Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland
by James St. James
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 610)
Read in March, 2008
It seems like a vacuous read but I really enjoyed James St. James' drag queen-style black humor and the chance to relive my past a little bit. I now work with people who've been doing hard drugs for decades and I sometimes wonder where I fall in the spectrum of people who have been touched by that lifestyle. The perspective was amazing. St. James is brutally honest (as all drag queens should be), not only about the characters and the scene but about himself and his place in it. He doesn't make h...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
the swing dancing community
I heard a story about a guy who was a club kid. I didn't know who club kids were. (Yes, I'm a little out of touch with pop culture...) He killed his drug dealer, chopped off the legs, and threw the pieces into their city's body of water. He told all of his friends, to free himself from guilt..and they all partied another few months before the cops finally found the body and arrested him.
Originally, I started reading this book to try and understand why a (tight knit counter culture) communit...more
Originally, I started reading this book to try and understand why a (tight knit counter culture) communit...more
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Read in January, 2008
Perhaps the real horrors in the modern world draw me to these kind of books. The escapism through concern about the pointless is a powerful bromide to the real horrors we face. Now, for the kid who ends up with parts of his severed body all stuffed in a trunk...well...I guess the concerns weren't too mundane for him....but it is hard to stay upset or focus on that detail...because everyone else in this book is just so FABULOUS!
This book is about clubbing, being cool, and exstacy. These were ...more
This book is about clubbing, being cool, and exstacy. These were ...more
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Read in April, 2001
I read "Disco Bloodbath" when a friend gave it to me because he got too upset to finish it. I thought it was pretty good - it's a fascinating case from a unique place and time - the murder of drug dealer Michael Alig in Peter Gatien's insane club scene in 1980s New York. St. James can actually write, too - his style isn't self-indulgent, as I had feared it would be judging by his public persona. But the fact of his own involvement in the story, the part he played in the concealment ...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Alex by:
Alex Travis
What I have to say first about this book (and thus, one of my reasons for giving it the low rating that I did), is that James St. James is an excellent writer in the whole "stream of consciousness" section of my personal library...but I am much happier with linear novels with pivotal points, cruxes, and as few mundanities as I can find. St. James is truly gifted with humorous writing, but the work as a whole was not truly about the murder of Angel, so much as an explanation of the sce...more
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Read in January, 2008
I really enjoyed reading this, especially since I expected something completely vapid and superficial because of the individuals involved. Party Monster is thoughtful, well written, and actually quite disturbing in the funniest way. This book was a gift from a coworker to proclaimed "I saw the movie and it was AWFUL" but then read the book and found it great in all the places the film failed. I just experienced both in the opposite order and though the movie is weak at times, it's st...more
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Read in July, 1999
recommends it for:
old club hags over 30
If you remember club life at all in the 80's-90's you might even know 1/2 the people talked about in this book. Another favorite of mine that even walks a novice thru how to cook special K step by step. This is a 1st hand murder story that is true and too close to home for me... Luckily i had JUST got out of the club kid scene when these kids started - I remember every person this book talks about. They were all NY but would come to chicago - it was a weird read for me but a great book for a...more
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Read in January, 2005
Okay, so I have the "Party Monster" paperback - less than $300 - version, but still. Mine is corrected on the inside cover by James St. James; he hates that they changed the title. I agree, it is WRONG to take an author's title away from them. Oh well, if you enjoyed the movie, this is almost better. well, more detailed, but there's no Seth Green & Macaulay Culkin so it may be a wash. Very interesting info on how to make Special K, and my favorite phrase for months after readi...more
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Read in March, 2007
the true story of an NYC murder during the club-kid scene in the late 90s. it will make you mad that the killer still hung out in the city bragging about the murder a good eight months before any kind of arrest or questioning took place, but the accounts of drugs, sex and rising to the top of the said scene through the glitz and glamour of James St. James's writing skill just might make you think it's all make believe. his conversational tone makes you think he's telling you all about his experi...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
greta
drug addicts, fashion, clubland, nasty male, bitches, psychopaths... it can only lead to one thing: MURDER... gripping true account from one of their own... readers can see the steady deep decline, the drug addictions , the sick pathologies,the mental instability, and the cruelty and malice spiral wickedly into a deadly whirlpool way before the author or his compatriots do... one wonders if the author ever truly sees the pathology and cruelty of the culture or if he thinks it was all just a f...more
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holy crap. i read this book years ago while dating a man who love the dj keoki. since keoki has a role in this story, i was told the story before i read the book, it sounded intresting, blah blah blah. i wasn't quite ready for the downward spiral this book creates. just when you think it can't get any worse, ... it does. a true story of partying, addiction, and just how far some people will go to aquire thier vices.
