Overview

Peter Alson is having an early mid-life crisis: he's a 33-year-old Harvard grad who has suddenly run out of prospects. He can't seem to finish that novel; he and his girlfriend, Anna, have decided to call it quits (again); and worse, he's flat broke. So when he meets Michael, another Ivy Leaguer who's making a killing as a bookie, he does what any enterprising guy would do: he enters a life of crime, joining a bookmaking operation headed up by characters like Monkey and Steak Knife, where his real education begins. If you combined Basketball Diaries and A Fan's Notes with a dash of Damon Runyon, the result would be something like this-hilarious and heartbreaking-a book that has rightfully taken its place among the classics of down-and-out literature.

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9781734734126

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Reviews

"""Vivid, wild and hilarious. This was an essential read in our quest to deepen the world of bettors and the hierarchy of bookiedom in Uncut Gems...The history on display in the poetic journalism of Alson's book allowed me to squint my eyes and imagine (Adam Sandler's) Howard stiffing Peter's character in the '90s."" -- Josh Safdie, writer-director Uncut Gems. ""Painfully perceptive...compulsively readable."" -- Sue Kelly, Time Out New York ""As wisecracking a gang of rascals as you could meet on a page."" -- David Hughes, London Sunday Mail ""Alson shows a knack for revealing character, especially his own. He suggests the ways in which choice, chance and a variety of imperatives fuse, deciding who we are and what we do with our lives."" -- Paula Friedman, The New York Times ""A kind of literary Goodfellas."" -- Arena ""A racy, reckless memoir...told with the style and gusto of a 1990s Damon Runyon."" -- Anthony Holden, The London Times ""Brings back a sharp memory of Bonfire of the Vanities...a fascinating tale."" -- Mary Caldwell. Voice-Tribune"

Vivid, wild and hilarious. This was an essential read in our quest to deepen the world of bettors and the hierarchy of bookiedom in Uncut Gems...The history on display in the poetic journalism of Alson's book allowed me to squint my eyes and imagine (Adam Sandler's) Howard stiffing Peter's character in the '90s. -- Josh Safdie, writer-director Uncut Gems. Painfully perceptive...compulsively readable. -- Sue Kelly, Time Out New York As wisecracking a gang of rascals as you could meet on a page. -- David Hughes, London Sunday Mail Alson shows a knack for revealing character, especially his own. He suggests the ways in which choice, chance and a variety of imperatives fuse, deciding who we are and what we do with our lives. -- Paula Friedman, The New York Times A kind of literary Goodfellas. -- Arena A racy, reckless memoir...told with the style and gusto of a 1990s Damon Runyon. -- Anthony Holden, The London Times Brings back a sharp memory of Bonfire of the Vanities...a fascinating tale. -- Mary Caldwell. Voice-Tribune

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