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Title: The Willow Tree by Hubert, Jr. Selby ISBN: 1582340285 Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Pub. Date: June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.71

Rating: 2
Summary: how do we survive it
Comment: Selby's first proper novel was Last Exit to Brooklyn, a searing bludgeon of a book that showed that Naturalism was alive and well, and ornerier than ever. It became celebrated in certain circles, incited several obscenity trials, was banned in many places, and generally fought the good fight. His last proper novel was Requiem for a Dream, a lacerating, anguished masterpiece that is liable to haunt one long after one reads it. That was in 1978. A collection of stories entitled Song of the Silent Snow followed; then all was still. Suddenly, twenty years later, Selby reappeared - it turns out that he had been writing The Willow Tree for all that time, and finished it only around 1998. What can a reader expect from this man after twenty years of nothing? A stunning comeback? A return to realistic form? A complete flop? Last Exit to Brooklyn redux, or something new and unprecedented? The result is, actually, a bit of all of those.

Confusion abounds, and what this book actually meant to do is not entirely clear. The Kirkus reviewer's supercilious attitude is uncalled for (one great book is more than you'll ever write, dude), but I can understand his frustration. This is the story of a thirteen-year-old black kid from the ghetto, whose girlfriend is killed by a bunch of Hispanic thugs, and who swears undying revenge. He is then found by a little old man who lives underground in a luxurious apartment, and very slowly cured of his hatred. That sounds like a sentimental fantasy, and it is one, but only to a degree. It's actually quite difficult to apply A Christmas Carol analogies, as the Kirkus reviewer does, to a book that features about ten profanities per page. In fact, Selby never altogether forsakes his ultra-realism - the scenes of poverty and desperation are evoked as powerfully as ever, the scenes where Bobby sneaks about the streets are rivetingly suspenseful, and Moishe's recollection of concentration camps is genuinely frightening. Bobby's mother only appears in a few scenes, but her all-pervasive despair is chillingly real, and the bit where Bobby sends her a letter at Moishe's behest is not only the most effective scene in the book, but one of Selby's most effective scenes ever.

But on the other hand, this is certainly no exercise in realism. Consider Moishe's luxurious apartment, which contains a workshop, an exercise room, a Jacuzzi, several fine beds, a refrigerator with a seemingly endless supply of ice cream (with chocolate sauce - Selby is determined that you clearly understand that THERE IS CHOCOLATE SAUCE in this refrigerator, and to that end repeats this fact about a thousand times), and so on. But that, actually, is not as hard to accept as the fact that Moishe apparently can produce all of this out of thin air. The book doesn't show that he has a job, or that he ever had one, and it's never explained whence he procures all the money that he doubtless spends. In addition to this, Moishe's method of raising Bobby seems to be to pamper him in luxury and ask nothing of him; the contrast between this and Bobby's old life is appropriately striking, but only until the reader starts to ask questions about what happens later. Does Moishe send Bobby to school? Does he teach him a trade? Does he even ask him to do anything? No, nowhere in the book.

And what of Bobby's revenge itself? Yes, it's for the sake of contrast that Selby had Bobby sneak out under cover of night to pursue his enemies right after the most peaceful scenes with Moishe, but this contrast is so severe as to be unconvincing. Could the thirteen-year-old kid that stared slackjawed at Moishe's tales of wartime terror, genuinely affected by them, then go out to corner some fool and proceed to cut off his ear, then return in his new clothes underground and brag about his "righteous" victory to the old man? Given all the problems with the premise that I already mentioned, it only seems completely bizarre, and not in the way it was intended to.

I suspect that Selby, after writing so many books filled with sheer hopelessness, decided to write one where the underdog finally wins one for a change. No wonder it took him so long - he clearly was unused to such a strange notion. The sick despair that filled Requiem for a Dream has been blunted to a sort of quiet sadness now, and it's actually somewhat moving to see the compassion that Selby always had for people in full light. But it's undeniable that The Willow Tree is not on the level of some of its predecessors - twenty years' gestation time notwithstanding, the book still seems muddled and unrealized. I'd welcome a kinder and gentler Selby, in theory, hoping that he'd straighten things out to himself by his next book, but from what I've read about Waiting Period, I fear that he might be losing it completely. Read The Willow Tree if you like being confused.

Rating: 5
Summary: GREAT BOOK
Comment: The plot of this book is awesome. I love the understanding and compassion of the main characters. Some of the story is a little overly dramatic and hard to swallow, but all in all this is an enjoyable read.

Rating: 4
Summary: this is just as good as his other work
Comment: hubert selby jnr. is far, far from a one book author, as the room, requiem for a dream and this prove. this is a deeply emotional story of a black boy severely beaten by a group of hispanics and his girlfriend left scarred when they throw lye in her face. the boy finds himself in the care of an elderly german who tends to his wounds and tries to comfort him in his grief when the boy discovers that his girlfriend has been driven to suicide because of the attack. the boy then seeks revenge on the gang, taking it in turns to track them down. the elderly german, realising that the boy is being consumed by hate tries to make him realise that love is more important by showing him the good things in life. the one downfall in this story is the repetetive use of the words crying and laughing to describe the boys relationship with the old man but as with all hubert's work, this stays with you long after you have read it and plays on your mind a lot.

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	Title: Waiting Period by Hubert, Jr. Selby ISBN: 0714530719 Publisher: Marion Boyars Publishers, Ltd. Pub. Date: July, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95
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	Title: Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert, Jr. Selby ISBN: 0802131379 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: September, 1988 List Price(USD): $13.00
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