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" Normally it doesn't take me long to become interested in a novel, but for some reason that never happened. I was bored. Even though I live in Chicago, I found myself never connecting with any scenes, characters, etc. "
- Sam, 12/9/2013
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" Another bit of proof that Algren is the master of the empathetic portrayal of the down-and-out. "
- Lane, 10/16/2013
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" Poor people in Chicago. Funny way of talkin' and great dialogs. "
- Scott, 10/14/2013
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" this is seedy, harsh, and all the violence is non-gratuitous. so i had a hard time with it - i couldn't even bring myself to finish it- but i think this guy is brilliant. "
- Monica, 11/18/2012
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" My favorite book ever written about Chicago. Maybe the most brutal book ever read either. "
- Matt, 6/7/2012
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" This is an amazing tour of the West Town district of Chicago when it was the Polish mainstreet or "ghetto" in the United States. Extreme, shocking, and powerful, this is my favorite Algren novel. "
- Marc, 3/1/2012
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" writing shows a true, unadorned understanding of the subject and the lives and society he is depicting. Nothing Didactic about it, unsettling and grim, but that's how it is, its not written for a calculated shock--that's key. "
- Steven, 1/8/2012
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" I am still processing the ending, as I just finished it four minutes ago, but I think I was fairly pleased with the novel. I will write more about it after I have time to reflect more, but it ended perfectly. "
- Veronica, 12/8/2011
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" He just keeps making all the wrong decisions, and OH NO! don't do that, and ah jeez, YIKES, and oh man! "
- Daniel, 11/17/2011
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" Not Algren's best but still Algren. What I mean to say is that the story wasn't the best story I ever read but Algren's style, the dialogue, the prose, the pacing are all as good as any of his other books. I just thought the story itself was... Eh. "
- James, 10/13/2011
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" So gritty it is beautiful "
- Brian, 9/28/2011
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" Incredible book- Bicek's life in Chicago as a down and out boxer was really inspiring to me. I want to reread it. I read this when I was in high school. "
- Patrick, 5/24/2011
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" Good intro to Algren. "
- Bill, 4/6/2011
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" Poor Lefty made all the wrong decisions in life. This is a stark view of what life might have been like for a Polish immigrant in the late 30s. I'd classify it as a tragedy, but an interesting historically based story. "
- Lynette, 3/10/2011
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" This is a brilliant study of hope in a hopeless neighborhood. It's about teenagers who have no real choices making bad decisions, and then worse decisions, based on pride, fear, guilt and the belief that they'll never escape. It isn't warm and fuzzy. It is real. "
- Stacy, 1/16/2011
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" One of the best books around. Algren has a way of discribing his characters' actions and surroundings in such a realistic and tantelizing way, one has to read it to understand. If you like Polish immigrants in America, Chicago, boxing, & a damned good story, pick this one up.
"
- Mor, 9/27/2010
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" So gritty it is beautiful
"
- Brian, 8/23/2010
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" This is a brilliant study of hope in a hopeless neighborhood. It's about teenagers who have no real choices making bad decisions, and then worse decisions, based on pride, fear, guilt and the belief that they'll never escape. It isn't warm and fuzzy. It is real.
"
- Stacy, 1/11/2009
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" My favorite book ever written about Chicago. Maybe the most brutal book ever read either.
"
- Matt, 8/15/2008
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" Not Algren's best but still Algren. What I mean to say is that the story wasn't the best story I ever read but Algren's style, the dialogue, the prose, the pacing are all as good as any of his other books. I just thought the story itself was... Eh.
"
- James, 8/11/2008
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" He just keeps making all the wrong decisions, and OH NO! don't do that, and ah jeez, YIKES, and oh man!
"
- Daniel, 8/6/2008
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" Incredible book- Bicek's life in Chicago as a down and out boxer was really inspiring to me. I want to reread it. I read this when I was in high school.
"
- Patrick, 7/17/2008
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" Another bit of proof that Algren is the master of the empathetic portrayal of the down-and-out.
"
- Lane, 2/27/2008
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" Poor people in Chicago. Funny way of talkin' and great dialogs.
"
- Scott, 10/8/2007
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