The Heroin Chronicles

by Gary Phillips (Contributor), Jervey Tervalon (Contributor), Tony O'Neill (Contributor)

This collection of heroin stories from Eric Bogosian, Jerry Stahl, Lydia Lunch, and more “will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider art alike” (Publishers Weekly).   On the heels of The Speed Chronicles (Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Franco, Beth Lisick, etc.) and The Cocaine Chronicles (Lee Child, Laura Lippman, etc.) comes The Heroin Chronicles, a volume sure to frighten and delight. The literary styles of these stories are as diverse as the moral quandaries they explore.   From the groundbreaking novels of William S. Burroughs to the mind-altering music of The Velvet Underground, heroin—in all its ecstasy and tragedy—has been the subject of many an underground masterpiece. Collected here are all-new short stories about the infamous drug by some of today’s most celebrated and provocative writers, including Eric Bogosian, Lydia Lunch, Jerry Stahl, Nathan Larson, Ava Stander, Antonia Crane, Gary Phillips, Jervey Tervalon, John Albert, Michael Albo, Sophia Langdon, Tony O’Neill, and L.Z. Hansen.  

Genres: Short Stories, Addiction, Fiction, Crime, Anthologies, Drugs

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

GARY PHILLIPS has been a community activist, labor organizer and delivered dog cages. He’s published various novels, comics, short stories and edited several anthologies including South Central Noir and the Anthony award-winning The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir. Violent Spring, first published in 1994 was named in 2020 one of the essential crime novels of Los Angeles. He was also a writer/co-producer on FX’s Snowfall (streaming on Hulu), about crack and the CIA in 1980s South Central where he grew up. Recent novels include One-Shot Harry and Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem. He lives with his family in the wilds of Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Jonathan Faia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an exceptional read. Never would I have imagined a book dealing with heroin would have crime, addiction, and even humor all in the same book. This book has several contributing authors all telling their own unique tale involving heroin. As tragic as the stigma of heroin use is in society, I really appreciated the humorous tone set by the contributions of Lydia Lunch, and Michael Albo. Don't be scared by the title this isn't a book for people in recovery or an attempt to scare you straight. This is a book for anyone and everyone. The idea to use several contributors is refreshing and a great change of pace from traditional story telling. I really liked reading it and plan to read the other books in the Akashic Press drug series.

[Tuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

another fine addition to akashic's drug themed collections (speed and cocaine already out, and they are working on pot) and as can be imagined, some horrific situations of degradation, poverty, but also bliss, being super-high, creation and friendship. lots of the authors have been users, so quite realistic (lydia lunch, l z hansen etc) but unbelievably no entries by richard hell or irvine welsh, two of the best skag writers ever. but ntl, great and varied short stories, and certainly still important as usa and nato have upped poppy production by 1000's of %'s in the past 13 years.

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shooting dope isn’t what made me a crazy, pissed-off, outsider sleazeball and one-man crippling fear machine. Heroin just gave me an excuse. ~ Jerry Stahl


The Heroin Chronicles edited by Jerry Stahl is a collection of short stories centering on heroin as the lead character. Stahl gathers together several with several junkie writers, some ex-junkies and some not so ex and puts together an extremely interesting book. This is the third book in the series preceded by The Cocaine Chronicles and The Speed Chronicles,

Heroin is the godfather of street drugs, or at least that is what I remember from my impressionable years in the 1970s. Cocaine was the rich people’s drug and from news reports it seemed to flow freely out of fountains at Studio 54 (and apparently into Stevie Nicks in great quantities). Speed was all pharmaceuticals. Those were the days before cocaine turned into crack and speed into meth. Then heroin was the king. What rock star didn’t do heroin? Lou Reed sang more than one song about heroin. America was lost in a desert with a horse with no name. Rock stars were glorious but we were constantly reminded on cop dramas about junkies and who would ever want to shoot up when all it would lead to is a good hearted, tough cop handcuffing you to a radiator or bed until you finished withdrawals. It was not a pretty picture, but people who should know better still jumped on that train.

When you pick up a book about heroin, you are never sure what you are going to get: Keith Richards the functional addict, Hubert Selby Jr’s surrealistic look, or William S. Burroughs’ hard reality. I didn’t recognize the writers, with the exception of No Wave founder Lydia Lunch of the New York underground, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

The Heroin Chronicles gives stories from different sides and experiences. The book opens with a story of rehab and love gone wrong. Stories involve a woman outsmarting everyone, a man whose addiction talks to him much in the same way a little devil whispers into a cartoon characters ear, and a unique way to get your fix for free. Lydia Lunch explains why you should never answer the door at five forty-five on a Sunday morning.

