Dandy in the Underworld

Wether you agree with Sebastian Horseys' views on life or not. This is a book in a million. Every page is toe curlingly awful, hilarious, poignant and full of some of the greatest quotes ever. If you like extreme, or would like to just step outside of the beige world we inhabit, then this is the book for you. I loved it. Thanks Sebastian.

Self Indulgence (0/0 people found this helpful)

What a waste - of his life and my money. Luckily I only bought a second-hand paperback copy which is in the pile of books on the floor waiting to go to a charity shop. At least that way his life may help someone less fortunate.

dandy in the underworld (0/0 people found this helpful)

AWSOME! Could not put it down.. he is seriousley messed up.... but that makes for excellent reading!

The Middle Ground (0/0 people found this helpful)

Few books seem to have sent readers flying to extremes as this one. Horsely's marmite persona is certainly going to divide opinion, but I frankly think that the reaction to this book is quite silly. I've read things that are more shocking and less shocking, and the prose style is wedged firmly in the middle of the universal scale of aptitude. To be blunt: It's ok. I don't see what all the fuss is about.
I can already feel Horsley searching around for the lace glove with which to slap my blasphemous face. That this is a man who wishes to be loved or hated is quite obvious from the contrived attempts to rile the reader that are scattered throughout. He wants to shock. He wants reaction. Sadly, I can't give that to him: he's interesting, certainly, and this is better than a great deal of biographies you can invest in; although in an era where any wealthy heiress and her dog can get their life story published for doing absolutely sod all, that's not saying much.
One of the things I enjoyed was Horsley's justification for his lack of morality and social conscience: at the novel's conclusion he's practically philisophical. I like the way he appreciates the worthlessness of his own existence. I like the fact that he steals excessively from his icons: if you criticise him for plagiarism, you're not seeing the joke.

Those are the things I enjoyed. Now for the things I disliked.

Firstly, Horsley, as a narrator is... well... really, really annoying. Yes, his self-absorption can be amusing; yes, his narcissism can be charming... but after about a hundred or so pages, it all gets a little wearing.
Horsley is at his most engaging when you catch glimpses of the frustrated and terminally neglected little boy from which he grew. However, after a rushed look at his early years, these moments are few.
But then again, this could be part of the joke. Horsley prides himself on being nine-tenths style, with the final 10% of substance being firmly submerged. I could spend hours musing on what he intends ironically and when he's trying to get a joke at the reader's expense: the latter might well be the whole point of the book.
But, yeah. The book's alright. If you want something that's a little more focussed on the drugs/depravity side of things, read the first two-thirds of Anthony Kiedis' 'Scar Tissue.' Given that a brief dip into the 'dark side' is the only reason to buy this book, perhaps your money might be better spent on people who describe their experiences a little less irritatingly, with their head a little less firmly jammed up their own...

Wildly entertaining and funny....at first (6/6 people found this helpful)

...then it got dull, repetetive and annoying. Author is too self conscious and is often plain offensive in a decidedly unfunny way. Not to mention the fact that he is a total loser and that there is no point to the memoir and no message to carry away from it.

Sebastian Horsley

Reader Reviews:

Superb Biography (0/0 people found this helpful)

Self Indulgence (0/0 people found this helpful)