[.ca] Never Die Alone (ISBN 087067997X)

Something different for me....:
I usually like to read big authors like King, Clancy, Grisham, Patterson, Chuck Palahniuk, and Bret Easton Ellis. So when I decided to read Never Die Alone (having seen the movie), I decided to read the book. I thought the movie was ok, it was not Adamedy Award material, but it was interesting. Never Die Alone is about King David; a small-time drug dealer who comes back to the East Coast about spending 10 years in sunny California. Now King David has come back to repay some much needed loans to Moon; a big-time drug dealer himself in NYC. Then we meet Paul; a writer who has had a bad interview with a publisher and is at the local bar having a drink. Then King David comes in and pay's everyone tab's. Then when he gets outside, he is attacked by Moon's men; Mike and Blue. King David calls Moon to tell him that he has the money and that he is on his way to his place. Mike then shoots King David and grab the money. When the shots go off, Paul then comes outside and helps King David to his car. Paul then gets him to the local hospital but he dies leaving Paul the owner of his car, money, and everything else he owns. While driving in King David's car, it is then that Paul discovers a diary written by King David and Paul begins to read; it tells of King David's trip to California, he then meets up with Jamie; a actress who is trying to make it big. Then David gets her hooked on cocaine, and when she does not follow his rules, he then slips her herion to see if she can tell the difference; she cant. So now as she becomes a addict, he then makes some connections and gets some more cocaine and some heroin on the side. Then he dumps Jaime like a bad habit. Then he meets Junaita; a attractive black female who is making something of herself. Then he gives her cocaine, and he does the same thing he did with Jamie to see if she can tell the difference. She can't either. So now, she becomes a addict and the cops are hot on his trail, he then leaves California to head back to NYC and he has about $50,000 hidden in his car. While Paul is reading the diary, Mike calls Moon about how he killed David; Moon's orders was to bring him to him and he would handle him, so now Moon sends his men to kill Blue and Mike. Luckly Mike escapes from being killed and he see's Moon's men kill Blue along with his sister right in front of him. So now, Mike is on a mission to kill Moon. With that job done, Paul then runs into Mike and Paul gives him the money and the car and leaves forever. Now the unique thing I found out about this novel was this; this was based on truth, or so that is what the book says. I do have to admit that King David was a cold-hearted snake and personally he deserved to die in my personal opinion. You can judge that for yourself.

Simply Amazing!!!:
I read this book in one day. Everywhere I went, the book went along with me. It's written in a way that even if you've never experienced the "ghetto life", you'll be able to understand it. It's gritty, and it's real...

Never Die Alone - Book to Film:
Capitalizing on the popularity of hip-hop culture, rap music, and the rise of urban novels, Fox Searchlight Pictures this month (March 26th, 2004) brings 'Never Die Alone' - a gritty, realistic look at the world of guns, money, power and drugs - to the big screen. 'Never Die Alone' stars rapper/actor DMX in an action film set in the shady underworld of street life, where cunning and violence are the keys to success. However, 'Never Die Alone' is far from your typical shoot-em-up gangster flick. It is unique in that it is the adaptation of the highly-acclaimed novel Never Die Alone, by Donald Goines, a prolific writer regarded by many as one of the greatest urban novelists ever. While 'Never Die Alone' is not the first film adaptation of Goines' work, it is surely the first to receive major studio support. As such, the movie's release marks an important milestone: never before has a big studio produced a film that so successfully captures the raw energy of modern street culture and music, while simultaneously paying homage to the legacy of black literature. Donald Goines is well-known among urban audiences as the author of 16 novels, works that depict the life of gangsters, hustlers, pimps and drug addicts with uncanny authenticity. Goines himself was a part of this world, a longtime thief, pimp and heroin addict for much of his adult life. In fact, Goines' criminal career - which included robbing, bootlegging and running numbers - led to his writing career because it was during one of his seven prison terms that Goines discovered the work of Robert Beck, a.k.a. Iceberg Slim. Slim's novel, Pimp, was such an inspiration to Goines that he contacted the publisher of Pimp, Holloway House, while he was in prison. He began his first work in jail; Holloway House published it and the company remains the publisher of Goines, Slim and a host of other "black experience" books. Decades after his death, Donald Goines continues to inspire writers in the 'street fiction' genre that he pioneered. Many of those authors today enjoy tremendous success, and the publishing industry has caught on. Teri Woods' True to the Game, Shannon Holmes' B-More Careful, Nikki Turner's A Hustler's Wife and other novels write in the same street milieu that Goines captured, with an updated perspective. Their success has spawned a slew of urban novels, much like Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale inspired a host of similar 'sistergirl' stories. View the complete article on the aalbc.com

Exchange:
I understand why my ex-boyfriend was so intrigued by Goines' books. When I saw the movie, I had to finally read a book from Goines in hopes to find the answers to the questions I had. Surprisingly, I liked the movie better. The ending to this book was quick, but unrealistic (about Paul) whereas Paul's ending in the movie was reasonable. But the ending with Mike in this book was more believable than his ending in the movie. I liked the fact that the movie made King David and Mike have a deeper connection whereas the book didn't. Michael Ealy and the lady who played Juanita (Parenthood) played their parts to the tea. But I still think the reason King David came back was vague and stupid, in the movie and the book. On the upside, I will be buying more of his books.

"Never Die Alone;" Exciting!:
"Help me to my car,mister." "Don't want to die layin' in no gutter." Paul Pawlowski never expects his life to change so quickly on the way home from a bad interview with a book editor. The author's purpose in this novel is to show people how the life of a gangster is and how dangerous and risky everything you do is. Donald Goines,(author)achieves his goal. He uses perfect setting in New York. He shows the life of a ganster and uses characters that are rough, mean, and are street smart. Goines also uses strong curing to show how they talk. Goines uses a book writer as one of the main characters who see's a black man dressed well in a black suit laying in the street bleeding to death. Obviously he had been shot and he asks the man to help him and not to let him die alone in the street. The man helps him to the hospital only to learn that his black man has died. The doctor comes out of the surgery room to reveal something that would change the young writer's life forever. He will look at life differently after his experience and Goines leaves you with an understanding of a different world. In the book "Never Die Alone," Goines goes into great detail about how the characters make money and how they live. Most of the characters are cheaters and do not live a good life. The setting's important because it gives a better understanding of the characters and how they make do with what they have. It also shows how much money they have and how much they do not have. Goines uses great characters in his novel and goes into great detail about their life and how they think. He carefully chose very different personalities and goes into great length on how they do not get along or do get along. One becomes very interested in the life of a gangster and gets a better understanding of the way that they work. Only also gets to understand what's important to each of the characters and what they will do to get what they want. Goines shows in the book what kind of language that gangsters use. There is a lot of street talk in the book that you would not know if you did not read this book. You see how it is important that being a gangster is a tricky business and that you cannot trust anyone. Goines shows how important it is that you remain cool in all situations and od not mess with a gangster because he has lots of friends that will take care of you if he does not like you. "Never Die Alone" is an Excellent book and is strongly recommended for reading. It leaves the reader wanting to learn and hear more of the story. The audience will not want to put it down. The book opens eyes to a world that you would have never imagined. It makes you realize that you have it good and compared to the way that his characters live.