The Heroin Chronicles cover a wide variety of experiences all concerning heroin in some way. The book is not necessarily dark and dreary nor is it by any means a glorification of drug use. It too is not a “Scared Straight” book either, but a literary look into a subject and substance that is considered taboo in society. Some of the stories seemed light, others had the feel of an action-drama, and one took place sometime in the future. It is a unique look at people’s lives written by people who are or were there before. I enjoyed this collection of short stories which is out of the ordinary for me. Rarely do short stories seem so satisfying to me. For me, at my age, these stories reminded of what that dark ledge to oblivion was supposed to be. How these stories hold up with the younger generation and much stronger drugs, I am not sure, but the stories are well worth reading if not for the subject matter, for the literary value, Highly recommended.

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heroin Chronicles, Various Authors, Edited by Jerry Stahl - Almost as good as smack. This is a book of 13 short stories plus a really good introduction by Jerry Stahl. I thought the book as a whole was really good. Although, naturally I found some of the stories better than others. My favorites, in order of succession from the book, are Fragments Of Joe by Tony O'Neill, Hot For The Shot by Sophia Langdon, Possible Side Effects by Jerry Stahl, Baby, I Need To See A Man About A Duck by Michael Albo, and The Monster by John Albert. That being said, I liked them all to varying degrees. Some were funny, some were depressing and others were both. But they all gave different perspectives about using heroin and addiction in general. I definitely recommend this book. But then again, it's probably not for everyone.

[Stacy Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poppy Love by Ava Stander was the last story and was a little confusing at first in that it starts with a girl attempting suicide while driving over a cliff even though she is happy with her sobriety. Jump to a girl who is a junkie and is practically proud of it. The story ends with what happens after she drives off the cliff. Like all the stories it flowed well and was easy to read and engaging. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the Speed Chronicles which I have already purchased. For a brief synopsis and comments on the other stories in this book refer to my updates. I apologize I don't have Word right now and they were too long to copy and paste it to this page so it was all in one collective place. Read this book!

[SheilaRaeO · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a scary collection of stories. It should be required reading for high school - a sort of "Scared Straight" for potential junkies. The lengths the addicts went to to procure their fix was astonishing and heartbreaking. My favorite selection was the very first story "Fragments of Joe" by Tony O'Neil. it was the story of two addicts trying and failing to kick, who find themselves murdered in a drug deal gone wrong, except even death doesn't end their need to get straight. This whole collection made me want to search out each of these authors for further works. I now have to put the first two books in this series: "The Speed Chronicles" and "The Cocaine Chronicles" on my "To Read" list, and I eagerly await the next in the series: "The Marijuana Chronicles"

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! A few of the stories were not quite as good as the others. Several were very good. My favorite was L.Z. Hansen. What an amazing writer she is!Overall, a GREAT read!

[Victoria Zieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know what I was expecting from this book. I think maybe I was looking for some deeper meaning in the stories. I wanted something that was just heart wrenching like Requiem for a Dream. I found some of it to be too light and inconsequential. Some of the stories were very good. But, a lot of them just didn’t hold my interest or annoyed me.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories of sordid life Im glad I don’t relate to.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of stories. Some good, one or two really good, some not so good at all.

[Tom Spisak · Rating 4 out of 5]

That Jerry Stahl collected well crafted stories is unexceptional; that, given its subject matter, the collection does not read like an MFA project surprises.
I was unfamiliar with most of the authors going in; The Heroin Chronicles served as an excellent introduction to Nathan Larson, Michael Albo, and Jerry Stahl himself.
Eric Bogosian's Godhead did not disappoint.
Larson's post-apocolyptic Dos Mac + The Jones

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is part of the Drug Chronicles series of books (Speed, Cocaine, etc). Authors contributed short-stories about shooting heroin, addiction, and being a junkie. The glamour of being high, alongside the disgusting bodily functions. Some stories were great drug lit, others fizzled out without much hype or resolve...just like an burnout. I'm curious about the other anthologies.

[Judi · Rating 1 out of 5]

was this fiction or non-fiction?? The very first story is one of Tony O'Neil; his bio makes it seem like he is still living, but he is not. These stories made no sense. there were writers and the stories were never about them...or written by them. Highly doubt while dying of a shotgun blast to the stomach that Tony stopped to write an account. Very much disliked this book!!!!!!!!!!

[Beth York · Rating 5 out of 5]

an exciting and fast paced journey into the different worlds and the different depths of heroin... giving the reader a front row view and experience of beauty and darkness, lighthearted joy, agony, bliss, tragedy, brilliance and many intimate experiences with the user that leaves the reader both disgusted and absolutely curious...and it doesn't stop there.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good, powerful book of short stories. I honestly can't think of a story in this book that I didn't enjoy.This is one of the rare books I'm going to keep rather than donate, trade, or give to a friend

[Ed [Redacted] · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping for crime stories fueled by the intense desire for a hit, and haunted by the inevitable, horrific sickness that would be brought on by failure. Instead I got a bunch of whiny, self obsessed and, most damning, boring stories. The juice ain't worth the squeeze here.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short-stories started to fizzle halfway through.

[Shannon Stelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection to be read over and over again.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Kailin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, some bad. I have learned more slang terms for heroin, however.

[Josh Folan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty, grimy, real.