Genre: True Crime, Memoir
Murder Was Never So Much Fun! When Disco Bloodbath was first published, it created a storm of controversy for its startlingly vivid, strikingly fresh, and outrageously funny depiction of the hedonistic world of the New York City club kids, for whom nothing was too outré -- including murder. Nominated for the Edgar Award for best true-crime book of the year, it also marked the debut of an audaciously talented writer, James St. James, who himself had been a club kid and close friend and confidant of Michael Alig, the young man convicted of killing the drug dealer known as Angel. (Description via goodreads)
I would not have expected this book to be funny, with it being about murder and all. However, it was very funny. Laugh out loud funny, at times. James St. James is so high energy that the pages of this book practically vibrate. It is written in a way where you can actually picture someone sitting in front of you, wearing a ton of body glitter, and talking 100 miles per minute while gushing, “OH, and before I tell you about this, I just HAVE to tell you about THIS.” The author goes on numerous, random asides with funny or strange anecdotes or pieces of gossip.
I personally wouldn’t categorize this as a true crime book, even though that is indeed the genre it is listed under. I view it as a snapshot from a particular time period. You step into the life of a 90s club kid, and you don’t learn the facts about a murder case, but rather the lifestyle that led to a murder being committed. It’s bizarre, and it’s madness, and it’s incredibly colorful. It was a good read, but not a great one. I think I mostly enjoyed James St. James’ writing style.
- Was the book interesting? 1
- Was it easy to finish (even if I didn’t like it)? 1
- Was it emotionally engaging? 1
- Was it memorable?.5
- Would I read it again? 0
