Portrait of a Young Man Drowning

By Charles Perry

Book Overview

Set in the world of Brooklyn gangsters and juvenile delinquents, Portrait of a Young Man Drowning reveals a character caught in a whirlpool of street crime and Oedipal passion, driven by circumstances beyond his control into acts of self-destruction and twisted sexuality.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393314626
• ISBN13: 9780393314625
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent book about a young boy growing up with a dead-beat dad and a possessive, over-bearing and over-protective mother. Harold lives in a rough neighborhood and has no true knowledge of the ways of the world because his mother has sheltered him from it--much to Harry's detriment. He's socially awkward, naive, and has developed a split personality to deal with things when they are too tough or beyond Harry's understanding. He loves his mother, is loyal to his friends and has a knack for beating people up, which gets him in with the local mob. Throughout the book, Harold struggles with both loving and hating being the main focus of his mother's life, yearning for and yet fearing his father, wanting to fit in with his friends, becoming a man independent from his mother, and falling in love. It's a great read and the movie adaptation starring Norman Reedus and Debbie Harry was surprisingly a decent representation of the novel.

A haunting but compelling novel

Simply one of the best narratives I've ever read. The book follows the main character Harold from the time he is a child to his death. Harold is struggling with a myriad of problems from his family and the gang violence that rules his neighborhood. At first of a victim of many atrocities Harold develops a warped perception of the world that surrounds him. He struggles to understand the actions of his peers and the adults that rule his life. As stated in the other reviews it is a graphic novel with perverse sexual undertones that are disturbing. Harold's actions in the book are as reprehensible as they come, but you will find yourself still believing in the goodness of his character. The title is fitting for the imagery that is given. Harold strives to stay afloat but we are aware of his inevitable destruction from the very beginning. This novel carries a definite warning of what can happen to children when they are bereft of guidance or nurturing.

A classic pulp novel!

I'm all most all the way through this novel and so far it is great! I had never heard of it until i watched the movie Six Ways To Sunday thats based on it. The book just blows me away, and it's sad that Charles Perry never got to write anything else. xXx

OLD SCHOOL NOVEL HAS A NEW READER

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN DROWNING was a breath of fresh air and I enjoyed every page-even the slow ones. It had everything; drama, action, betrayal, sexual tension (some by the wrong parties involved), and psychological torment made the novel exactly what I needed at the time, which was a book that had each ingredient, and then some. I've passed this novel on to two of my co-workers and they both fell flat on their backs with praise. To Charles Perry, wherever you are, on behalf of the three of us, THANK YOU!

The Killer in Me

This is a fast-paced swirling vortex of a novel-I finished it in one night. The story concerns Harold Odom, a confused young man drowning in his own circumstances: Depression-era poverty, serious Oedipal/sexual confusion, a neurotic alcoholic mother, sensitivity and repressed rage, along with the Brooklyn mobsters who make him one of their own, with tragic results. Charles Perry manages to portray Harold's complex nature--his vulnerability and his violence--in a keen and convincing manner. The wise-guy dialogue is sharp and never hackneyed, and the stream-of-consciousness narration pulls you into the mind of Harold from beginning to end. The characters and settings are realistic yet electric, like film noir but with more of a troubled heart. A great read, through and through.