The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

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Shot Time
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The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shot Time »

I was sitting in the library waiting to use a computer because I don’t have Internet at home. This may strike you as odd for a 20-something in the 20-something century, but if you knew how much I drank it wouldn’t surprise you. I don’t like libraries the way I don’t like getting shoes at the bowling alley or shelling out $90 for a tuxedo that never fits. There’s something unsettling about a contextualized product that you know has been mistreated; this feeling, however, never seems to arise with regard to bar glasses. It’s almost as if the flurry of steam circulating in the stainless steal coffin brings them back to life, like the indian in the cupboard waiting to be revived.
So I was sitting there, already exasperated from my 9-5, and that they didn’t have a copy of Delillo’s White Noise, when I noticed a small, white volume in the corner of the bottom shelf. Now I’ve always picked books by title and cover and this one was no different—it was The Lost Weekend, by Charles R. Jackson, and it looked like a White Russian.
Now I knew I heard the phrase, “the lost weekend” before, and the fact that I couldn’t exactly remember where not only confirmed my hypothesis, but somehow validated the phrase itself. It was after I read the jacket flap and the opening sentence, that I pretty much figured out where I had heard that phrase:

“The Lost Weekend is a ‘psychological study of a drunkard.’”

And then:

“The barometer of his emotional nature was set for a spell of riot.”

Here we had riots and drinking, and though I’m not a fan of riots, I am a fan of being riotous.

The story begins with Don Birnam anxiously waiting for his brother and friend to leave so that he can embark on a journey he scarcely can admit he wants to go on—which is precisely the way I already felt about this book. Don doesn’t seem excited about drinking, but rather resigned: “When the drink was set before him, he felt better. He did not drink it immediately…Instead, he permitted himself the luxury of ignoring it…when he finally did get around to raising the glass to his lips, it was with an air of boredom that said, Oh well, I suppose I might as well drink it, now that I’ve ordered it…” (11). Usually when I think of drinking, it’s with the words, “woohoo!” or, in Captain Picard fashion, “Engage.” Here we have, “oh well” and “suppose,” neither of which make that initial touch of liquor on your lips exciting, but more akin to doing laundry or taking out the trash.
Now I’m not saying that drinking isn’t sometimes perfunctory in nature; solemnity has a place in our lives as well as elation, so I could forgive Don if he didn’t continue to make booze into a topical ointment to be applied like calamine on a rash: “At the corner he stopped in the liquor store to buy a pint…he could never overcome the idea that he had no right to be there, that the clerks and customers were eyeing him and nodding to each other…” (20). Personally, I usually get this feeling in lingerie stores or at Church—both of which cater to supreme beings I barely understand.
Thankfully Don finds himself in a bar. He seems to cheer up; he vows to be an “aloof” observer so that he can study the nuances of those he finds at the bar. However, it’s not long before he grows restless and endeavors to see if he can steal a woman’s purse left on the bar. While initially succeeding, it’s not long before he is discovered, and thus after 25 pages we are left with a picture of Don as brooding, neurotic, or as Don describes himself, “one of several million persons of his generation who had grown up and, somewhere around thirty, made the upsetting discovery that life wasn’t going to pan out the way you’d always expected it would…” (45).
Nonetheless, the novel is not entirely without adventure—although if that word is meant to convey a sort of whimsical and thrilling journey, then perhaps a “series of misfortunes” is more apropo. At various points Don 1) falls down the stairs and wakes up in the hospital 2) pawns a typewriter for booze money and 3) doesn’t eat so that he can afford whiskey. These episodes need not be recounted, for they are but a faint glimmer in Don’s endless introspective musings on his life. Life most people who fail, Don cannot take responsibility for what he feels is his unrealized potential, and when both Don and I realized this about himself, it’s therein that I grew skeptical of the point of this novel… (WARNING: ANTI-ALCOHOL MESSAGES AHEAD).
It’s always important not to confuse the intentions of the author with the meaning of his work. This is called the Intentional Fallacy. Nevertheless, books are neither written by themselves, nor read by themselves. Their meaning is a product of both the author’s intention, and the reader’s interpretation. Therefore, I couldn’t help myself but research Charles R. Jackson through my speakeasy website, Wikipedia. (For some reason, the powers that be at work feel that a virtual endless supply of collaborative knowledge is safer than accessing CNN). Alas, what did I find?
Charles R. Jackson, after giving up drinking to preach and give ideas to the fledging A.A., eventually killed himself in the Chelsea Hotel in 1968.
And just like that, it became apparent why Don Birnam cannot take responsibilty for his lot in life—Mr. Jackson does not want him to—he wants the reader to blame alcohol.
Usually I, like most readers, will reject a tale that is too rigidly and overtly moralistic as an attempt to render me passive. Well, that’s precisely what I did. Finishing the book, I read the last sentence with a kind of dual meaning—a smile pulled up like a string from the corner of my mouth: “This one was over and nothing had happened at all. Why did they make such a fuss?”
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Steve
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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Steve »

I've got the film on DVD, and I like the part where he's talking to the bartender about how alcohol aids creative vision, with the street outside being the Nile and so on.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shot Time »

I've never seen the film--nor have I seen Barfly. Honestly, the novel was decidedly anti-alcohol so I hope the film was better.
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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by peetie44 »

Never read the book..saw the film.

