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![[The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll / First published: 1978 / First read: 1997 / Reread: April 2024]
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Jim Carroll (1949–2009) was a badass natural storyteller and my god it’s terrifying that he is only 13 to 15 years old in these [edited] diaries. He was more streetwise at 13 than a New York cabbie at rush hour. By then he had two selves—one whose basketball prowess wins him a private school scholarship. And another, darker self, that takes over. His resolve and values are weakened by smack, and it’s this self that turns tricks, and way worse, for drug money.
Carroll swears he has it under control but I felt sicker and sicker as the diary progressed, knowing where it was headed. It’s so sad to witness his heroin addiction taking over in real time, as school and basketball slip silently off the page.
The good news is that Carroll has an innate survival instinct, or perhaps it’s his intelligence and creativity that saves him (although this doesn’t happen until the next volume, Forced Entries). There’s this awful moment on page 121 from Summer 1965 when he’s about to turn FIFTEEN, and realises he’s got a habit. ‘The laugh’s on you finally, no matter how long you think you got it “under control”.’
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WHAT I LIKED:
His teenage thoughts about war, narco cops and his fear of the A-bomb shadowing his life to date. A time capsule of New York in the 60s. Also, his genesis as a writer.
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NOT SO MUCH:
The hard drugs, sex and crime stuff were hard to read—cool and edgy when I first read it in ’97 but terrifying and so, so sad as a parent of young teens in 2024. I also hated the cheesy tagline on the edition I read this time: ‘The classic about growing up hip on New York’s mean streets.’ 🤮
📚 💚 📚
#thebasketballdiaries #jimcarroll #leanardodicaprio #myyearofrereading #bookaddict #whattoread](https://carolinebarronauthor.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
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