Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Gin Closet

by Leslie Jamison (Goodreads Author)

3.3 of 5 stars 3.30 · rating details · 249 ratings · 64 reviews

From a bold, sensitive, and shrewd young writer: a hotly anticipated debut novel, about flesh, fear, poverty, privilege, and the sheer and inescapable brutality of love.

In the beginning, there was Tilly: fabulous and free, outrageous and untamable, vulnerable and terrified. Was it the Sixties that did her wrong, or the drugs, or the men, or was it the middle-class upbrin...more From a bold, sensitive, and shrewd young writer: a hotly anticipated debut novel, about flesh, fear, poverty, privilege, and the sheer and inescapable brutality of love.

In the beginning, there was Tilly: fabulous and free, outrageous and untamable, vulnerable and terrified. Was it the Sixties that did her wrong, or the drugs, or the men, or was it the middle-class upbringing she couldn't abide? As a young woman, she flees home for the hollow neon underworld of Nevada, looking for pure souls and finding nothing but bad habits. She stays away for decades, working the streets and worse, eventually drinking herself to the brink of death in the middle of the desert. One day, after Tilly has spent nearly thirty years without a family, her niece shows up on the doorstep of her dusty trailer.

Stella has been leading her own life of empty promise in New York City. She makes her living booking Botox appointments and national-media appearances for a famous (and famously neurotic) "inspirational" writer by day; she complains about her job at warehouse parties in remote boroughs by night; she waits for her married lover to make time in his schedule to screw her over, softly; and she takes care of her ailing grandmother in Connecticut. Before Stella's grandmother dies, she tells Stella the truth about Tilly, her runaway daughter, and Stella decides to give up the vast and penetrating loneliness of the city to find this lost woman the family had never mentioned.

The Gin Closet unravels the strange and powerful intimacy that forms between Tilly and Stella as they move to San Francisco to make a home with Abe, Tilly's overworked and elusive son. Shifting between the perspectives of both women, the narrative documents the construction of a fragile triangle that eventually breaks under its own weight.

With an uncanny ear for dialogue and a witty, unflinching candor about sex, love, and power, Leslie Jamison reminds us that no matter how unexpected its turns are, this life we're given is all we have: the cruelties that unhinge us, the beauties that clarify us, the addictions that deform us, those fleeting possibilities of grace that fade as quickly as they come. In the words of writer Charles D'Ambrosio, this extraordinary novel teaches us that "history has its way, the body has its way, and the rebellions we believe in leave behind a bleak wisdom, if we're lucky -- and defeat, if we're not." The Gin Closet marks the debut of a stunning new talent in fiction.(less)

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published February 16th 2010 by Free Press (first published January 26th 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 747)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Sep 30, 2011 Sasha Martinez added it

Shelves: books-read-in-2010

[1] It begins slowly. It takes its time. Reading the blurb, all giddy, it’s like you submerge yourself in a tubful of water, and, extending the metaphor, the actual exposition is when you surface, all slow-mo. That’s how reading this novel is like. Is that a bad thing? No. Why? Let me explain: Jamison allows the Rudolph family to solidify before our eyes. By not immediately plunging us into the drama of that “fragile triangle,” the actual family dynamics—before meeting Tilly, how the family had...more [1] It begins slowly. It takes its time. Reading the blurb, all giddy, it’s like you submerge yourself in a tubful of water, and, extending the metaphor, the actual exposition is when you surface, all slow-mo. That’s how reading this novel is like. Is that a bad thing? No. Why? Let me explain: Jamison allows the Rudolph family to solidify before our eyes. By not immediately plunging us into the drama of that “fragile triangle,” the actual family dynamics—before meeting Tilly, how the family had changed upon her leaving thirty years ago—are better explored, better established. Did I wish things were speeded up a little? No, not really: One of the things I admired about this novel was that it was, for lack of a less trite phrase, calmly violent. It was leashing in all that angst and pain, making every scene charged, making every character interaction brim with meaning. Which is an odd observation, I know, for a family wrecked by estrangement and indifference, and many other demons—but that’s how it is. It’s painful because all those secrets, the weight of thirty years on the characters’ shoulders. You can’t insist on speed when you owe it not only to the readers, but to the characters themselves. Still, Jamison’s got such tight control, for a subject matter that could go every which way.

