dratkos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
finigan's review against another edition
4.0
I'd heard about pimp from reading articles by Irvine Welsch. He said that without this book Trainspotting would never have been written.
I see the influences on his work both in terms of content and language. It's a good thing there is a glossary of slang at the back of this book because otherwise I would have been completely lost.
This book starts off with a bang. The writing style is captivating and what happens to young Iceburg Slim is heartbreaking. There's some really poetically written passages about his dreams involving his mother that are so vivid that they linger with the reader long into the book.
The preface does a lot to insulate against the coming grotesqueries. Violence against women, murder, child sexual abuse and the most transparent racism are all on display here.
Iceburg Slim is no saint, nor does pretend to be. At almost every turn he's thinking of new ways to manipulate and coerce young women into whoring for him. It's all presented in a very measured, manner of fact way. Towards the center of the book it sags quite a bit. It's a lot to ask of the reader to endure such constant cruelty. The saving grace is the writing style. Iceburg has a way of describing the worst possible things that one human can do to another and make it readable. Despite all the misery that is going on, this book also finds time for levity. Tonally it shouldn't work, but it does.
I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this before. It's challenging, heartbreaking, revolting and compelling all at once. If you feel like you have the stomache for the content then I would say you should check it out.
I see the influences on his work both in terms of content and language. It's a good thing there is a glossary of slang at the back of this book because otherwise I would have been completely lost.
This book starts off with a bang. The writing style is captivating and what happens to young Iceburg Slim is heartbreaking. There's some really poetically written passages about his dreams involving his mother that are so vivid that they linger with the reader long into the book.
The preface does a lot to insulate against the coming grotesqueries. Violence against women, murder, child sexual abuse and the most transparent racism are all on display here.
Iceburg Slim is no saint, nor does pretend to be. At almost every turn he's thinking of new ways to manipulate and coerce young women into whoring for him. It's all presented in a very measured, manner of fact way. Towards the center of the book it sags quite a bit. It's a lot to ask of the reader to endure such constant cruelty. The saving grace is the writing style. Iceburg has a way of describing the worst possible things that one human can do to another and make it readable. Despite all the misery that is going on, this book also finds time for levity. Tonally it shouldn't work, but it does.
I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this before. It's challenging, heartbreaking, revolting and compelling all at once. If you feel like you have the stomache for the content then I would say you should check it out.
alivira's review against another edition
3.0
This book is seven kinds of messed up, but I guess that's the way it is. Less interesting after the shock value wears off.
jewelianne's review against another edition
I purchased this book as part of a (very, very small) urban fiction collection I am attempting to create for one of the libraries. (That's also why I re-read The Coldest Winter Ever). It is actually a biography, and not fiction at all, but I found reference to it on a lot of "best urban fiction" lists. Apparently, it is considered by many to be a pre-cursor to the genre. It's inspired a variety of artists in the last half century or so; the stage names Ice T and Ice Cube are both homages to the author's "pimp name."
I cannot say that I liked it--can anyone LIKE a book like this-- but I can understand it's continued importance. It made me think, and that's what all good books should do. I don't have any idea how to rate it though, so I'm not going to.
As a side note, this book is FULL of "pimp-speak." I seriously had no idea what was going on at a few parts. There was even a pimp-speak glossary at the end of the book, but I felt like some of the important words weren't in there. How much money is a saw?! I also thought that "cat" referred to a person (ie, like in the 1960's slang) for a while, and couldn't figure out why Sweet was hanging out with a spotted person. Haha. Oh well, I tried.
