27 Readers Comments
I had it all. Fast cars, fast women, money and fame. Then I read this book. It changed my life forever. Unfortunately. - Robert Downey (rdowney@penitentiary.com).
Hi paul read your dsss, it was bloody great mate! i for one understood what you were on about, you sure have a way with words! you have a literary talent! keep strong mate! regards -Anonymous.
I am Sober also....it is really hard though. I wanted to let ya know you are not alone Buddy. Thanks for the stories. - John.
A sobering read (if that isn't a contradiction in terms!) I have also needed 1/3 of a bottle of vodka for breakfast and a full hip flask to keep me alive till lunch. I know how it feels and what it can do to you. I like you eventually regained some control, much of that thanks to a good woman, but I live on the edge of the abyss to this day and the possibility of falling over it is ever present. Thanks for sharing (as they say in AA). - Graham.
I just finished the book. It really got to me man. I have spent drunken days in the Philippines. Bar girls and booze have been my reality for a long time. I don’t think you can fully recover from it. Who wants to? - Anonymous.
Darkly optimistic. I liked it. - Mickey.
I have read your book three times now and it is excellent. You need to get it published. -Anonymous.
good luck, paul. i much enjoyed reading your story. - Don.
This is the funniest satirical expose of modern life that I have read. You are either a genius or completely insane. The problem is I just can't decide which. - Ernest Hemingway.
Smells like teen spirit to me...... - Kurt Cobain.
lol i go to CRGS 6th form at the moment. How things have changed now, although you may be very pleased to know, Mr Beatty is still here!! He's such a cool teacher. The stresses of the AS levels and the pressure throughout the year nowadays is tremendous, there is very little time to get to know the teachers very well, and it seems that life is rushed. I assume you would have known Mr Rizbaf and Mr Crickmore? Who did you have for Chemistry then? Mr Evans? - Anonymous.
To the poster of the message above: Thanks for the message you sent - unfortunately the email address you gave is unrecognised. It's good to hear that Mr. Beatty is still at CRGS - give him my regards. I don't know Mr. Rizbaf or Mr. Crickmore - I left in the late 1970s. My Chemistry teacher was Mr. Stebbings. I can't remember who taught me Geology - I'd have to look it up. Good luck with your exams. - Paul Pisces.
thanatos beats eros -Anonymous.
And more much more than this, You did it your way. - Sid Vicious.
Your stuff is dark - not Joseph Heller sarcasm dark, but brutally, bare bones, reality dark. And its good. - Dave.
Paul, I liked your book. I enjoyed hearing about your experiences in the Philippines and also in the bay area. It reminds me of the dot com times when we all thought we were going to get rich. I also got into some trouble with drugs (Codeine), but it looks like I escaped from the problem. I just spent six months in Bangkok. I am planning to go back and live there in a couple of months. Maybe someday we will meet in South East Asia. I have burned out pretty badly here in the bay area. Work is hard to find now. It is a good time to take off. - Silicon Valley Nerd who likes South East Asia.
Paul, Read your book with interest, I am married to a Filipina, and unfortunately drink too much, been over there many times, your stories ring so true, made me cry, you touched a nerve mate....... take care. - Paul.
Brilliant. - TJ.
A searing indictment of the neoteric segmentation of the 'clockwork orange'. Or maybe just a good story! - JayDee.
I hugely enjoyed your book. I admire the brevity of your style. I shall watch out for anything else you do. - Michael.
The most important thing about a book is that you do not want to stop reading it. I read your book without stopping, so I reckon one day it will be published. It is so accurate, it really exposed your 'commando course of the soul' throughout. Your descriptions of the Philippines and Thailand are spot on. Perhaps the publishers of those best selling books in Thailand called Money Number 1 and Patpong on Steroids would publish your book specifically for sale in Pattaya. I am sure it would be a success. Good luck, and thanks for a great read! - Calvin.
Oh Lord, Where did the feeling go? Oh Lord, I never felt so low. "Chance", Stuart Adamson (Big Country) - Anonymous.
Just like me you're a cult. Is that the word? - Jimi Hendrix.
I saw the name of my school in the google search listings and took a look. I haven't read all of your book, but so far it seems really good. And you mention good ol' Mr Beatty - the school is trying to take away his animals! He is fighting them all the way though. Did you have Mr Bayes, Mr Chester or Mr Wright? They've been there for years... - Chris.
Roger Beatty is one of the best Biology teachers on the planet. Pete Chester taught me Geology and Roger Bayes taught me English so blame him for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors - both these guys are great teachers. - Paul Pisces.
What's up bro? I read and enjoyed the book and certainly identified with it. I puked my guts out this morning but I'm sure I'll be drunk again by this afternoon. Anyway, good book and cool website. - Anonymous.
I found your work on the internet because I was researching sex tourism for an anti-globalization paper. I find your vile story a prime example of the patriarchal hegemony that forces women into prostitution. Your audacity in publishing so horrendous a book on the internet is symbolic of how globalization degrades and marginalizes women all over the planet. - A graduate student at University of South Florida.
In reply to the comments of "A graduate student": I agree with your criticism of "patriarchal hegemony", but I think your criticism of the Book is inaccurate. I read the Book more as a warning than an endorsement of bad behaviour; Paul writes, "Don't end up a loser like me. Read this book." The Book seems to appeal more to people with alcohol problems than supporters of sex tourism. Paul, can you settle this? (In case "A graduate student" thinks I'm ignorant: I have an MA in International Studies.) Keep on writing, Paul. - James.
Thanks to "A graduate student" and James for your comments. The book is certainly more about alcoholism than sex tourism. I condone neither. Both are a fact of life. I will meet my maker with a clear conscience. I have done the best I could although I grant you that that wasn't very pretty. - Paul Pisces.
I've never been a heavy drinker, but there have been dark times in my life and I could relate to many parts of your story, a brutal tale, told with much talent. Keep banging these stories out and someone will publish you... - darndog.
I read your book and enjoyed it (if that's the right word). I don't have the alcohol problem you do, but I'm absolutely reckless about sex and have destroyed my life in large part because of bad decisions about it. Wife, friends and money gone. Too many prostitutes to count. If you can stop drinking you could get better, but the sex addiction doesn't go away. I've thought about the shotgun, you did a great job with that chapter. - Charles.
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