[2] Can I tell you how awesome the very concept of a Gin Closet is? It’s that little room in a house where you think you can store away all your demons. In Tilly’s case, it’s filled with bottles of gin. It’s where she rots, it’s where she’s held prisoner, it’s where she believes that things are under control as long as the demons stay locked inside that room with her. But, of course, she’s wrong. It’s genius, I tell you—you don’t need concrete rooms, you don’t need walls. Just your mind telling you, I can handle this, see how I can handle this?

“What do you need?” I asked. “How can I help you?”
“I do it in the dark,” she said. “I can’t stop.”
I stayed quiet. I let her keep going.
“I turn off the lights and take little sips—just little sips one after another. Then I sleep and I wake up and I think maybe, I don’t know, it’s stupid what I think, but maybe if there’s a door I can close… that maybe, I don’t know, it’s a kind of an ending.”

[3] One of the most laudable things about the crafting of this novel was its language. And, if you’ve been following me, you know I can’t talk about a book without talking about its language. And Jamison’s language blew me away. She has a way saying things plainly, but true, and raw, and honest—when the situation demands it. Look at this snippet of dialogue, one that focuses on how the characters never really talk to each other:

“Did you miss me?” I said.
He said, “I’m glad to be with you now.”

[4] Tilly, damaged Tilly, we never really know why she became the way she was, even with the alternating POV, she remains a mystery. The reader is left to conclude that perhaps some people are really just prone. We don’t even really know why Stella is doing what she’s doing—a messianic complex brought on by how crappy and pointless her own life is? Does Stella even know why she’s doing this? Is that lame? Am I making excuses for Tilly, for Stella, for this novel? I like to think that I’m not. I like to think that Tilly and Stella—and Abe, and Stella’s mother—are all too-human in that they’re unknown even to themselves (no, I will not bust out my Philo readings). I have always hated characters who know too well what they are, who know their motivations. There’s self-aware, and then there’s cardboard cut-out. So, yeah. That’s what I think.

[5] Also. You know what this book reminded me of? Change Baby, by June Spence. But this is grittier, if only because it’s set in cities rife with things that could easily be bad for you.

>> The Gin Closet is a meandering story of loss and redemption, and, yes, many failures. This is not a feel-good novel. You will not be inspired. If you want to believe in the fairy-tale goodness of people, I suggest you steer clear of this book. But if you want something human, something that speaks about how we disappoint ourselves, and we disappoint the people we love—how we walk away from things that we value, and can’t quite the things that will only destroy us—pick this novel up. It’ll be nerve-wrecking read, you’ll sigh many times. But it’s damned good storytelling, and I cannot wait for Jamison to litter our bookshelves with her work.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 23, 2010 CoffeeBook Chick rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read the first few pages and I was suddenly afraid. Afraid to put this down even for a quick break because it deserved my complete focus on it, each tortured character demanding that I listen to their voice, their story. I didn't want to miss a thing, no matter whether disturbing or unsettling, and I certainly didn't want to forget a single moment that the characters experienced.

The book is told from two perspectives in the first person: Stella and Tilly. Stella is the daughter of a high-power...more I read the first few pages and I was suddenly afraid. Afraid to put this down even for a quick break because it deserved my complete focus on it, each tortured character demanding that I listen to their voice, their story. I didn't want to miss a thing, no matter whether disturbing or unsettling, and I certainly didn't want to forget a single moment that the characters experienced.

