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Little Casino
In this superb novel composed of fragments of memory, Gilbert Sorrentino captures the unconventional nuances of a conventional world. A masterful collage of events is evocatively chained together by secrets and hidden truths that are almost accidentally revealed. Each episode, affectingly textured with penetrating detail, ferrets out the gristle and unconventional beauty found in the voices of the working-class inhabitants from an irretrievable, golden age Brooklyn.
220 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
About the author
Gilbert Sorrentino
44 books115 followersGilbert Sorrentino was one of the founders (1956, together with Hubert Selby Jr.) and the editor (1956-1960) of the literary magazine Neon, the editor for Kulchur (1961-1963), and an editor at Grove Press (1965-1970). Selby's Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964) and The Autobiography of Malcolm X are among his editorial projects. Later he took up positions at Sarah Lawrence College, Columbia University, the University of Scranton and the New School for Social Research in New York and then was a professor of English at Stanford University (1982-1999). The novelists Jeffrey Eugenides and Nicole Krauss were among his students, and his son, Christopher Sorrentino, is the author of the novels Sound on Sound and Trance.
Mulligan Stew is considered Sorrentino's masterpiece.
Obituary from The Guardian
Interview 2006
Mulligan Stew is considered Sorrentino's masterpiece.
Obituary from The Guardian
Interview 2006
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 16, 2022
“Death is not an event in life: we do not live to experience death.” Ludwig Wittgenstein – Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
In the first chapter Gilbert Sorrentino cites Ludwig Wittgenstein and this quote can be considered as a guideline for the entire novel.
Little Casino consists of short, elaborate, vaguely chained to each other vignettes and at the bottom of every yarn the author places his rather mysterious comments.
You are an onlooker, you stand still and all the events, personages, streets, scenery, dreams, fantasies are moving all around you… And time flies.
In the first chapter Gilbert Sorrentino cites Ludwig Wittgenstein and this quote can be considered as a guideline for the entire novel.
Little Casino consists of short, elaborate, vaguely chained to each other vignettes and at the bottom of every yarn the author places his rather mysterious comments.
Minions and bacchantes, servants of Aphrodite and Dionysus, slaves to the black force of Eros, devotees of earthy, occulted mysteries. They order that which they desire to be done to them by their acolytes, their groveling husbands and lovers and trembling fools. They are pleased to have this power, although they are not aware of its effect on the boy who, though its creator, is obedient before it.
You are an onlooker, you stand still and all the events, personages, streets, scenery, dreams, fantasies are moving all around you… And time flies.
November 8, 2012
A short spectacular novel that forms part of an unofficial trilogy along with A Strange Commonplace and the posthumous The Abyss of Human Illusion we might label the “retirement” trilogy (GS having previously, and quietly, taught at Stanford until the late nineties). In a series of vignettes, Sorrentino dredges up the ghosts of his Brooklyn past for a typically sardonic, extra-specially perverse cockeyed slant at humanity and its failings. A warm-hearted and sometimes sentimental book, Little Casino is comfy in its artifice, with self-commentaries added to each chapter for further cranky or equally moving comments. Among the more amusing pieces is ‘Epistolary Associates’ where a woman criticises a letter sent by an ex-lover for not jolting her “into taking a fresh view of our relationship . . . your recollection of what we ‘had’ together seems, I’m afraid, rather flat.” The chapter concerning a vicious marital argument ‘The Tomato Episode’ is especially amusing when read by Sorrentino in this interview and podcast from the Lannan Foundation (sadly not filmed). The only video footage available of Sorrentino, seemingly, is him discussing Hubert Selby in the DVD It/ll Be Better Tomorrow.
