Last Exit to Brooklyn

Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr. The novel has become a cult classic because of its harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s and for its brusque, "every man" style of prose.

Synopsis

Last Exit to Brooklyn is divided into six parts that can, more or less, be read separately. Each part is prefaced with a passage from the Bible.

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• Another Day, Another Dollar: A group of Brooklynites get into a scuffle with a group of sailors on shore leave.
• The Queen Is Dead: Georgette, a gay transvestite, confronts her (Selby uses feminine pronouns to describe transvestites) abusive brother and tries to attract the attention of a hoodlum named Vinnie at a benzedrine-driven party.
• And the Baby Makes Three, an alcoholic father tries to keep good spirits and maintain his family?s marriage traditions after his daughter becomes pregnant and then marries a motorcycle mechanic.
• Tralala, The title character, a young Brooklyn woman, makes a living attracting and stealing money from drunk, unsuspecting sailors in bars. In perhaps the novel?s most notorious scene, she is gang-raped after a night of heavy-drinking.
• Strike, Harry, a high-ranking official at an industrial workers union uses the time and finances he receives during a long-term strike to explore the gay underground of Brooklyn, escaping his unhappy marriage.
• Landsend, described as a ?coda? for the book, this section presents several small anecdotes from a housing project.