back around!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 1, 2021
Once is Too Many, a Thousand times is Not Enough
May 24, 2009
I liked this but nowhere near as much as I liked Black Gangster which I read about a month or two ago. This is pretty short and it almost seems like Goines just wanted to push something out. Like he wanted to get another book written, published and on the shelves or something.
I'm not saying it's bad or that I didn't like it- there just wasn't much there. Black Gangster was a lot more intricate and in effect made me think a lot more. I assumed all of Goines' book would be the similiar in that respect. This was much different.
Never Die Alone switches back and forth, from chapter to chapter, from Paul, a writer struggling to write his next novel, and Moon and his crew. Moon is a pretty big drug dealer on the East Coast in New York.
Paul's chapters are interspersed with King David and K.D.'s "diary" which Paul finds after his death after a chance meeting between the two. Moon's chapters are interspersed with Mike and his story also. Mike was in Moon's crew until he decided to get revenge on King David for an earlier altercation when Mike was just a kid. This revenge is what leads to King David and Paul coming into contact with each other.
I liked the way Goines added the two side stories to the main story and I liked how Paul got to learn of K.D.'s life through his diary instead of hearing it from the horses' mouth. I also liked the characters themselves for the most part- Paul, the white Jew writer, Moon, Mike, and K.D. himself.
I didn't like the shortness of the book or the way it felt emotionless. It didn't feel like Goines put any emotion whatsoever into it and that came through loud and clear to me.
I will continue reading his books- Black Gangster was far to good to not read anymore. This was a good one but nothing more and if anyone asked me to recommend one, out of the only two I've read so far, it would most definitely be Black Gangster.
I'm not saying it's bad or that I didn't like it- there just wasn't much there. Black Gangster was a lot more intricate and in effect made me think a lot more. I assumed all of Goines' book would be the similiar in that respect. This was much different.
Never Die Alone switches back and forth, from chapter to chapter, from Paul, a writer struggling to write his next novel, and Moon and his crew. Moon is a pretty big drug dealer on the East Coast in New York.
Paul's chapters are interspersed with King David and K.D.'s "diary" which Paul finds after his death after a chance meeting between the two. Moon's chapters are interspersed with Mike and his story also. Mike was in Moon's crew until he decided to get revenge on King David for an earlier altercation when Mike was just a kid. This revenge is what leads to King David and Paul coming into contact with each other.
I liked the way Goines added the two side stories to the main story and I liked how Paul got to learn of K.D.'s life through his diary instead of hearing it from the horses' mouth. I also liked the characters themselves for the most part- Paul, the white Jew writer, Moon, Mike, and K.D. himself.
I didn't like the shortness of the book or the way it felt emotionless. It didn't feel like Goines put any emotion whatsoever into it and that came through loud and clear to me.
I will continue reading his books- Black Gangster was far to good to not read anymore. This was a good one but nothing more and if anyone asked me to recommend one, out of the only two I've read so far, it would most definitely be Black Gangster.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2015
deep and intriguing. this is one of my favorites. I must admit. I liked the book way more than the movie. the movie was not that good. but the book is my favorite.
February 13, 2019
This book was even better than the movie wish it was longer. Donald Goines really had the gift of story telling.
February 14, 2020
Donald Goines never lets me down.
November 19, 2021
I could have used more at the end but it was great. Layered with nuances that offered multiple POV.
October 20, 2023
I found this to be an entertaining audiobook that certainly lives up to its gripping title. The story follows King David, a successful drug dealer in inner city Detroit who is found dead in his Cadillac on Christmas Eve. The book then flashes back to tell King David's life story through his perspective, from his troubled childhood to his ruthless rise in the criminal underworld.
The narrator does a great job capturing the unique voice and perspective of King David. At times he comes across as cold-hearted and menacing, which fits the character well. Other times we get glimpses into his more vulnerable side as he reflects on his regrets in life.
My main critique is that the plot felt a bit disjointed and aimless in places. King David narrates his life story in a stream of consciousness style, which doesn't always flow logically. Some scenes and characters felt extraneous.
I'm glad I listened to Never Die Alone. It offered an engrossing look inside the mind and motivations of a criminal antihero. The gritty realism and street slang dialogue transported me right to the streets of 1970s Detroit.
The narrator does a great job capturing the unique voice and perspective of King David. At times he comes across as cold-hearted and menacing, which fits the character well. Other times we get glimpses into his more vulnerable side as he reflects on his regrets in life.