October 29, 2012
Heartache, loneliness, the thorough emptiness at the heart of lust, the weird and vague memory-glow induced by classic mid-century American songs, the stupidity of hopeless longing, our shifting pasts and lost chances, booze, broken dreams, desolate marriages, “The bird of time has but a little way to flutter, Ruth, he said”, snow falling in the circles of the streetlamps but everyone just wanting to be someone else, whisky that accents the cheap cigarette smell of her pale blue dress, the women we loved who never loved us, our dear departed, light as if an afternoon bled through honey, he just wants to fuck someone anyone, years’ humid accretions, Christmas trees, let’s not make this a story, “Such contradictions and blithe disruptions are the stuff of poetry”, a bar fight for the hell of it and a broken nose, blood mixing with vomit, blood stained smile under a wrecked table, Aphrodite and Plato and Dionysus, “how high the moon, there is no moon above, when love is far away too”, neat tautologies, a deep royal purple, where he was to go after the war, to bury himself between her breasts, a white cotton strap slipping off a suntanned shoulder, this piano’s out of tune, we still float on summertime lakes of our past, her glorious blush, his fabulous coupe, “they rode off into the night” is a comfortable phrase, “Do you ever wonder if the stars shine out for you? Float down like autumn leaves and hush now”, casino means “little house”, let’s have a Coke, a rondeau on a rondelle, the sharp light of bowling alleys, unanswered letters, “For a little silver quarter we can have the Pullman porter turn the lights down low Ooh!”, that the moon is “silvery” is a cliche, the first steps toward a realm of silence, click!, “Pack up all my care and woe, here I go, singing low, bye bye blackbird”.*
*Many but not all of the preceding may be found in Gil Sorrentino’s Little Casino, which has the same strange haunting resonance of some classic mid-century American songs, which are of course a type of shared memory, and this is, I’m sure, an effect deliberately cultivated and honed by the author, who always has us, the readers, in the foremost of his thoughts, as he has admitted.
*Many but not all of the preceding may be found in Gil Sorrentino’s Little Casino, which has the same strange haunting resonance of some classic mid-century American songs, which are of course a type of shared memory, and this is, I’m sure, an effect deliberately cultivated and honed by the author, who always has us, the readers, in the foremost of his thoughts, as he has admitted.
December 8, 2016
So like that Great Enemy Of Facile Fiction residing presently in D.C said, you all need to be reading more Sorrentino. The guy is a fucking literary genius.
October 26, 2021
This was an exceptional book, although, I must admit it took me a little while to warm up to it. It's made up entirely of very short vignettes, from one or two pages to sometimes a little more, and have almost no connection to each other. They are mostly about little snippets in peoples lives, sometimes significant, sometimes not so much. Sorrentino's writing is magnificent using very descriptive prose and he seems to be drawn, mostly, to subjects that are sexual in content or have something to do with death. Some of the vignettes are shocking, some are lewd, some are vulgar, some are morbid and some are humorous but they are all entertaining. One of the vignettes that stood out most for me was titled "Epistolary Associate" that seemed to be a parody of the book itself. It was written as a letter to someone and then a second letter replying to the first. The second letter was critical of the first saying it was pointless and vulgar and served no purpose which are criticisms that anyone could make against this book if they didn't like it.
January 27, 2013
Gilbert Sorrentino... racing against Death and... knowingly... resentfully... losing a step every mile...
May 15, 2010
This was my first encounter with Gilbert Sorrentino. I'll definitely be reading more of him. This particular novel is sort of a non-linear, fictionalized memoir about growing up in Brooklyn. Sorrentino is best known as an "experimental" writer - a problematic term if ever there was one - and indeed this book is very fragmentary and "post-modern" in its constant subversion of narrative reliability. Each brief chapter is isolated to a single scene or memory which has been altered by obvious confusions of embellishments. Furthermore, each chapter ends with a tongue-in-cheek authorial "commentary" which, while assuming the voice of objectivity, ends up playing with the reader all the more. It's like looking through an album of faded photographs, and then finding that the writing on the back of each photograph is more humorous commentary and misdirection that fact.
I don't usually like self-consciously "pomo" writing, but here the structure is fully grounded in the needs of the tale. Furthermore, Sorrentino's voice - full of
the warmth and the rhythm of spoken word, replete with genuine humanity - cures the potential cerebral coldness that often mars novels with a self-contained, "high concept" structure. Sorrentino actually reminded me, at certain moments, of Harlan Ellison in his more earth-bound modes.
