synopsis:

In his remand cell, a small-time petty criminal surrenders himself to the sadistic fantasies of hatred, rage and despair that are trapped inside him. This terrifying, claustrophobic descent into the isolated mind of a man locked away from society becomes, in Selby's literary tour de force, a challenging vision of a world deprived of love.

With his celebrated compassion, Selby creates a character who is simultaneously revolting and sympathetic. By giving such a vivid picture of the man's hopelessness, he forces us to confront the blame that must be borne by a society that can allow such despair to go unnoticed and unalleviated.

on this book:

The blistering follow-up to Selby's best-selling Last Exit to Brooklyn, 'The Room' still has the power to provoke, to chill and to disturb.

Hubert Selby jr plunges the reader head-first into the densely realized worlds of his protagonists, in which the details of daily life rub shoulders with obsession and madness. Although fundamentally concerned with morality, Selby's own sense of humility prevents him from preaching. He offers instead a passionate empathy with the ordinary dreams and aspirations of his characters, a brilliant ear for the urban vernacular and for the voices of conscience and self-deceit that torment his characterssee also: * "I knew that someday I was gonna die. and i knew..."