What I got out of the movie was (as the title suggests) the subject actually "lost a weekend" (meaning, IMO, he will experience guilt and remorse over what he perceives to be otherwise productive(?) time that will never be recovered).

This jibes with the perspective of all those who drink but who rarely -- or have yet to -- truly revel in their drunkard-ness and constantly are led to believe it is a failing (and in conjunction with all other failings) in their lives.

My only question concerning drinking is, "may I have another, please?"

Being a drunkard is not something to recover from or to question; it is a celebration of the freedom to pursue one's destiny at ones own pace; with sails slightly askew, perhaps, but sailing waters which have been somewhat calmed and, at least temporarily, conquered with help from an alcoholic beverage (or three).

I've had many a drinking-dominated weekend, which I never felt resigned to, guilty for, or ashamed of taking part in.

Excellent review, Shot Time...CHEERS! **clink**

Btw, C.R. Jackson would've LOVED MADD.
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"I wanted a shark high on crack dumped into a piranha tank! I wanted college AD's to pull their human faces off, then dive at each other's lizard throats!" -- waahoohah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01p7k6T ... e=youtu.be

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shot Time »

Thanks. Apparently Jackson served as a consultant to the fledging AA before he killed himself in the Chelsea Hotel.
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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Steve »

Shot Time wrote:I've never seen the film--nor have I seen Barfly. Honestly, the novel was decidedly anti-alcohol so I hope the film was better.
Sadly the film also has an anti-alcohol theme, at least at the end, yet remains a good watch even though I am pro-alcohol.
My memories of Barfly are vague, it was many years ago when I saw it, and back then I wasn't drinking like I do now, so probably didn't appreciate it. I'd love to get hold of it on DVD, but have never seen it anywhere.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shot Time »

Steve wrote: I'd love to get hold of it on DVD, but have never seen it anywhere.
It's definitely not to be found, unless you wanna shell out some cash for it on eBay.
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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shane-O-Matic »

Steve wrote:
Shot Time wrote:I've never seen the film--nor have I seen Barfly. Honestly, the novel was decidedly anti-alcohol so I hope the film was better.
Sadly the film also has an anti-alcohol theme, at least at the end, yet remains a good watch even though I am pro-alcohol.
Must admit to enjoying the novel on a purely literary level. Of course, it was significantly adapted when put to film.

Since I have spent many a good night with Don Birnam (wonderfully portrayed by Ray Milland) as a drinking companion, it's no secret that I grossly misinterpret the underlying themes. However, when Don is extolling the virtues of the drink, I can't help but join in.

It's a film I love to talk about. One such instance involved myself and my real-life drinking buddy debating the ending of the film. While I was convinced that he had quit the booze for the love of his girl, my friend took it as an ambiguous ending.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Steve »

I like to think that he gave it up (only for a bit) because of the writing. You know, suffering for his art and all that? Drying out just long enough to write his masterpiece, then back on the bottle, resting on his laurels and living off the royalties.

That is the dream.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Blackneto »

Shot Time wrote:
Steve wrote: I'd love to get hold of it on DVD, but have never seen it anywhere.
It's definitely not to be found, unless you wanna shell out some cash for it on eBay.
netflix had a good copy for a while
it's all chaff, a striving after the wind.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Shane-O-Matic »

I was lucky enough to stumble upon a copy of the film on DVD in a now-closed music and DVD retail store in Glasgow. Saw it, the title appealed, bought it.

The film seems fairly available online.

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Weekend-Ray- ... B0000549B1

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Resident Asshole »

U guys need Barfly, Paypal me $5 and I'll mail you a copy when I can.
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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by lmr5150 »

Best line from Lost Weekend: "One drink is too many. And one hundred is not enough." Great movie.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Surreal »

The best part about the board is I can get 7-8 posts into a thread before I realize that I've read this before...... There have been time s, as I'm reading threads [unbeknownst to me for the 2nd time] and I think, "I ought to post.......".

then the next post is by me and it's basically what I had just thought.

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Re: The Lost Weekend by Charles R. Jackson - a review

Post by Resident Asshole »

Just saw the movie, it's pretty depressing. Then again, every biography of a drunken writer is depressing to me.
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