The Existential drinker

Drinking to excess has been a striking problem for industrial and post-industrial societies - who is responsible when an individual opts for a slow suicide? The causes of such drinking have often been blamed on genes moral weakness 'disease' (addiction) hedonism and Romantic illusion. Yet there is another reason: the drinker may act with sincere philosophical intent exploring the edges of self consciousness will ethics authenticity and finitude. Beginning with Jack London's <i>John Barleycorn: alcoholic memoirs</i> the book goes on to cover novels such as Jean Rhys's <i>Good morning midnight</i> Malcolm Lowry's <i>Under the volcano</i> Charles Jackson's <i>The lost weekend</i> and John O'Brien's <i>Leaving Las Vegas</i> and less familiar works such as Frederick Exley's <i>A fan's notes</i> Venedikt Yerofeev's <i>Moscow-Petushki</i> and A. L. Kennedy's <i>Paradise</i>.