Cain's Book,
by Alexander Trocchi
Scottish-born Beat author Alexander Trocchi's Cain's Book may just seem like
another tale of a doomed drug addict's plight like Trainspotting , but the
novel's tone quickly shifts to its own drumbeat. The book's main character,
barge pilot & smack addict Joe Necchi (Trocchi in disguise), sifts through the
seedy world of junkies & hustlers in New York yet despite the cost to his
personal life somehow manages to enrich his artistic talents as a writer &
artist. Necchi/Trocchi makes no apologies for his addiction (nor does he
glamorize it either) and remains defiant to the end, a malcontent like the
Biblical character Cain. No "cold turkey" redemptive/happy ending here.
Compelling, brutal & raw, especially in it's scenes depicting drug use & sex.
Not for small children.
-Ed
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