"Armed with professional skills he has developed while navigating the crazy minefield of his life, Elliott reports and speculates on a true crime story, all the while semiconsciously framing that story as a narrative about his father's antagonism, his own culpability, and the unknowable degree to which their brutal dynamic has formed and deformed his life. This process is the end of the book and the beginning of Elliott's transformation. And though it sidesteps traditional memoir elements of revelation, redemption, and closure, it affords both reader and author something much more valuable: a transcendent inquiry into the nature of the self."
- The Seattle Stranger
"Where does it fit? What does Elliott's Adderall habit have to do with Reiser's murderous rage? What's the connection between Elliott's sadomasochistic sexual proclivities and Nina Reiser's death? Not much, really. And therein lies the complex genius of the book... If you're the type of reader who always wants to know what to expect, Stephen Elliott isn't your guy. But if you can take your literary sharp turns without hitting the brakes - or knowing exactly where you'll end up - you won't find a more provocative, masterful, thrilling ride than this."
- The San Francisco Chronicle
"Superb"
- Time Out New York (five stars, highest rating)
"With astute insights into anger, despair, drug use, sadomasochism, and the elusiveness of love and justice, Elliott is a poet of pain."
