Dopefiend by Donald Goines
A Review By: AT
The shocking nightmare story of a black heroin addict
Trapped in the festering sore of a major American ghetto, a young man and his girlfriend - both attractive, talented, and full of promise - are inexorably pulled into the living death of the hardcore junkie. It is a horrifying world where addicts will do anything to get their next fix.
For 23 years of his young life, Donald Goines lived in the dark, despair-ridden world of the junkie. It started while he was doing military service in Korea and ended with his murder in his late 30s. He had worked up to a hundred-dollars-a-day habit - and out of the agonizing hell came Dopefiend.
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2014
An installment in a Series? No
Narrator (s): Kevin Kenerly
As a fan of urban tales, I found this unflinchingly real story to be a masterpiece that can easily be seen as the blueprint for today’s street literature. In Dopefiend, Donald Goines uses his own life experience with drug addiction to paint a vivd, heartbreaking, uncomfortable illustration of the horrible effects of drug abuse and the pitfalls of addiction. The scenes in this book were simultaneously compelling and disturbing, uncomfortable and necessary. The desperation and hopelessness was palpable and indicative of Goines’ expert writing. Kenerly’s performance was masterful. A true audio experience!
Reading Recommendation? Yes!
Rating: NORTH STAR RATING
Content Warnings? Human or animal loss, Physical abuse/violence, Sexual abuse/violence