My main critique is that the plot felt a bit disjointed and aimless in places. King David narrates his life story in a stream of consciousness style, which doesn't always flow logically. Some scenes and characters felt extraneous.
I'm glad I listened to Never Die Alone. It offered an engrossing look inside the mind and motivations of a criminal antihero. The gritty realism and street slang dialogue transported me right to the streets of 1970s Detroit.
June 16, 2021
Goines was a natural storyteller with great narrative drive. This story lacked a bit of cohesion and had a fairly weak ending, but overall it was an enjoyable and quick read.
Read
September 14, 2016Just finished another Donald Goines story. I had already seen the movie so I knew what to expect. But for some reason I don't remember Mike dying in the movie. The book is more raw and real of course. In the book Mike has two missing front teeth, in the movie Mike is played by the flawless Michael Ely with perfect teeth.
I love that his stories are short and sweet and to the point and it's not hard to find the lesson in them. King David thought he would escape his fate. He used, manipulated and lied to people, mostly weak and needy drug users, to get ahead. He took advantage of people in their weakest moments. Mike on the other hand held on to revenge so strong it over took him caused him to loose everything he had left.
Donald Goines reminds us that the streets love no one and God's wrath is greater than your own.
I love that his stories are short and sweet and to the point and it's not hard to find the lesson in them. King David thought he would escape his fate. He used, manipulated and lied to people, mostly weak and needy drug users, to get ahead. He took advantage of people in their weakest moments. Mike on the other hand held on to revenge so strong it over took him caused him to loose everything he had left.
Donald Goines reminds us that the streets love no one and God's wrath is greater than your own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2010
This book is cold. It's one of the shorter Goines tales but also one of the most entertaining. It's interesting that the only praise-worthy character is the Polish writer of Jewish ancestry. Everybody else are selfish hustlers, con-men and drug dealers. The background characters were not spared Goines contempt, including the man simply trying to get some decent sleep in Pawlowski's building. Does this tale reflect the way Donald Goines view of his community? I wonder.
Unlike some of his other tales, this one has a happy ending.
Unlike some of his other tales, this one has a happy ending.
December 3, 2012
Okay. Why do I torture myself reading these books? Once again I picked up an Urban book because I would like to read more of this literature. Unfortunately, my mind must the size of a red pea/bean because I could not understand the difference between coke and heroin. I could not get my mind around how the heroin was being used with a syringe. I just did not understand. There were parts I was not sure if King David wanted to beat up the girl.
Over all, it was a good story. Just difficulty with the lingo on my part.
Over all, it was a good story. Just difficulty with the lingo on my part.
Read
September 24, 2008I've read ever book by Goines.
December 23, 2008
The book was much better then the movie...although the movie hit on several key points, in the book the main character King David seemed more RUTHLESS!!
April 7, 2009
I read the book before I saw the movie. The movie was good but the book is always better.
September 24, 2009
What can I say...I like the author!
May 12, 2011
My favorite Donald Goines Book.
May 16, 2012
this book is really good it gives use a real discription of what went on in lives back then. I liked the movie because they didnt glamerize it they kept it like the book.
June 1, 2013
A very fast interesting read!
June 10, 2013
Loved the movie but loved the book even more
July 23, 2015
Great book! I love Donald Goines. I want to compare the book to the movie and it was somewhat similar.
February 15, 2016
It's an enjoyable crime thriller. Worth picking up for a quick read.
Full Review
Full Review
February 19, 2016
One of the first Donald Goines books I ever read. Entertaining. The movie made me want to choke myself, though.
September 12, 2016
great book
March 13, 2022
A harsh book about a harsh world. Very well-written. Leon Nixon, the narrator, does a superb job.
September 17, 2025
Nếu bạn đang tìm kiếm những cú hook, twist bất ngờ hay lối kể chuyện đầy kỹ xảo, cuốn Chết Chùm của Donald Goines này sẽ không dành cho bạn. Mình đánh giá đây là một cuốn sách gần như mang chất tự sự đường phố, phơi bày thế giới ngầm nước Mỹ thập niên 1970 một cách trần trụi và không chút màu mè.
✨Cốt truyện mình chấm 8/10- không có gì lắt léo phức tạp, dễ đoán từ đầu đến cuối. Tên sách đã ngầm spoil phần nào số phận của các nhân vật, và đúng như vậy - cái kết đến không gây sốc, không bất ngờ, mà giống như một hệ quả tất yếu của chuỗi hành động trong thế giới ngầm đó. Cảm giác đọc giống như đang xem một bài điều tra thực địa hơn là một tác phẩm hư cấu - từng tình tiết đều thật như đếm.