The book is told from two perspectives in the first person: Stella and Tilly. Stella is the daughter of a high-powered immigration lawyer, Dora, and the granddaughter of Lucy, who in her ailing years reveals a secret that no one has talked about. There is another, a daughter of Lucy's that has never been spoken of. Stella, broken though she may be, is determined to find this aunt, someone named Matilda who goes by Tilly. When she finds her, Tilly is surrounded by empty bottles of gin in a run-down trailer in the middle of the desert. But it's something that Stella can grasp onto in the mired sadness of her life -- again, maybe someone she can try to help. She convinces Tilly that they should pack everything up, get her dry and sober on the trip, and move together to San Francisco, where Tilly's son is a rich banker with plenty of space in his home, and plenty of his own quiet grief to share. Stella and Tilly really almost are the same person, their experiences painfully different and similar all at the same time. Is that possible? It almost felt like I was reading a song.

I felt guilty as I read this book -- each character's troubled story touched me and I felt ashamed that I was enjoying reading about their terrible miseries, rooting though I may have been for them to overcome their tragedies.

This is a story of grief, sadness, isolation. There were scenes that were uncomfortable and troubling but they were real, completely authentic and believable to each character, and I never felt tricked into any part of this story -- I was a willing reader who wanted a happy ending, but instead I got life's truth. Leslie Jamison's debut will render you speechless and amazed, and leave you thinking about it for days.

http://coffeeandabookchick.blogspot.com (less)

like · see review

Mar 09, 2010 Diane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Leslie Jamison's debut novel, The Gin Closet, opens with Stella, a twenty-something woman working for an inspirational writer who treats her horribly. She is dating a married man who also treats her badly. Stella has been caring for her beloved grandmother, who is in failing health.

After a bad fall, her grandmother calls for Matilda, a name Stella does not know. Stella asks her mother about the name, and her cold, methodical mother matter-of-factly confirms the fact that Stella has an aunt. Till...more Leslie Jamison's debut novel, The Gin Closet, opens with Stella, a twenty-something woman working for an inspirational writer who treats her horribly. She is dating a married man who also treats her badly. Stella has been caring for her beloved grandmother, who is in failing health.

After a bad fall, her grandmother calls for Matilda, a name Stella does not know. Stella asks her mother about the name, and her cold, methodical mother matter-of-factly confirms the fact that Stella has an aunt. Tilly has been estranged from her family for over thirty years.

With her life stagnating, Stella decides to go to Nevada to find Tilly and tell her of her mother's passing. Although her mother has told her that Tilly was a wild teenager, heavily into drugs, alcohol and men, Stella was shocked when she found a drunken Tilly living in a filthy trailer filled with trash.

Stella moves in with Tilly and tries to help her get her life on track. She learns about Tilly's son, Abe, born to Tilly when she was working as prostitute, and raised by Abe's father. Abe wants his mother to come live with him in San Francisco, and Stella goes along too.

Abe, Tilly and Stella form a family of their own, albeit one that is tenuous at best. Stella works at a Bed & Breakfast, and Abe gets a Tilly a job at the bank where he works. The reader pulls for these people to make a family life that works, but reality soon intercedes.

Jamison paints a brutally honest portrait of a woman in crisis. Tilly is a tragic, memorable character, and her struggle to maintain her sobriety and fit in with 'decent' society is so real and sad. Anyone who has dealt with alcoholism in their own family will no doubt recognize this battle.

Tilly had built a wall around herself, and Jamison has the perfect line to describe Tilly's life.

Tilly told me once about the experience of giving birth. She said she screamed louder than she'd known was possible. "it was the first time I really heard my own voice," she said. "I wanted it to keep on hurting forever."

The book is also about the damage of keeping secrets. After Tilly reveals one that changed her life forever, the reader has to wonder how different her life would have been if she felt she could have told someone. Would her mother and sister have believed her? Would they have helped her? If she had found her own voice as a child, would she still have been banished from her family?

The Gin Closet is not an easy book to read; it will hurt your heart. But it will also make you more empathetic to people in your lives, people you feel don't live up to your expectations. Jamison made a wise decision to alternate narrators, Tilly and Stella, allowing the reader insight into two fascinating characters.
(less)

like · see review

Feb 10, 2010 Nora rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was completely thrilled, altered and overtaken by The Gin Closet, which I had the great luck of reviewing this past January. I can’t voice enough excited praise in favor of this novel. Jamison’s prose is attuned to the cadence of poetry, while driven by an energetic narrative impulse.

The novel is split between the first-person perspectives of Stella, “so greedy for everyone else’s” life, and her estranged aunt Tilly, a severe alcoholic and former prostitute in a trailer park in stark isolatio...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 03, 2010 Alayne Bushey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sometimes you pick up a book and it ends up being one of those truly amazing pieces of writing, the kind you wish you could have created when you were in your early twenties with college-angst. The kind professors yearn for and literary critics swoon over. Leslie Jamison makes me green with writers-envy. Her ability to take a string of simple words and turn them into a profound sentence blew me away on (what felt like) every page.

On the material surface, The Gin Closet is a novel about two women...more Sometimes you pick up a book and it ends up being one of those truly amazing pieces of writing, the kind you wish you could have created when you were in your early twenties with college-angst. The kind professors yearn for and literary critics swoon over. Leslie Jamison makes me green with writers-envy. Her ability to take a string of simple words and turn them into a profound sentence blew me away on (what felt like) every page.

On the material surface, The Gin Closet is a novel about two women, one trying to find herself, one trying to survive. When Stella learns she has an estranged aunt she packs up her meaningless New York City existence and moves to the desert to help this broken woman cope with alcoholism and loneliness. Tilly is a mess, she seems to only hurt the people around her and has been that way she since she was young. She hasn’t had an easy life so when Stella turns up Tilly surfaces from her gin-induced waking-coma to think of the life she could possibly have, a life that means something, a life near her son in San Francisco. Together, Stella and Tilly embark on a trip, not a journey to somewhere even though they have a destination; more a sort of movement, fumbling many times along the way.

Told from both women’s first-person points of view, Stella is damaged, and Tilly is lost. The dueling narratives juxtapose these women, and give the reader a unique sense of being each of them, as well as watching each of them. This is a novel about family paradigms, but more specifically, female family paradigms: what it means to be a mother, a daughter, or a sister; what we do to our family and what is done to us. Jamison draws a true, poignant portrait of the dichotomy between female relations.

The Gin Closet is about the things we live with and survive through. How we perceive the one body we are given and what we choose to do with, and to, our life. What definitions do we place upon ourself? Anorexic, Alcoholic, Loner, Dreamer? What do we make of the people around us? Stella expects to be used, expects to be abandoned, but she is hardened and does the same to others. Tilly pushes everyone away until she decides to pull them close, but too close.

A beautiful, heartbreaking portrait of the female soul, a novel with an exquisite use of language, Leslie Jamison’s debut is remarkable in its simplistic truth. She doesn’t pander to the audience, she doesn’t mince words, she’s obvious but understated. Like Marilyn Robinson’s Housekeeping, or Alice Munro’s The Beggar Maid, The Gin Closet is unsettling but utterly remarkable.
(less)

like · see review

Aug 12, 2011 Sally Al Haq rated it 4 of 5 stars

It wasn't that simple to read this novel; It's painful and Heartbreaking; Leslie Jamison captured a so goddamn harsh moments; an old woman dying, a depressed woman drinking herself to the death, an unhappy young lady "looking for a meaning to make her life a good story to be told, to make her life to be deserved to be lived by helping others, by making their lives easy", and the lonely Abe, even Dora; the successful symbol in the novel wasn't that happy with her life!!!
When I think about Matilda...more

like · see review

Aug 02, 2012 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is so wonderfully written. The author writes with such patient, confident authenticity. I found myself re-reading random sentences that gut-punched me with their honesty and beauty. I thought Ms. Jamison did a commendable job establishing and juxtaposing the two narrators' voices. I ended up really liking both women, even though they both had very unlikeable qualities. (And who doesn't, I say? One of the many ways the author made these women feel real.) Unfortunately, I despised Dora....more

like · see review

May 18, 2010 Jennifer D. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, first-books

I finished this novel two days ago and it has been in my mind ever since. A friend inquired as to whether the book was good - it is; very, very good - but I feel as though there are not sufficient words to express, in a review, my thoughts about the story or the writer. I need to invent new words to do this novel justice. The book is urgent and raw, and without requesting the readers sympathy, it demands of the reader to be a sentient human being. That Jamison, in this, her first novel, can crea...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 06, 2010 Kathy (Bermudaonion) rated it 3 of 5 stars

When Stella goes to visit her Grandmother Lucy for Christmas, she finds her on the kitchen floor, where she’d fallen earlier in the day. As Stella was helping her up, Lucy says, “I need Matilda.” Stella has never heard of anyone named Matilda and asks her brother if he knows who Matilda is.

Seeing that her grandmother needs help, Stella decides to spend every other night with her, helping to take care of her. While she’s taking care of her grandmother, Stella discovers that Matilda is her mother’...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2010 Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found it heavy-handed, depressing and all around sad. All the people in it were unlikable and self destructive. All the characters were so unrelentingly self-absorbed it was difficult to feel for them. It was like the book went out of its way to shock you and then said, SEE THAT is what it is like to have an addict in your life. On the flip side, it sets a sense of place and tone and sticks to it, you really feel as if you know the people in the story when you are through.. and the whole time...more

like · see review

Apr 25, 2010 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars

Depressing I don't mind, it's the melodrama I'm not okay with. Also the language that SEEMS precise, but turns out not to be. For example: "We got hot dogs from a vendor on the green and ate them with our fingers." But how else do you eat a hot dog? And "Her eyes were red like beets," which isn't even possible. Everything is always "like" something else, and though a couple of these work, most ring less than true, and ultimately distract.
I really loved Jamison's story that came out a few years a...more

4 likes · like · see review

Mar 06, 2011 Cathe Olson rated it 3 of 5 stars

While the premise of the book sounded compelling--niece Stella tracking down her wild, runaway aunt , the writing seemed to get in the way of the story. Every paragraph was packed with similes and description like an imagery assignment for a creative writing class. I kept thinking enough already, let's get to some story, some action. I appreciate good writing and creative use of language but this book contained just too much. As for the story, there wasn't much of it . . . I agree with what anot...more

like · see review

Feb 21, 2013 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read a good review of this book and was anxious to read it. My enthusiasm quickly turned to ennui and apathy. I just wanted to finish the book and kept thinking let's get to some story, some action. I agree with some of the other reviewers. The book was heavy-handed, depressing and all around sad. All the people in it were unlikable, self-absorbed, and self destructive. On top of that, every paragraph was packed with similes and description which made it a struggle to get through. I wouldn't r...more

like · see review

Aug 23, 2010 Gail rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a very grim first novel, and in general, a well-done one. It was obvious from the first sentence that this book was likely to take me on a bleak ride, and at first, I wasn't sure I wanted to get on. I credit Jamison's writing with drawing me in quickly, and then I stayed with it, however unpleasant it got. I enjoyed the revolving POV structure of the book, and I thought the characters were interesting and engaging. At times, Jamison's language can become distracting (her use of similes c...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 20, 2012 Benjamin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Three things this novel does that I wish more contemporary novels did:

Renders the way people stammer at each other

Juxtaposes of families and lovers being awkward and conflict-avoidant with each other with super-dramatic sex and death scenes

Makes me like the characters best when they're messing other people's shit up for no rational reason and messing up their own lives

Otherwise it's hard to quantify what makes it so good except that each sentence is beautifully written and each character feels...more

like · see review

Oct 26, 2011 Jenna Krichbaum rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was so dark and depressing, but in a good way (if there is such a way that depressing and dark can be good). If so, this book epitomizes it! I had many times where I wanted to cry for the characters, the darkness and the depth of what was happening to them. In a way this book showed me that even if you think you have it bad, there is always someone who has it worse. Lastly, I like the way that the chapters rotated from Stella, to Tilly, back to Stella, and back to Tilly, and so on. It...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Sammantha rated it 3 of 5 stars

I gave this book 3.5 stars.

I would describe this book as grim and sad, but it was still a good book. At the beginning of reading this I was automatically hooked and very interested in the book. It switches back and forth between the two mains characters. The characters were very well written. As I read the book I really liked and enjoyed the characters, because they are what made the book. You begin to understand the characters and you start to feel for them. All throughout the book I was addict...more

like · see review

Dec 24, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fiction

Stella works as an assistant to a famous - and bitchy - writer; is having an affair with a married man, Louis; and takes care of her ailing grandmother, Lucy, whose decline in utter frailty shocks her. When her grandmother starts talking for the first time about a second daughter, Matilda, and vaguely hints at some tragedy or scandal, Stella is curious. But when Lucy dies and Stella finds out the family intends nothing more than to send Matilda - Tilly - a note from the lawyer, Stella decides to...more

like · see review

Jun 24, 2010 Laurel-Rain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Stella is leading a life of empty promise in New York City, occasionally checking on her fragile grandmother Lucy, who lives in Connecticut. But then, when Lucy begins the process of dying, she starts talking about Matilda, her long-estranged daughter...A second daughter that Stella didn't even know about.

So after Lucy's death, Stella finds out more from her mother Dora, and discovers the troubled history of Matilda (Tilly). She decides to go to Nevada, where Tilly now resides, and try to help h...more

like · see review

May 12, 2011 Edan rated it 4 of 5 stars

This manages to be a beautifully written novel that's also a very fast read. I enjoyed devouring the story of twenty-something Stella and her alcoholic aunt Tilly. The narrative switches between both characters, and I loved each narrator's distinct voice. I also really liked the various settings: New York City, Connecticut, Arizona, San Francisco. So many lovely and rich and true details.

This is a dark tale about self-destruction and the limits of intimacy. There's a lot of good and sickening w...more

like · see review

May 15, 2010 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who have been affected by alcoholism

Shelves: 2010read, writing_art_inspiration

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is Leslie Jamison's debut novel, but you might say I've been a fan of hers for many years. I first read her work when I was 14 or 15 years old, in the first of a series of PUSH anthologies that publish winners of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. It was a story called "Citrus," and to this day remains one of my favorite short stories. At the time, I was new to the style of dissecting a story into short, bite-size vignettes that stood alone but somehow came together to form a much lar...more This is Leslie Jamison's debut novel, but you might say I've been a fan of hers for many years. I first read her work when I was 14 or 15 years old, in the first of a series of PUSH anthologies that publish winners of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. It was a story called "Citrus," and to this day remains one of my favorite short stories. At the time, I was new to the style of dissecting a story into short, bite-size vignettes that stood alone but somehow came together to form a much larger whole of inter-connecting puzzle pieces. After that, time and time again, I found myself drawn to stories like those, and of course, based my senior thesis around that technique.

As it turns out, I was re-reading "Citrus" last year and became curious about what had become of Jamison, so I googled her name and found a story of hers published by A Public Space, her bio stating that she'd attended the Iowa Writer's Workshop. I also found out she had a book coming out this year, and I immediately put it on my to-read list here on goodreads.

To make a long story short: The book came out; I read it. I guess it would be accurate to say that I was impressed and a little disappointed at the same time. Her prose is quite beautiful, there are some very poetic and honest lines (my favorite is the part with the dog pawing at her arm like he had buried his bone there...amazing) that rival those of Richard Powers and Denis Johnson. In the beginning, I felt it was too much. Every sentence felt so loaded but they came off short and clipped. I barely had time to linger over one before the next hit me. I liken it to riding in a car with someone who keeps slamming the brakes, stepping on the gas, then slamming on the brakes, non-stop. The rhythm felt bumpy and awkward. Somewhere along the way, maybe a fourth of the way into the book, it stopped bothering me. I don't know if it got better, if I got used to it, or if the voices just began to feel more natural to me. Stella and Tilly blurred together in my mind. I loved how they were almost like a single person at different periods of their life. On the other hand, I did sometimes feel like their voices were too similar. I found it to be a very brave first novel. It definitely goes places that would make anyone uncomfortable. I can see how some people might not enjoy it. I liked the way the relationships were handled, very real.

