The Man with the Golden Arm

By: Nelson Algren

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

A novel of rare genius, The Man with the Golden Arm recounts the life of Francis Majcinek, "Frankie Machine," who returned from World War II with a Purple Heart and a morphine habit. He relies on morphine to numb the pain of a war injury and the guilt he feels for a drunken spree that put his wife Sophie in a wheelchair. Frankie, a card-dealer in an illicit poker game, has now come back to Chicago's West Side after detoxing in the federal prison for narcotics addicts, being exposed again to all the pressures, anxieties, and temptations that put him there in the first place.©1976 Nelson Algren (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A thriller that packs more of a punch than pulp fiction and more grittiness than either Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett." ( Scotsman)
"A true novelist's triumph." ( Time)

Terrific narration of a true American classic

Narrator expertly employs several distinctive voices to bring to life the blues-drenched story of a doomed American young man in a wretched Chicago neighborhood post-World War II.

Amazingly descriptive

The most vivid book I have ever listen to on audible. I could see every backroom dark corner this novel took place in. Every character had a face and voice that I could recognize. This is a must listen.

Good Story, Well Read

Tangible tale of the human condition. Listening it reminded me of the best AM radio dramas of 40 plus years ago.

Beneath this stylized period piece is a universal truth

A forgotten tragic masterpiece recommended by Bukowsky. Jazz as prose. The story of Frankie the Machine is one that if more people had read, they might have understood what was to come in the 50s, 60s, and 70s in America. Beneath this stylized period piece is a universal truth about how society breaks men and then tosses them aside.

Great Book, good performance

Excellent, bleak tale of a West Sider after the war. Truly the Native Son or Lonigan of the Polish community. My only complaint was the way the reader pronounced Paulina, which I understand non-Chicagoans not knowing. But it's strange to hear.

stylistic and depressing

really has nothing to do as far as I can tell with the Sinatra film. the writing is very stylistic almost Jazzy and nature the characters are all broken and the story is bleak.

if ya get a hunch, bet a bunch! i loved the one liners

really gritty and old noir style i could only picture black and white in my head.

...but it's "paul-I-nah"!

Great performance of a wonderful book, but I was snapped out of its trance when the narrator mispronounced Paulina. Minor quibble, you should check it out!

a forgotten masterpiece

I liked this book a true masterpiece by Mr. Algren. I think anyone would love his morally vague characters.

Gloomy, unengaging

The dialogue/prose is terribly dated and distracting. To redeem such a bleak story, there needed to be at least one genuinely likable character. It doesn't seem to know what it's about; I didn't get it.