Crack up at the race riots

Analyzing the archetypes that recur in this culture reveals how movies are an increasingly dangerous surrogate for the actual. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Email to [email protected] It champions all the bands and artists that never got to make it further than their hometown fan base I am 51 and Northern Soul was an influence on my growing up and appreciation of musical styles. How clever of you to combine the classic back beat sample with a list of the bands you knew about that never made it and then bound it all together with driving guitars and the thumping chorus of: "I've been wasting my life I've finally realised I've wasted so much time!

My book has made me understand that I didn't waste my life because I followed my dream, stuck to what I believed in and have some wonderful memories. Eliot's words accidentally anthropologically endorse Korine both as a novelist and as a person. The paragraph of text that ends the book serves a very similar purpose.

Most people have deemed "A Crackup at the Race Riots" as a literary companion piece to "Gummo," but moreover, this novel is actually a companion piece to everything that Harmony Korine has created or destroyed. My only possible complaint would be that the book may end up being read with lightning-speed by any diehard fan of the author. Otherwise, "A Crackup at the Race Riots" is an essential collection for those who either appreciate or despise how Korine has developed an ultimate portrait of omnipresence.

Jan 22, Michael rated it really liked it. Harmony Korine has once again become the man of the hour following the release of "Spring Breakers" in which he directs James Franco and a cadre of Disney princesses against a Skrillex score into a neon underground of debauchery.

There is much to say about this film, "Spring Breakers" - primarily it begs the question of which cast members were "in" on the satire of contemporary American youth consumption culture. However, to seek the answer to this question presupposes that the inquirer accepts Harmony Korine has once again become the man of the hour following the release of "Spring Breakers" in which he directs James Franco and a cadre of Disney princesses against a Skrillex score into a neon underground of debauchery.

However, to seek the answer to this question presupposes that the inquirer accepts that this film is more than the sum of its parts, which, judging by recent backlash and criticism of "pro-feminist" claims by the director, is not guaranteed. That said, it is hard to imagine that any of the now deflowered Disney princesses were unaware that they would be subverting their pristine reputations by participating in "Spring Breakers" were they to read "A Crackup at the Race Riots.

His book - available as a pdf online - is a disturbing glimpse into the America that cannot be packaged into a reality program, and into the complexity of human sorrow.

Jun 20, Nicola Everett rated it really liked it. After being a big fan of 'Gummo' and finding Korine's cinematic work to be a massive inspiration when it comes to my own writing I wasn't really sure what to expect from a novel of his, and I'm glad I didn't.

Suicide letters, rumours, scenes, doodles and film titles make up this book and while it was first a little difficult to get into, the novelist in me seeking some form of typical structure, it only took a couple of turns of the page to delve into the book and get absorbed in the frenetic After being a big fan of 'Gummo' and finding Korine's cinematic work to be a massive inspiration when it comes to my own writing Suicide letters, rumours, scenes, doodles and film titles make up this book and while it was first a little difficult to get into, the novelist in me seeking some form of typical structure, it only took a couple of turns of the page to delve into the book and get absorbed in the frenetic changing of setting and character that occurred in every new paragraph and, often, every new line.

Apologies to my housemates for having to listen to me reading out strange little sections that took me by surprise, for it's the kind of writing you feel like you really need to share to make sure it's real and not just a hallucination caused by not having left the house in four days.

This is a book I know I'm going to flick back to while continuing to write my own work not only as a source of inspiration when it comes to the characters and the worlds that I'll create but also as a reminder that the rules we've been taught about what makes a "great" piece of fiction really don't exist at all.

When it comes down to you and the page, you can create whatever you want, whether that's an epic novel with Aristotelian structure, a collection of short stories or some of the strangest scenes and one-liners you've ever read in your life.

Do what you want! Ah, the freedom! Love it. I am a big fan of Korine's films. Several of them are top favorites of mine. Having said that, it was a mistake for me to assume that he would also create a good novella. Or perhaps I'm just too simple minded to fully appreciate what I just read. Some of the ugly parts of our society shine through in this book, just as in his films, however it was so scattered and the snippets on each page were short enough that very little continuity of any kind accrued.

Or perhaps I'm too simple minded to under I am a big fan of Korine's films. Or perhaps I'm too simple minded to understand it. I tried to read this with no prior expectations.

Several pages were interesting and entertaining when viewed singly and not part of the whole. The most astounding thing for me about this book is the similarity between it and another book I read which was written by a man with pschizophrenia. The styles are closely linked as well as the preoccupation with themes that are shocking or grotesque or sexually charged in a perverted way. I would not recommend this book to anyone and I will not waste my time in further analysis.

But I do look forward to Korine's next film and I can appreciate it when an artist steps outside his normal medium to try something new, even if the project fails. Aug 06, ? One has to wonder if, after reading the collected interviews with Mr. Korine, that this book isn't really so much a book as it is part of a larger, or in his words, "universal" shtick, with this book representing a fuck you to expectations, the publishing world, or just a fun prank with a lot of bizarre content with jokes, lies, random pictures, gossip, letters by Tupac, lists, and other basically unconnected bits.

So how much you, the reader, will enjoy this. Yeah I kept a journal in high school too but nobody ever wanted to publish it because I never made avant-garde cinema. Even if there is a small peek into Korine's psyche on display here it is all too curated and so far removed from giving a fuck it also doesn't care about being entertaining. Korine will always fascinate me and I usually end up defending his work when others criticize it because in some way I empathize with what he is going for on the screen.