✨Điểm mạnh nhất của cuốn này theo mình là giọng văn cực dễ đọc và rất cuốn, có thể đọc một lèo trong thời gian ngắn mà vẫn nắm bắt dễ dàng toàn bộ mạch truyện, xứng đáng 9/10. Tác giả (và dịch giả) có một lối viết rất đặc trưng: không cần từ ngữ sắc bén, cũng chẳng cần nghệ thuật tu từ quái gì cả, câu chữ chân thực, “bụi bặm” nhưng không lạm dụng tục tĩu. Cách ông mô tả những pha “pằng chéo”, “xiên xọ” đều sống động, sắc lạnh nhưng không bị lố hay rẻ tiền. Có lẽ vì chính Goines từng sống trong thế giới ấy, nên có vẻ ông không cần tưởng tượng, ông chỉ cần thuật lại.
✨Xây dựng nhân vật mình đánh giá 7/10. Do truyện khá ngắn, tuyến nhân vật cũng không quá nhiều chiều sâu. Chỉ có King David - nhân vật trung tâm - là được khắc họa rõ ràng, còn lại là những hình mẫu điển hình trong thế giới ngầm: những gã du côn, kẻ phản trắc, những connghien, đám gaigoi, tay trùm bán 👻toé… Ngoài ra nhân vật dẫn dắt là một tên nerd tốt bụng thích bao đồng, sống đặc biệt tử tế và đầy nhân đạo (thật là quen thuộc). Và đúng như tên sách, hầu như không ai có cái kết nhẹ nhàng.
✨Về chiều sâu ý nghĩa, mình chấm 7/10. Vì các thông điệp lồ lộ, chẳng cần phải đào sâu gì cho cam. Thường mình chấm điểm này cao nếu các thông điệp ẩn dụ sâu xa, phải suy ngẫm nhiều. Thông điệp quyển này không cần phải suy ngẫm sâu xa, mọi thứ đã nằm trọn trên trang sách: nạn phân biệt chủng tộc, màu da, mặt tối của hệ thống xã hội, truyền thông Mỹ, vấn nạn nghiện ngập, sức mạnh của đồng tiền và quyền lực đen ảnh hưởng đến sinh mệnh con người. Bạn có thể đọc để hiểu một phần hiện thực, không phải những thứ viễn tưởng, hoành tráng mà nó thực sự… thật như đếm.
Tổng quan mình chấm 7.75/10. Cuốn sách này không khiến mình cảm thấy quá dễ chịu sau khi gập lại, cũng không nặng nề, phần nào nhẹ nhõm với cái kết nhưng vẫn đôi chút bần thần (hay vì sách hết nhanh quá? 🤡). Nếu bạn muốn một cái nhìn trực diện, không nói quá, phóng đại về thế giới ngầm Mỹ trong thập niên loạn lạc ấy thì đây là một cuốn đáng đọc. Mình đánh giá đây là một quyển tương đối nhẹ nhàng đối với chủ đề tội phạm đường phố, phù hợp với những bạn mới bắt đầu với thể loại này.
✨Cốt truyện mình chấm 8/10- không có gì lắt léo phức tạp, dễ đoán từ đầu đến cuối. Tên sách đã ngầm spoil phần nào số phận của các nhân vật, và đúng như vậy - cái kết đến không gây sốc, không bất ngờ, mà giống như một hệ quả tất yếu của chuỗi hành động trong thế giới ngầm đó. Cảm giác đọc giống như đang xem một bài điều tra thực địa hơn là một tác phẩm hư cấu - từng tình tiết đều thật như đếm.
✨Điểm mạnh nhất của cuốn này theo mình là giọng văn cực dễ đọc và rất cuốn, có thể đọc một lèo trong thời gian ngắn mà vẫn nắm bắt dễ dàng toàn bộ mạch truyện, xứng đáng 9/10. Tác giả (và dịch giả) có một lối viết rất đặc trưng: không cần từ ngữ sắc bén, cũng chẳng cần nghệ thuật tu từ quái gì cả, câu chữ chân thực, “bụi bặm” nhưng không lạm dụng tục tĩu. Cách ông mô tả những pha “pằng chéo”, “xiên xọ” đều sống động, sắc lạnh nhưng không bị lố hay rẻ tiền. Có lẽ vì chính Goines từng sống trong thế giới ấy, nên có vẻ ông không cần tưởng tượng, ông chỉ cần thuật lại.