Spoiler
Anyway, it tells the story of Iceberg Slim, who's real name was Robert Beck, from his birth through his nearly 25 years as a pimp. It's supposed to be a cautionary tale to young men, and I can understand how Slim's five stints in prison and the early death of most of his "friends" could help to deter young men from a life of crime. But for the most part, Slim doesn't moralize or even try to impart lessons so much as he tells his story. And he definitely doesn't shy away from the truth. Personally, I found it incredibly brutal, both in the treatment of women and of African Americans. In fact, when I consider that it's non-fiction, it's one of the most brutal books I have ever read. I find it a little strange that people would want to emulate Iceberg Slim, though I think that Robert Beck is probably a different story. Slim is whip smart, and he's definitely cool, but he also does a lot of drugs and brutalizes women. I understand that was a part of his lifestyle, and also that as an African American man born in the second decade of the twentieth century, there weren't a lot of "straight jobs" or opportunities available to him. I can understand the idea of him fighting back against, and oftentimes beating, a system that is in place to hold him down is inspiring to a lot of people, and I can even understand how his undeniable coolness is attractive in an anti-hero way, particularly to other young men who are disenfranchised. But I can't quite get over the misogyny. Even in the last few chapters he never says, "Also, I shouldn't have beat that prostitute with a wire coat hanger whip...that wasn't really a good choice." I suppose that may have come about in one of his later books though, so I don't want to be too harsh as I have not read them.I cannot say that I liked it--can anyone LIKE a book like this-- but I can understand it's continued importance. It made me think, and that's what all good books should do. I don't have any idea how to rate it though, so I'm not going to.
As a side note, this book is FULL of "pimp-speak." I seriously had no idea what was going on at a few parts. There was even a pimp-speak glossary at the end of the book, but I felt like some of the important words weren't in there. How much money is a saw?! I also thought that "cat" referred to a person (ie, like in the 1960's slang) for a while, and couldn't figure out why Sweet was hanging out with a spotted person. Haha. Oh well, I tried.
salbulga's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
zhengsterz's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
3.5
The book is an autobiography by Iceberg Slim who was an American pimp and details his many trials and tribulations trying to make it in the pimp game showing what a sordid and depressing life it actually is filled with deceit and trickery.
Book was an easy read and flowed well but nothing spectacular
Book was an easy read and flowed well but nothing spectacular
manifeststefany's review against another edition
4.0
First, read the glossary that comes with the book. From now on, I will only refer to money as scratch and shoes as stomps. :)
This is a wild ride into a slice of life many of us will never understand. This intimate story told in what feels like real time is funny, scary, disgusting and thoughtful. I will have to read it a second time to really take it all in.
This is a wild ride into a slice of life many of us will never understand. This intimate story told in what feels like real time is funny, scary, disgusting and thoughtful. I will have to read it a second time to really take it all in.
leeandrianakis's review against another edition
4.0
This is certainly not a book I think everyone needs to read.
Beck describes humanity’s ugliest features, characterised by manipulation, abuse, self-hate and psychological torment.
As someone who hasn’t inherited the trauma of a society designed to oppress and exploit you, it’s hard to rationalise what motivates someone to inhabit such a cruel mentality.
The book explores less what happens when that hustler switch turns off and the challenges faced adjusting to an honest and humble means.
Instead it’s an urban dictionary of Ebonics and the hip hop street culture Beck and his cohort helped pioneer.
There’s no doubt Beck’s influences can be felt far and wide from Goldie in “the Mack” to the punchy dialogue of Elmore Leonard.
Whether Iceberg Slim is ultimately redeemable is not up to any person to decide. All you can hope is that the exercise was cathartic to Beck, “purging him” of his “remorse”, and serving as grim warning to others who can see past the “silky living” of a Pimp to the real cost to the soul.
Beck describes humanity’s ugliest features, characterised by manipulation, abuse, self-hate and psychological torment.
As someone who hasn’t inherited the trauma of a society designed to oppress and exploit you, it’s hard to rationalise what motivates someone to inhabit such a cruel mentality.
The book explores less what happens when that hustler switch turns off and the challenges faced adjusting to an honest and humble means.
Instead it’s an urban dictionary of Ebonics and the hip hop street culture Beck and his cohort helped pioneer.
There’s no doubt Beck’s influences can be felt far and wide from Goldie in “the Mack” to the punchy dialogue of Elmore Leonard.
Whether Iceberg Slim is ultimately redeemable is not up to any person to decide. All you can hope is that the exercise was cathartic to Beck, “purging him” of his “remorse”, and serving as grim warning to others who can see past the “silky living” of a Pimp to the real cost to the soul.