I don't usually like self-consciously "pomo" writing, but here the structure is fully grounded in the needs of the tale. Furthermore, Sorrentino's voice - full of
the warmth and the rhythm of spoken word, replete with genuine humanity - cures the potential cerebral coldness that often mars novels with a self-contained, "high concept" structure. Sorrentino actually reminded me, at certain moments, of Harlan Ellison in his more earth-bound modes.
January 4, 2008
Wow--no one can write like Gilbert Sorrentino. This book is captivating and provocative from beginning to end.
September 20, 2023
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Oyunçu real pulla oynaya bilər, lakin əylənmək üçün oynadığınız 40 pulsuz onlayn kazino oyunu da var. Ödənişli versiyalar oyun salonlarında və internet kazinolarında, maşınların demo versiyaları isə xüsusi kazino saytlarında mövcuddur. Burada qeyd etmək lazımdır ki, bütün əsas operatorların çoxlu 40-line oyun var.
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Başqa bir oyun növü üzən xətlərdir. Bu o deməkdir ki, siz mərc etmək istədiyiniz xətlərin sayını seçə bilərsiniz. Beləliklə, məsələn, 40 üzən xəttli bir slot maşını varsa, bütün qırxın əvəzinə 10 və ya 20 sətirə mərc etmək olar. Bu cür slotlar daha az yayılmışdır və daha çox xarici kazino proqram tərtibatçılarının işidir.
Ən yaxşı 40 onlayn kazino oyunları hansılardır?
Həqiqətən çox olduğu üçün bütün oyunların adlarını demək çətindir. Bolqar oyunçuların üstünlüklərinə gəlincə, klassik, məşhur meyvə yuvası 40 Super Hot-u qeyd etməliyik. Meyvələri təmsil edən və müxtəlif uduşları daşıyan simvolların alternativ olduğu 5 sütun var.
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xülasə
Biz qumar oyunlarını və slot maşınlarında mərc oynamağı təşviq etməkdən uzağıq. Bu məqalə böyüklər üçün bu cür əyləncələr haqqında məlumat əldə etməyə kömək edəcək. Ümid edirik ki, bundan həzz aldınız və pul itirməmək üçün ağıllı oynadınız.
Bu gün kazino oyunları çox müxtəlifdir. Bununla belə, müxtəlif simvolların birdən çox sütunda fırlandığı və oyunçunun qalib gəlmək üçün uduş xəttinə enməyə ümid etdiyi yerlərdə çox populyardır. Bu səhifədə heç kimin sizə demədiyi 5 mərc sirrini yoxlayın. Slot maşınından asılı olaraq sətirlərin sayı 20 ilə 100 arasında dəyişir. Bu yazıda biz 40 sətirli kazino oyunlarına diqqət yetirəcəyik, çünki onlar ən populyarlardandır. Onlara olan marağın səbəbi nədir, aşağıda öyrənə bilərsiniz.
40 xətt slotunu maraqlı edən nədir?
Ödəniş xətlərinin sayı nə qədər çox olarsa, oyunçunu mükafatlandıran simvolların birləşməsinə nail olmaq şansı bir o qədər çox olar. Buna görə 40 xətt yuvası çox populyardır. Onlarla minimum mərc 0,40 sentdir. və uğurlu olarsa, yaxşı pul mükafatları alırlar. 40 xəttli kazino oyunları da mövzuların müxtəlifliyinə görə məşhurdur. Siz meyvələr, yunan tanrıları, piramidalar, komikslər (burada bax) və daha çoxunu tapa bilərsiniz.
Oyunçu real pulla oynaya bilər, lakin əylənmək üçün oynadığınız 40 pulsuz onlayn kazino oyunu da var. Ödənişli versiyalar oyun salonlarında və internet kazinolarında, maşınların demo versiyaları isə xüsusi kazino saytlarında mövcuddur. Burada qeyd etmək lazımdır ki, bütün əsas operatorların çoxlu 40-line oyun var.
40 sətirli slot maşınlarının hansı növlərini bilirik?
Slotlar adətən 40 sabit ödəniş xətti ilə gəlir. Bu o deməkdir ki, siz daha az xəttə mərc edə bilməzsiniz, ancaq oyunun sizə təklif etdiyi hər şeyə mərc edə bilərsiniz. Xəttin düzülüşü adətən üfüqi, ziqzaq, diaqonal, şaquli, kəsikli və s. Seçilmiş oyunun yardım menyusunda hər bir xəttin necə göründüyünü görə bilərsiniz ki, tam şəkil əldə edə biləsiniz.
