Vicious Spring

By Hollis Hampton-Jones

Book Overview

Stunning and brutal, unflinching and unforgettable, shocking and totally original, here is a debut novel that charts the drug-fueled descent of a Nashville teen into the sex trade.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573223859
• ISBN13: 9781573223850
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Living with frustration

I don't know why there were so many negative reviews for Vicious Spring. I am a teacher for the kind of kids mentioned in this book and it is right on the mark. The empty view of reality is stark and so depressing I felt like I was reading about my students. If you want a seat at our childrens table read this book and learn. Roger DeVito dhthoreau1@gmail.com

Provocative, Funny, Well-Written

Although some may feel that "Vicious Spring" is too minimalist at times, Hampton-Jones makes good use of the less-is-more expository approach. It's called good writing. Her broad-brush style takes us from the highs of humour to the depths of despair with a few well-chosen phrases. Her fresh takes on life, family, sex, fear and hope kept me turning the pages and anxious for her next book. Yes, there's sex (and then, more sex), but - though graphic - it is handled in the same minimalist fashion that is so refreshing compared to the legions of authors who seem to be paid by the word of their sex scenes. Much in the style of Jay McInerny ("Bright Lights, Big City"), "Vicious Spring" is provocative, funny, fresh and extremely well-written.

Gem of a Short Novel

I found this small gem of a novel to be original, compelling, and written in spare but evocative prose. It is, in fact, the diametric opposite of the book described by the negative reviewer who called it cliched and its protagonist unsympathetic. Contrary to the moralizing tone of so much current fiction, Vicious Spring refuses to sentence its characters to horrid fates simply because they use drugs or profit from their sexuality. In Christy, Hampton-Jones has created a complex and credible portrait of a flawed, funny, unfortunate, but refreshingly less-than-tragic young woman. Vicious Spring is eminently readable, thought-provoking, and more than a little bit sexy.Alma Marceau...