I look forward to other books by Leslie Jamison, something drastically different from this maybe, to see what she's capable of. She's very young (only four years older than me) and I feel that she has a lot more to offer in the future.

Grade: B+(less)

like · see review

Jul 23, 2011 Staci rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Staci by: Leslie Jamison

Shelves: 2011-reads

First thoughts after finishing: There are so many damaged people in this world. Many keep the damage to themselves while others have absolutely no problem dragging everyone else in their life down with them. This wasn't a lighthearted read by any means and it wasn't even one that I particularly enjoyed. But there was something about the way the author crafted the characters that made me care about them and made me want to hear their story.....as twisted as it was.

Recommend? Yes and No. Yes, if y...more

like · see review

Aug 30, 2012 Tom Clarke rated it 4 of 5 stars

A well-written and occasionally hard to read novel about women and the things they do to themselves, and the things they do to and for each other, and the things men do to them. I was first made aware of Jamison's writing after reading her excellent essay about the Barkley Marathons in The Believer. This, her first novel, is impressively dark and compelling and tight from beginning to end... I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

like · see review

Mar 25, 2010 Lisa Eggers rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jamison's prose is electrifying. The pages went by without me even realizing that I was turning them. HOWEVER... the subject matter was an enormous downer. We're talking estranged daughter turned prostitute, abortions, drug use, and general self-loathing. This is definately not the stuff I tend to gravitate to. So I can't say I really enjoyed it, but wow, the prose was spectacular. Credit where credit's due.

like · see review

May 17, 2011 Amandaj rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I got a free copy of this book from a first reads giveaway and really enjoyed it. Jamison's words were like art; there was a certain flow that made me feel like I was slowly absorbing the story of Stella and Tilly. I took my time reading this one, letting the words sink in.It was kind of beautiful in a sad way.

The book is told through 2 points of view, Stella and Tilly. Stella is a young recovering anorexic and Tilly is an alcoholic. They both struggle with their own addictions and their relati...more

like · see review

Sep 26, 2010 Steph rated it 4 of 5 stars

Terribly precocious but not obnoxious, though at times you can tell Stella is directly correlated to the author. The incest was... well, it was there. As if she couldn't think of anything better to do with the two of them. I still found myself sucked in, regardless, even if it meandered here and there and lost me occasionally.

like · see review

Feb 07, 2011 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

wow, I've never read such a richly detailed description of the allures and sensations of alcohol to an alcoholic. I can't imagine how this author has been able to write about her character without having been an alcoholic herself? I found this book well written and so so sad.

like · see review

Jun 01, 2011 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars

i was fascinated with this book as the author is only 26. she is a brilliant writer, her language is supburb. subject matter sometimes difficult, anorexia, alcholism, dysfunction, prostitution, drugs, it seems to have it all. kept my interest from the first page.

like · see review

May 02, 2010 The Book Studio added it

Shelves: review

Read Michele Filgate's thoughts on Leslie Jamison's THE GIN CLOSET at The Book Studio.

like · see review

Aug 04, 2011 Nicole Vital rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought the ending was random. However, the emotions and tangled story and webs created in this work are amazing. It's sexual, it's raw, it's very much real life.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 24 25 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (5)

More editions...

Genres

Literary Fiction

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Leslie Jamison

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Gin Closet

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Gin Closet

“She was scared about leaving everything, and I got that, but I also knew you couldn't start living in the new place until you said fuck-all to the old.” — 13 people liked it

“I loved the full heat of being drunk, like I was made of melting chocolate and spreading in all directions.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Gin Closet
avg rating	preview: The Gin Closet Goodreads rating: 3.30 (249 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6949239-the-gin-closet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1261861457l/6949239.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6949239-the-gin-closet?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison[/url]

The Gin Closet

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website