If the experience of heroin, of the fix, is central to cains book, both its destructive force and the possibilities for creativity it creates are recognized and accepted without apology. Book cover art book cover design book art russian literature classic literature classic novels to read classic books ep logo the master and margarita. Trocchi was then deep in the throes of heroin addiction. Alexander trocchis bestknown novel though it was only barely a novel was originally published in new york in 1960. Above all, the author of cain s book is a stylist of distinction, constantly able to extract a strange contemporary beauty from situations of squalor and misery. Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life. Click to read more about cain s book by alexander trocchi.
The introductions for my copy, by greil marcus and richard seaver, are two of the most dismissive, pessimistic book intros ive. Alexander trocchi download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Click download or read online button to get alexander trocchi book now. Scott, published a biography of alexander trocchi entitled. Cains book and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. If the experience of heroin, of the fix, is central to cains book, both its destructive force and the possibilities it holds for creativity are recognized and accepted without apology. I remember reading cains book in my early twenties and be ing struck by an. Young adam, its predecessor, is better known, but the latter is.
His wife lyn prostituted herself on the streets of the lower east side. Banned books part 2 cains book by alexander trocchi youtube. His life, as much as his writing, is the stuff of legend. Alexander trocchi, cains book, ny grove press, 1960 a. Merlin held on for 3 years and during that time established a bit of reputationfor the quality of the writing and the brilliantand brilliantly erratic. Young adam, its predecessor, is better known, but the. Sep 16, 2017 open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Trocchis final and most feted work apart from the oddsandends poetry shambles, man at leisure, a. Martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cains book by scottish beat generation writer alexander trocchis and. Bookmark file pdf cains book alexander trocchi cains book alexander trocchi alexander trocchi. Alexander trocchi left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar.
There is considerable division over which trocchi book is his best, but the consensus of opinion is either young adam 1954 or cains book 1961. Author alexander trocchis muse was drugsbut in this novel, he does not romanticize the source of his inspiration. Cains book is a 1960 novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. Cain s book gets 4 stars from me now these days the philosophical rants and wraiths are too neither here nor there for me these days. Alexander trocchi 192584 left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. In 1963 in the uk, cains book was one of many books and magazines seized by the police at a booksellers shop in sheffield. Cains book gets 4 stars from me now these days the philosophical rants and wraiths are too neither here nor there for me these days. If the experience of heroin, of the fix, is central to cains book, both its destructive force and the possibilities it holds for creativity are.
Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cain s book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life, and an honest, raunchy, eyeopening trip through hell. Aug 04, 2014 foreword to cains book by alexander trocchi 1993 alexander trocchi was a legendary figure in his lifetime. Author of helen and desire, young adam, cains book, man at leisure, thongs, the carnal days of helen seferis, white thighs, school for sin alexander trocchi. When a friend gave it to me to read before my departure, i was electrified. A contemporary of oscar wilde, arthur machen and count stenbock, matthew phipps shiel could surpass any of them in the sheer decadent luxuriance of his writing. He was seen as a man of towering literary genius, fated to cut a swath through the world. Banned books part 2 cains book by alexander trocchi martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cains book by scottish beat. Buy cains book by alexander trocchi from waterstones today.
But trocchi was an independent writer of immense gifts and cains book, rather than being a downbeat, depressing look at a sordid subject, is quite the reverse. It is clear that the faults of these novels are caused in part by this attempt to record the achievements of the abnormal and to read into these. Its excellent, because the character of alexander trocchi is on every page. Young adam tends to catch the attention of those less interested in drugs and literary experimentation. Cains book is trocchis selfreflexive look at his life as a junky. So begins cains book, alexander trocchis incredible novel of existential dread.
Cains film 1969 documentary on alexander trocchi 1925 84, scottish born writer, poet, translator and author of young adam and cains. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cains book by scottish beat generation writer alexander trocchis and looks. Even the title had something extra, some glow, that the titles of other books didnt possess. Alexander trocchi was born in glasgow in 1925 and died in london in 1984. The junky genius of alexander trocchi books the guardian. Alexander trocchis pages drift past, monotonous and stark and radiant sat, jun 8, 2019, 06. I was wearing my heavy white seamans jersey with a high polo neck, and i sensed that the angularity of my. Banned books part 2 cains book by alexander trocchi martyn wade, chief executive and national. Trocchinecchi deftly declares in cains book that there is no story to tell. In paris, he founded merlin the outstanding literary magazine wrote novels for olympia press, experimented with heroin and became hooked. Alexander trocchi was a prolific writer of novels and essays, of porn for the olympia press in paris, a magazine editor and bookseller, and one of the few scottish writers who wrote in the beat tradition of the 1950s and 60s. Cains book by alexander trocchi nook book ebook barnes.
Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. Oct 09, 2017 alexander trocchi 192584 left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. Buy cain s book new edition by trocchi, alexander isbn. Alexander trocchi never wrote another book, suggests that what he was doing all along was. Cains book trocchi, alexander, seaver, richard, marcus, greil on. Cain s book is the first novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. He injected himself on camera during a live television debate on drug abuse, despite being on bail at the time. I dont know exactly what the junkie is in our folkloreliterature but i do know he is a very important archetype. But unlike his literary predecessors, in his roman a clef, trocchi never romanticizes the source of his inspiration. Ironically, there was however much anxiety over the telling of this particular antistory. Jan 19, 2012 trocchis next publishing punch came with cains book, a roman a clef with experiment at its visceral core, thematically and formally. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers.
Trocchi, alexander, seaver, richard, marcus, greil. These works are two examples of current avantgarde fiction in america. Shop amongst our popular books, including, cains book, young adam and more from alexander trocchi. It is the trocchi who describes himself in that novel. Nov 30, 2018 cains book is a 1960 novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. Cains book is such a narrative about a junkie and there have been books on. Alexander trocchi written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life, and an honest, raunchy, eyeopening trip. Alexander trocchis pages drift past, monotonous and stark and radiant.
Cains book presents the firstperson reflections of a drug addictwriter who lives on a scow in the hudson. Cains book is the first novel by scottish beat writer alexander trocchi. White thighs by alexander trocchi vintage erotica novel. Centred loosely upon the motif of heroin addiction, as well as sexual deviance, heroin shapes the structure of the narrative. Sep 05, 2019 cains book by alexander trocchi i dont know exactly what the junkie is in our folkloreliterature but i do know he is a very important archetype. Like christopher marlowe in doctor faustus or herman melville in moby dick, hes mapping a whole cosmogony, intuiting his way towards an understanding of a social, po. Jacket agetoned with some light tearingchipping at edges. Written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cains book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life, and. Merlin held on for 3 years and during that time established a bit of reputationfor the quality of the writing and the brilliantand brilliantly erraticbehavior of the editor. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on orders over. During the 1950s and 1960s he lived mainly in paris and new york and gained fame as one of the most talented writers, in both prose and poetry, of the period. Dec, 2011 martyn wade, chief executive and national librarian introduces cain s book by scottish beat generation writer alexander trocchi s and looks at some of the reasons why it was banned on. Trocchis personal, handpainted copy of cains book my scow is tied up in flushing, ny, alongside the landing stage of the mac asphalt and construction corporation. A roman a clef, it details the life of joe necchi, a heroin addict and writer, who is living and working on a scow on the hudson river in new york.
A commentary on the silence that followed old favourites. Alexander trocchi written in america while trocchi was working on a scow on the hudson river, cain s book is an extraordinary autobiographical account about a junkys life, and an honest, raunchy, eyeopening trip. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Alexander trocchi was the leading british beat writer of the 1950s and 60s. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Aug 24, 2017 alexander trocchi left glasgow university with the honours of a brilliant philosophy scholar. Aug 23, 2007 so begins cain s book, alexander trocchi s incredible novel of existential dread. Above all, the author of cains book is a stylist of distinction, constantly able to extract a strange contemporary beauty from situations of squalor and misery. The book alternates between necchitrocchis attempts to score and flashbacks to his. Norman mailer alexander trocchi was a major figure in cosmopolitan newconsciousness fifties and sixties literature, and cain s book is his signal novel. The back of my copy has a blurb that says all the egomaniac vitality of the early henry miller, but miller was far more joyous and trocchi a straight and narrow nihilist. In paris, he founded merlin the outstanding literary magazine, wrote novels for olympia press, experimented with heroin and became hooked.