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5.0étoiles sur 5
A Shocker, in more ways than one, Avril 2 2004
I picked up this book as a Ramones fan, and on a whim. I was expecting something entertaining, perhaps crass and cutting edge, but I was floored to find a really great piece of work by Dee Dee Ramone.Where do I start? How do I categorize this book? Horror? Humor? Autobiography? All of the above, I must say. Part Dante's Inferno, part Kafka's Metamorphosis, part Phillip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly," yet all Dee Dee Ramone. I'm serious! My major in college was Comparative Literature, and reading Chelsea Horror Hotel brought me back to the most beautifully twisted examples of literature, both classic and modern, that I have read. Put Dante Alighieri and Franz Kafka in a time machine, point them toward CBGB's, and you're there! Dee Dee Ramone sets himself as the central character, living with his girl Barbara and dog Banfield at The Chelsea Hotel, New York's hang-out for the underground hipsters. It is also the site where Sid Vicious killed Nancy Spungeon in the late 1970s. (...) What makes this story so twisted is the coming and goings of the "fine lines." There are times when it is clear that a segment is grounded in Dee Dee's light grip on reality, but these moments often morph into disturbing paranormal events that seem to indicate that Dee Dee is swimming through a blurry array of nightmares, drug induced hallucinations, sheer paranoia, or improbable realities. It's often hard to tell. Still, the reader is never lost; you will find yourself racing through the pages, eager to see how each frightening misadventure is solved. Part of what makes this story work so well is that while Dee Dee is the main focus of the story, he does not paint himself as a sympathetic character. He portrays himself as a borderline sort who, despite frequent self-serving and malicious actions, believes that he is a nice person who is wronged and agitated by all who surround him. He does an excellent job of illustrating an individual who is emotionally tormented and forever craving a fix. Unlike so many "street poets," you see no glamour in his crack & heroin surroundings; you see one great big nightmare.
Nightmarish from start to finish? Yes. Strange thing is, despite the desperation throughout the novel, I did not find it depressing in the least. I found myself impatient to get to the next page, just to see the next twisted mess Dee Dee would get himself into. And forget the lame anti-drug films our health teachers showed us throughout our junior high years; "Chelsea Horror Hotel" would make me steer clear of the rock, the pipe, and the needle FOR GOOD! One caution: this book is not for the weak of heart (or stomach). Lots of graphic descriptions of blood, vomit, and millions of grotesque mealie-mealie bugs! "Chelsea Horror Hotel" is Dee Dee's crowning bookshelf glory. It may not be a bestseller, but I hope it nevers fades into complete obscurity. Dee Dee Ramone may be gone from this world, and I hope he's in a much more placid setting than The Chelsea Horror Hotel!
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5.0étoiles sur 5
A Shocker, In More Ways Than One, Mars 25 2004
I picked up this book as a Ramones fan, and on a whim. I was expecting something entertaining, perhaps crass and cutting edge, but I was floored to find a really great piece of work by Dee Dee Ramone.Where do I start? How do I categorize this book? Horror? Humor? Autobiography? All of the above, I must say. Part Dante's Inferno, part Kafka's Metamorphosis, part Phillip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly," yet all Dee Dee Ramone. I'm serious! My major in college was Comparative Literature, and reading Chelsea Horror Hotel brought me back to the most beautifully twisted examples of literature, both classic and modern, that I have read. Put Dante Alighieri and Franz Kafka in a time machine, point them toward CBGB's, and you're there! Dee Dee Ramone sets himself as the central character, shacking up with his girl Barbara and dog Banfield at The Chelsea Hotel, New York's hang-out for the underground hipsters. It is also the site where Sid Vicious killed Nancy Spungeon in the late 1970s. The entire story takes you through Dee Dee's paranoia of AIDS, perpetual quest to shoot up, repeated encounters with ghosts of dead friends like Sid Vicious and Stiv Bators, bloody murders, the awareness of a secret Satanic society that conducts grisly tortures in the hotel basement, and occasional desperate plea-bargains with God. What makes this story so twisted is the coming and goings of the "fine lines." There are times when it is clear that a segment is grounded in Dee Dee's light grip on reality, but these moments often morph into disturbing paranormal events that seem to indicate that Dee Dee is swimming through a blurry array of nightmares, drug induced hallucinations, sheer paranoia, or improbable realities. It's often hard to tell! Yet the reader is never lost; you will find yourself racing through the pages, eager to see how each frightening misadventure is solved. Part of what makes this story work so well is that while Dee Dee is the main focus of the story, he avoids painting himself as a sympathetic character. He portrays himself as a borderline sort who, despite frequent self-serving and malicious actions, believes that he is a nice person who is wronged and agitated by all who surround him. He does an excellent job of illustrating an individual who is emotionally tormented and forever craving a fix. Unlike so many "street poets," you see no glamour in his crack & heroin surroundings; you see one great big nightmare. Nightmarish from start to finish, yes. Strange thing is, despite the desperation throughout the novel, I did not find it depressing in the least. I found myself impatient to get to the next page, just to see the next twisted mess Dee Dee would get himself into. And forget the lame anti-drug films our health teachers showed us throughout our junior high years; "Chelsea Horror Hotel" would make me steer clear of the rock, the pipe, and the needle FOR GOOD! One caution: this book is not for the weak of heart (or stomach). Lots of graphic descriptions of blood, vomit, and millions of grotesque mealie-mealie bugs! "Chelsea Horror Hotel" is Dee Dee's crowning bookshelf glory. It may not be a bestseller, but I hope it nevers fades into complete obscurity. Dee Dee Ramone may be gone from this world, and I hope he's at peace in a much more placid setting than The Chelsea Horror Hotel!
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2.0étoiles sur 5
I don't wanna go down to the basement, Fév 10 2004
Dee Dee Ramone's first novel is about a miserable creep named Dee Dee Ramone. Well, they say write about what you know. The book doesn't start off too bad, detailing Dee Dee's (fictionalized) life at the Chelsea Hotel. But things go downhill when a group of dead punk rockers show up and try to get Dee Dee to join a human sacrificing Satanic cult. None of the characters in this book act believably, not even the Dee Dee character. I am a big fan of Dee Dee, but this book revels in his worst traits, which are his misanthropy and self hated. This is a very unpleasant book, which most people will not enjoy.
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