The Los Angeles Diaries, James Brown
The Los Angeles Diaries, James Brown
2 Rating(s)
List: $15.99 | Sale: $11.20
Club: $7.99

The Los Angeles Diaries
A Memoir

Author: James Brown

Narrator: Charles Constant

Unabridged: 4 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/07/2020


Synopsis

Plagued by the suicides of both his siblings, heir to alcohol and drug abuse, divorce and economic ruin, James Brown lived a life clouded by addiction, broken promises and despair. In The Los Angeles Diaries he reveals his struggle for survival, mining his past to present the inspiring story of his redemption. Beautifully written and limned with dark humor, these twelve deeply confessional, interconnected chapters address personal failure, heartbreak, the trials of writing for Hollywood, and the life-shattering events that finally convinced Brown that he must "change or die."

In "Snapshot," Brown is five years old and recalls the night his mother "sets fire to an apartment building down the street," an act that splinters the family, later leading to their destruction. In "The Facts," he is a young writer and professor "afraid to step out of the darkness" and confront his double life as an addict. In "Daisy," Brown purchases a Vietnamese potbellied pig for his wife to atone for his sins, only to find himself engaged in a furious battle of man versus beast—with the pig's bulk growing in direct proportion to the tensions in his marriage.

About James Brown

James Brown is the author of the critically acclaimed memoirs The Los Angeles Diaries and This River. He is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and the Nelson Algren Literary Award in short fiction. Brown's work has appeared in GQ, the New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Ploughshares, New England Review, and many other publications. He lives in Lake Arrowhead, California.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Patrick on April 14, 2010

For his prose alone I'd recommend James Brown's The Los Angeles Diaries. It is so beautifully written: the sentence structure sparse, the rhythm quick, the imagery intense. He makes some brilliant choices with his narration. I have never before read a second person narrative where the author uses it......more

Goodreads review by Chad on February 21, 2013

Wow. Where did this book come from? Frankly, I should've read this years ago. It's a perfect book. I realize I can be overly approbative when it comes to literature... I can lay on the praise in thick, greasy layers, immediately pronouncing the writer a genius who fell from the heavens. But shit, it......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on March 30, 2015

Sentence one of every review of this book must include the phrase, "No, not that James Brown, lol!" So that's why I led with that; it's not like I had a choice. Now, paragraph two of my review must include mention of the fact that The Los Angeles Diaries is, to date, the only book my library syst......more

Goodreads review by sarah on August 19, 2022

i read this book my freshman year of college so i had it in my possession, i remember loving it but didn’t really remember it. i just re-read through the whole thing in a few hours. psychologically this book is such an interesting read. anyone who is feeling lost through the struggles of addiction s......more

Goodreads review by Lain on December 02, 2007

James Brown, the author of several novels including "Final Performance" and "Lucky Town," has mined his dysfunctional childhood many times for material. And he's had plenty to choose from, including an arsonist mother who bankrupted the family, the alcoholism and drug addiction (and subsequent suici......more