Requiem for a Dream: A Novel

Hubert Selby Jr. (1928-2004) was known for his gritty, visceral depiction of working-class life in New York City. Selby Jr.’s early life was marked by hardship and health problems. He dropped out of school as a teenager and later joined the Merchant Marines, during which time he contracted tuberculosis, culminating in him losing a lung and being bed-ridden for a decade of his life. With nothing else to do during this time, and with no formal training, he took up writing. Selby Jr.’s writing is known for its transgressive themes and use of stream of consciousness, disregarding formal literary style. His first book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, was a controversial hit, sparking obscenity trials and critical acclaim alike with its frank depictions of queer characters, drug use, violence, and rape—themes that are immediately recognizable in Requiem for a Dream. Selby Jr. uses the literary technique of deep point of view (POV) in the novel to remove the distance between the characters, the narration, and the reader. Deep POV provides a greater intimacy between the reader and the text, allowing direct access to characters’ thoughts, in their own words. The narration of Requiem for a Dream often lapses directly into its characters’ internal monologues with no textual markers such as “she thought” or “he wondered,” instead relying on the tone and vernacular of each character’s voice to differentiate it from the novel’s normal narrative tone. This is another hallmark of Selby Jr.’s literary style: close narrative distance depicted by writing in characters’ voices, using phonetic depictions of their dialects as well as slang and informal language. Requiem for a Dream paints a brutally honest picture of addiction and the vain struggle to find the American dream.