But this book is just a slap dash mes Yeah I kept a journal in high school too but nobody ever wanted to publish it because I never made avant-garde cinema. But this book is just a slap dash mess printed on the wave of his success. Aug 27, Adam rated it liked it Shelves: prose , present. One day he spit and drowned a midget.

Not much more I can say right now. Dec 19, Udai rated it really liked it Shelves: fiction , short-stories. Mar 19, Christina knox rated it it was amazing. One of those gems that seems less and less in left field with every passing year.

Aug 19, Jeff Downer rated it really liked it. There are things on earth worth time just to observe. This book does that. Occasionally frown-worthy, but never long enough to sour it. Fans of Korine should love this I was a big fan of Kids, Gummo, and to a lesser extent Julien Donkey Boy growing up, and I thought Spring Breakers was an admirable effort to serve mainstream audiences a hot plate of cultural criticism. In any medium, there is a fine line between successful stream-of-consciousness work and artistic laziness retrospectively justifying itself.

Speaking of culture, I can see how this book might have been considered intelligently provocative in the Gen X-dominated culture of the 80s to early s, when life on the surface really was pretty good as long as you fit certain demographic criteria , when you and everyone you knew were well-fed, well-paid, and had few complaints about the basics, and the curious mind was inevitably drawn to darker places because of their contrast with the world as you knew it.

The idea that government was corrupt was never far away postwar, but it never seemed to be failing you personally. The idea that the nuclear family was some gilded ideal was well understood by those tasked to consider it, but chances were your family was doing fine, if a little inauthentically so.

Religion was whatever, church a place to go with family and listen to some old man drone on about some old book. Racism, sexism, homophobia, plutocracy, and environmental destruction were acknowledged by those who cared about them and ignored by everyone else. But this bleakness is only sexy when you are insulated from its consequences.

Korine might have been an insider in this dark world, but for the target audience, his world was interesting mostly because it was so far away from their own.

The world is different now—at least its evils are better publicized and consequently more widely felt—and for the passionate, politically savvy, hair-trigger outraged youth of today who crave meaningful action over ideas and who have strong preferences about how ideas are presented, and by whom , this book would probably be widely regarded as edgy for its own sake, a white cishet male artist mining the postmodern Western world for its most disturbing, amoral and contradictory content.

Moreover, the cultural references are dated now, so the cool factor is lost on s readers. Overall, I would not recommend this book for members of my generation.

We have enough to be incensed about and fascinated with for this disorganized experimental non-novel to pack much of a punch, except an offensive one. This does not make Korine less of a genius, nor does it deprive him of the cultural influence he exerted at the time of his peak it could be argued he shone an important spotlight himself , but it does make his grimy work look ugly in the lighting of our present culture.

There may still be a place somewhere in the contemporary counterculture for this Naked Lunch-style not-really-a-novel, maybe 50 years from now, if we have solved the social and environmental ills of our time. But in , the disturbing is not tucked away in dusty comic book stores and Blockbusters but on display for everyone to see, on the news and in real life here and everywhere. Only when mass society begins to believe itself good again will artistic explorations of seedy underbellies and blacklit views of humanity regain their relevance, particularly when presented in daredevilishly shocking, art-qua-art ways that offer no solutions to modern readers.

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one ». Readers also enjoyed. Videos About This Book. More videos Short Stories. About Harmony Korine. Harmony Korine. Best known both as the writer of films "Kids" and "Ken Park" and as the director of films "Gummo" , "julien donkey-boy" , and "Mister Lonely" , Harmony Korine has been deemed as the "enfant terrible" of modern independent dramatic film.

Raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of PBS cinematographer Sol Korine spent many of his days at revival theaters, drawing vast Best known both as the writer of films "Kids" and "Ken Park" and as the director of films "Gummo" , "julien donkey-boy" , and "Mister Lonely" , Harmony Korine has been deemed as the "enfant terrible" of modern independent dramatic film.

Raised in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of PBS cinematographer Sol Korine spent many of his days at revival theaters, drawing vast inspiration from a wide variety of envelop-pushing filmmakers. After reaching a break-through opportunity as a screenwriter for Larry Clark's first highly controversial film "Kids" in , Korine quickly became viewed as one of America's most bizarre and inventive creative entities, especially with the release of his directorial debut "Gummo" in and the publication of his first novel, "A Crackup at the Race Riots," the following year.

Since his rise to fame or infamy , Korine has expanded his horizons in film, literature, art, music, and tap-dancing. He has directed several music videos, commercials, and David Blaine television specials; Korine has also hosted numerous exhibits of his art and photography. Currently, the man continues to release published screenplays and fanzines while caring for his wife Rachel and his son Lefty.

Books by Harmony Korine. Related Articles. Short fiction plays by different rules than Read more Trivia About A Crackup at the Quotes from A Crackup at the D First light on a new day as a freak hog. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. A Crackup at the Race Riots This is tough insert words of wisdom here Apologies: One day he spit and drowned a midget.

Korine is the voice of his media-savvy cackup and A Crack-Up at the Race Riots is the satiric lovechild of his dark imagination. The case of Robertson vs. Apr 28, D rated it it was amazing. Mar 19, Christina knox rated it it was amazing. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory. An experimental film originally shown as an art installation in Manhattan by Harmony Korine.

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