Snapshot Book Review: Leaving Dirty Jersey

Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir by James Salant

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
For me, reading this book was more educational than pleasurable. I wouldn't necessarily call it well-written, as many of the episodes the author recounts seem repetitive, and they don't culminate to any final climax, from what I could tell. The beginning didn't "grab my attention," and I felt that the entire thing left one with little sense of surprise, both during the reading and at the end.

However, I easily recognized the temperament and actions of a good friend of mine in those of the author/narrator, so that alone was enough to force me onward through the novel--eager to know as much as possible about this lifestyle, to understand it and recognize it.

I don't think Salant fully or vividly captured the overwhelming compulsion of addiction, but he laid out the lifestyle and habits of a drug addict very plainly and thoroughly (from what I know and have observed in Real Life).

I would be interested to know what other addicts would have to say about this book.


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