Last Exit to Brooklyn

The book Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Shelby Jr is a combination of short stories together into one book. These short stories talk about different topics. These topics vary from topic to topic and some of them are very terrifying. The people that read this book are thinking, “do people really do and say all these things?” There are two stories I would like to talk about in the book; “Another Day another Dollar” and “The Queen is dead.” The first story I would like to talk about is “Another Day another Dollar” it’s a very unusual story. This story is about unemployed men who resort to violence when they become bored. When Shelby writes “Someone suggested a game of mum and Vinnie should start in the middle… He was hit in the side and when he turned he got hit again as he spun 2 more fists hit him in his kidney.” This doesn’t sound like an arousing game someone would play every day with their friends. This is unusual because who would actually enjoy a game of this kind. Most boys usually enjoy playing sports but these boys enjoyed hitting each other. When someone reads this story, they will wonder what makes these boys do this. Some people might say let boys be boys. This all starts at a young age when these kids start hitting each other and there is no one to tell them what is right. They are either going to end up in a gang and die or in prison somewhere for assault. The final story I would like to talk about is “The Queen is dead” is about an obsession. This story is about how a transvestite and love for someone that never fades. This is Georgette’s obsessed with Vinnie and cannot stop loving him. Shelby wrote, “Forcing herself to refrain from trying to kiss him from caressing her thighs dreaming of the warmth of his groin,” he is depicting Georgette as a freak. The way Georgette talks about Vinnie makes it seems like she wants to rape him. The crazy thing is it would never work out between them, unless he likes that type of things. This whole story makes