I reread Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. It's a brilliant novel that hasn't lost its edge and relevance over time. What's more, it was brilliantly adapted into a film by Darren Aronofsky. The novel is uncompromisingly harsh, energetic, and powerful to the point of trembling in your hands.

Contrary to claims that there are four main characters in the book, I believe there's only one protagonist — Addiction itself. Somewhere in Brooklyn, a lonely widow, Sara, dreams of losing weight and appearing on a television show. In her compulsive pursuit, fueled by the TV, she gets hooked on diet pills, which eventually lead to dire consequences. Meanwhile, her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion, and his best friend Tyrone chase their dreams through heroin. There's little difference between addiction to heroin and addiction to television; the outcome is roughly the same. Even as the characters' lives begin to unravel, they cling to their illusions, refusing to see that instead of realizing their fantasies, they've brought about their worst nightmares.

Hubert Selby Jr. is one of my favorite masters of transgressive fiction. He came to literature in an unlikely way. Selby underwent experimental treatment for tuberculosis with streptomycin, which resulted in a series of severe complications. During surgery to gain access to his lungs, surgeons removed eleven of his ribs. One lung was completely destroyed, and part of the other was also removed. Surgery saved Selby's life, but he suffered from health problems for the rest of his life. After treatment, he developed a tendency toward painkillers and heroin. Selby spent ten years bedridden due to lung issues. Doctors said he probably wouldn't survive. His childhood friend, the writer Gilbert Sorrentino, inspired Selby to take up literature. Unable to earn a living, Selby decided, "I know the alphabet, maybe I can be a writer." He never bothered with grammar or punctuation. He wrote about what he knew, the only way he knew how. And Selby's rough prose only gets stronger for it.