✨Xây dựng nhân vật mình đánh giá 7/10. Do truyện khá ngắn, tuyến nhân vật cũng không quá nhiều chiều sâu. Chỉ có King David - nhân vật trung tâm - là được khắc họa rõ ràng, còn lại là những hình mẫu điển hình trong thế giới ngầm: những gã du côn, kẻ phản trắc, những connghien, đám gaigoi, tay trùm bán 👻toé… Ngoài ra nhân vật dẫn dắt là một tên nerd tốt bụng thích bao đồng, sống đặc biệt tử tế và đầy nhân đạo (thật là quen thuộc). Và đúng như tên sách, hầu như không ai có cái kết nhẹ nhàng.
✨Về chiều sâu ý nghĩa, mình chấm 7/10. Vì các thông điệp lồ lộ, chẳng cần phải đào sâu gì cho cam. Thường mình chấm điểm này cao nếu các thông điệp ẩn dụ sâu xa, phải suy ngẫm nhiều. Thông điệp quyển này không cần phải suy ngẫm sâu xa, mọi thứ đã nằm trọn trên trang sách: nạn phân biệt chủng tộc, màu da, mặt tối của hệ thống xã hội, truyền thông Mỹ, vấn nạn nghiện ngập, sức mạnh của đồng tiền và quyền lực đen ảnh hưởng đến sinh mệnh con người. Bạn có thể đọc để hiểu một phần hiện thực, không phải những thứ viễn tưởng, hoành tráng mà nó thực sự… thật như đếm.
Tổng quan mình chấm 7.75/10. Cuốn sách này không khiến mình cảm thấy quá dễ chịu sau khi gập lại, cũng không nặng nề, phần nào nhẹ nhõm với cái kết nhưng vẫn đôi chút bần thần (hay vì sách hết nhanh quá? 🤡). Nếu bạn muốn một cái nhìn trực diện, không nói quá, phóng đại về thế giới ngầm Mỹ trong thập niên loạn lạc ấy thì đây là một cuốn đáng đọc. Mình đánh giá đây là một quyển tương đối nhẹ nhàng đối với chủ đề tội phạm đường phố, phù hợp với những bạn mới bắt đầu với thể loại này.
March 13, 2024
« Ne mourez jamais seul » de Donald Goines (Mort assassiné à : Détroit , le 21/10/1974), Traduit par Liliane Sztajin – 192 pages- Gallimard – 25 Novembre 1998 (posthume).
King David a pris des risques… Il en paiera le prix … Non-négociable. Une historie à la « great expectations » sur les gens qui vivent au-dessus de leurs moyens.
Et quitte à crever, autant emmerder le monde en choisissant pour légataire l’homme qui accompagnait ses derniers instants (blanchiment, etc…).
Pourquoi ça irait mal ? Tant qu’il y a la coke et les putes… Donald Goines parles en connaissance de cause. Sculptant son, Livre de part le vécu.
Une histoire bien sale mais qui remplit sa part du travail. Est-ce qu’on en a un jour fini avec ce milieu-là ? …
L’auteur ne fait pas la morale mais ouvre les yeux sur ce sale business. C’est pas un sujet facile à traiter, assez inconfortable.
Je pousserais peut-être la curiosité jusqu’à d’autres livres du même auteur.
Et qui vit par l’épée périt par l’épée. Une vengeance qui dérape et qui va impliquer trop de gens… Il aurait pas dû remettre les pieds à New York et se montrer violent, voler… Escroc meurt rarement vieux.
Phoenix
++
King David a pris des risques… Il en paiera le prix … Non-négociable. Une historie à la « great expectations » sur les gens qui vivent au-dessus de leurs moyens.
Et quitte à crever, autant emmerder le monde en choisissant pour légataire l’homme qui accompagnait ses derniers instants (blanchiment, etc…).
Pourquoi ça irait mal ? Tant qu’il y a la coke et les putes… Donald Goines parles en connaissance de cause. Sculptant son, Livre de part le vécu.
Une histoire bien sale mais qui remplit sa part du travail. Est-ce qu’on en a un jour fini avec ce milieu-là ? …
L’auteur ne fait pas la morale mais ouvre les yeux sur ce sale business. C’est pas un sujet facile à traiter, assez inconfortable.
Je pousserais peut-être la curiosité jusqu’à d’autres livres du même auteur.
Et qui vit par l’épée périt par l’épée. Une vengeance qui dérape et qui va impliquer trop de gens… Il aurait pas dû remettre les pieds à New York et se montrer violent, voler… Escroc meurt rarement vieux.
Phoenix
++
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