As a fan of confessional literature, biography, and psychedelic counterculture, I thought this would be the literary equivalent of a good sandwich. I was disappointed. De Quincey is an excellent prose stylist and often quite funny in a dry, scholastic way. These virtues are overshadowed by bouts of sensationalism, mawkishness, and self-promotion. You will probably be bored by the third allusion to Democritus.

★★★