The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of his Life--His Own

"I did not like this book. If there was ever a book that could be condensed into three pages, this was it. It was way too long. One drug experience after another. OK. I got the message. You were a druggie. What I thought I would get out of the book was how to help someone get out of it. Maybe it dealth with that at the end of the book. I never got that far. I quit reading about half way though. Maybe this is not a valid review, since I did not have, or choose to spend my time wading though the first half a book that was so repetitive. "
~ Written on 2008-09-08

"David Carr's The Night of the Gun is something that you have to read to believe. A memoir of Carr's drug addicted past, The Night of the Gun is a dark, harrowing, often riveting, and definitely uncompromising portrait of a talented journalist, with some very bad habits, that lead him to do some very bad and very regretable things. Ranging from wreaking havoc on the lives of his loved ones, to going so far as to smoking crack with his pregnant girlfriend as her water is breaking, saying that it's hard to feel sympathy for Carr is saying it lightly. Yet, with hsi unabashed honesty and uncompromising depiction of himself, his ultimate triumph nevertheless makes The Night of the Gun a worthwhile endeavor. As far as memoirs go however, The Night of the Gun isn't without it's flaws, as the structure of Carr's tale sometimes makes it hard to follow at some points. Also, as said before, The Night of the Gun is not something that is easy to swallow, and is often hard to read. That aside, The Night of the Gun is a worthwhile, dirty trip down Carr's own drug raddled memory lane, and it is very effective, and will manage to stay with you for some time afterward."
~ Written on 2008-09-07

"I found myself alternately filled with admiration and then with repulsion as I read David Carr's story of drug addiction and redemption. David is sometimes an incredibly good writer; he has the knack of drawing rich images in your mind. I'd no doubt read anything else he writes just because of that, but I really found "Night of the Gun" darkly disturbing.

Maybe it's because David's stark introspection makes me wonder about myself. I never have had any addiction issues, but it's there in my extended family and I've certainly seen it in friends and a few others. I think my unvoiced thought has always been that there is something fundamentally different about people with such problems: they aren't like me, they are flawed, weak.. "others". I could never be an addict, not because my genes are different, but because my resolve is stronger. No slippery slopes for me..

Oh yeah? David's writing makes me question that. It's not "there but for the grace..", it's "sheesh, I can see how that could happen". And that's more than a little scary.

Probably some reviewer is going to say something silly like "a must read for anyone close to addiction". No, this is a must read for people like me, people who have never looked hard into their own selves and recognized how easy it would be to screw it all up like David.

I hope David stays clean. He has genuine talent and it will be a shame if that gets buried yet again.


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~ Written on 2008-09-07

"This book is so brutally honest that it is sometimes difficult to read and yet I could not put it down. This man and his family and friends went through hell, both during and after he became sober. It is a true testament to the human condition and just how strong we are. Strong in all the wrong ways at times and strong in all the good ways we can be. I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Today there is almost no human being who has not been touched by addictions of all kinds so that this book speaks to everyone."
~ Written on 2008-09-07

"Oh, this book stripped the marrow from my bones. I am someone who has never even seen any drugs, but it still gripped me with an insider's harrowing sense of recognition. A very close family member of mine was a coke addict who also was rescued because of her ultimate love for her child. I have endured all the tribulations (too weak a word) that a family member can in watching the endless self-destruction that addiction brings, along with the attendant neglect of a baby. I was victimized countless times by the constant theft and deception that an addict trails in his or her wake, but much worse was trying to help keep the baby alive and flourishing when the baby's mother was out of her mind. Thank God that eventually this relative's desire to give her child a life provided sufficient motivation to get clean and so far to stay clean.
Furthermore, besides being able to relate too well to the wrecked lives Carr details, I thought his writing was spectacular. Many times I reread a superbly crafted line because it so brilliantly conveyed his emotion or some circumstance. I found the entire "reporting" device to be supremely effective and was profoundly moved all along as the Carr of 2007 met again with the people from two decades before, and as he discovered what had really occurred when he was too drug-damaged to know.
It was also informative to access the website that accompanies the book. Hearing from the actual characters in his narrative augmented my understanding of his life.
Here is hoping that David Carr remains on the straight and narrow to enjoy his life with his wife and three girls."
~ Written on 2008-09-06