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i bought this after watching party monster and finding out it was based on a book. and it took me years to finally buy it because i refuse to buy the one with the movie cover. it's weird and funny and weird. and then i saw him on america's next top model and was the only person in the room (possibly a 5 block radius) who knew who he was. not that i've ever watched america's next top model...
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Read in November, 2006
recommends it for:
party monsters
murderous adventures in new york city throughout the 90s, mixed with neon club scenes, flaming homosexuals, and ketamine that's eaten like breath mints. james st. james tells the story of how idiots mixed with drugs do idiotic things all in a very sassy tone that propels the reader o feel they're simpl having a conversation with the author. exciting. troublesome. makes you wanna party.
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Interesting account of what it was like when ecstacy was huge in a the techno underground club/Rave faze. I actually read this because I happened on the movie. It's wierd but funky and I guess, true. Different read from any other book. Also a dark investigation into serious, scary drug use and how it can take over your life an ruin in forever. Sad. (Short read for sure)
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
Fans of "Fear and Loathing"
Great tale of drugs, sex, and parties in the birth of "rave". Follow James st. James as he falls from his crown (Queen of the club scene) to see his fledging, Micheal, turn into a cracked out freak. Great for fans of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", or true crime stories with a twist.
Note: Micheal will be eligible for parole in September 2008.
Note: Micheal will be eligible for parole in September 2008.
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recommends it for:
old club kids
Anyone who was into the rave scene, or was a club kid in the early 90s needs to read this book. It's everything that the time was about. Drugs, partying, music, DJs and more.
St. James writes about death in a way that is both disturbing and at times funny. It's weird to say that a book about a ghastly murder had me laughing out loud at parts.
St. James writes about death in a way that is both disturbing and at times funny. It's weird to say that a book about a ghastly murder had me laughing out loud at parts.
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Read in January, 2001
I remember being especially impressed with his humor and how he didn't let himself off the hook when he's describing the particularly cold and ugly parts of what happened (i.e. why didn't anyone go to the police sooner). Yes, it probably sounds wrong to say I laughed through a book about a murder, but he really does know how to turn a phrase.
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
the "in" crowd. (you know who you are.)
fascinating. this book would be hilarious and strange and relatable if it was completely fictitious. but it's a true story, which adds an extra twist of weirdness. james st. james' frenetic, outrageous, hilarious voice comes screaming off the page. if you liked the movie, the book will definitely blow your bloody wedding dress up.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in June, 2004
recommends it for:
those interested in true crime or the club scene in the 1990s
A very fun read. I did feel a little strange that James takes such bloody subject matter and makes it - fun. I also found it a little disturbing that he fully reveals that he's making scads of money by divulging his tale to the world. This aside the portrayal of the club scene in the 90's is rich, unforgiving, and bright.
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If you were even even remotely into the club/rave/drug scene this book is a must read. Even if you weren't part of those scenes, you should probably read this book anyway. Its too colorful and bizarre to pass up. A hilarious beyond belief telling of NYC's clubland in the 80's & 90's leading to Michael Alig's infamous murder.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.08 (443 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.93 (340 ratings) number of reviews: 74
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quote
"and so it came to pass that i was strapped to a gurney and covered in raw liver and slabs of beef that very quickly turned rancid under the bright spotlights. there exists a videotape somewhere that documents me being wheeled about the dance floor by two burly "orderlies," while i desperately search for a bathroom big enough to accommodate the stretcher so i can do a bump of cocaine. watching me retch from the decomposing meat, and simultaneously fiend for drugs, makes for an entertaining time, indeed.
when i told my mother the extremes i went to in order to make a living, she just shook her head and said, "now don't you wish you'd finished college, dear?"
mothers are so wise, sometimes."
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