Başqa bir oyun növü üzən xətlərdir. Bu o deməkdir ki, siz mərc etmək istədiyiniz xətlərin sayını seçə bilərsiniz. Beləliklə, məsələn, 40 üzən xəttli bir slot maşını varsa, bütün qırxın əvəzinə 10 və ya 20 sətirə mərc etmək olar. Bu cür slotlar daha az yayılmışdır və daha çox xarici kazino proqram tərtibatçılarının işidir.
Ən yaxşı 40 onlayn kazino oyunları hansılardır?
Həqiqətən çox olduğu üçün bütün oyunların adlarını demək çətindir. Bolqar oyunçuların üstünlüklərinə gəlincə, klassik, məşhur meyvə yuvası 40 Super Hot-u qeyd etməliyik. Meyvələri təmsil edən və müxtəlif uduşları daşıyan simvolların alternativ olduğu 5 sütun var.
Kosmosa çəkilən digər məşhur maşınlara 40 Burning Hot, 40 Mega Slot, 40 Treasures, Oil Company 2 və daha çoxu daxildir. Hamısı həm yerli kazinolarda, həm də kazino slotlarına mərc etmək imkanı təklif edən onlayn platformalarda mövcuddur.
xülasə
Biz qumar oyunlarını və slot maşınlarında mərc oynamağı təşviq etməkdən uzağıq. Bu məqalə böyüklər üçün bu cür əyləncələr haqqında məlumat əldə etməyə kömək edəcək. Ümid edirik ki, bundan həzz aldınız və pul itirməmək üçün ağıllı oynadınız.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2021
Having grown up in the same three or four square blocks of the same Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, neighborhood that Sorrentino wrote about, I found some of the content interesting despite the author's poor style. Like Carver and Bukowski, Sorrentino understood that, in order to be published and praised by the bourgeoisie, working class people must be presented in fiction as self destructive idiots. Yet he himself was not a idiot but, raised in the same environment he describes as brutal, a much praised and rewarded intellectual. His tarting up his tales of Brooklyn with Post modernist writers tricks didn't solve this basic contradiction.
June 4, 2019
You might love this book; you might hate this book. I loved it. I thought it was funny as hell with some fantastic lines in it. It's not really like anything I have ever read before, so it is hard to find something to compare it to. The writing reminds me slightly of Raymond Carver, but not really.
March 5, 2022
i hate this fr
August 10, 2023
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December 10, 2007
Sorrentino is one of those "author's authors" and I'm always interested in knowing what other writers are impressed / influenced by (the same way I tend to pick up records by artists whose music is covered and/or cited by my favorite musicians). It has been a while, but I remember this being simultaneously raw and polished, almost a memoir-like feel for seedy detail rendered with a stonecarver's patience.
My memories of this particular book are a little, shall we say, "impressionistic" - perhaps that's because I read it in a vicodin-and-antibiotic haze in the wake of a broken rib/sinus infection combo during an extended Christmas visit to Birmingham, Alabama with my then soon-to-be-ex-in-laws. Sigh.
My memories of this particular book are a little, shall we say, "impressionistic" - perhaps that's because I read it in a vicodin-and-antibiotic haze in the wake of a broken rib/sinus infection combo during an extended Christmas visit to Birmingham, Alabama with my then soon-to-be-ex-in-laws. Sigh.
February 3, 2017
A novel notable only for its unique structure of short vignettes with mysterious author commentaries affixed to each section. The content ranges from saccharine to 'erotic'. I'm genuinely uninterested in reading 60 pages of lines like "He knows, though, that she doesn't like him anymore, which is why he is fucking her so seriously" (pg. 129).
November 11, 2012
Postmodern fun from Sorrentino in 2002. Talks about memory, desire and the writing process. Winks at the audience a lot. Does things like use a narrative device, then comments on it, then comments on his comment. Which also doesn't impact on the fact the device does its job. Felt there was a comic piece or two which broke the spell though.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews