Opium Fiend: A 21st Century Slave to a 19th Century Addiction

Amazing story about how opium was eradicated by various governments, including all the paraphernalia, and how one man scoured the world (via the Internet mostly, buying opium items that 19th Century American missionaries had brought back to the Mid West, stashed in lofts and forgotten about) to gather an incredible collection of lost items used in chasing the dragon... He also discovers the difference between regular opium and opium that has been cured according to the ancient traditions and manages to form a habit to this hard to procure but highly addictive drug. I would like to have seen more detail in certain places - how exactly a 'pill' is created, rolled and smoked, for example. What is a pill? There is a lot of detail about pipes and bowls but some fundamental terms are mentioned but not explained. Also his 'cure'in the Thai rehab-monastery seems too easy. Where are the scenes of raw-knuckle agony? Even tho he is still sort of hooked at the end, what happens to him isn't nearly as harrowing as the horrific opening scene (a flash-forward) implies. The scenes of the author and his male friend dressing in Kimonos and slippers borders on the effete. Author never really gets to grip with the roots of his addiction or why it's so much fun to smoke opium - frankly, it seems dull. Too much time is spent on other characters who go nowhere (Though the fate of the female ex-journalist character, his opium supplier, is devastating). Landing somewhere between a New Yorker article and a full-blown non-fiction tome, this expensive book is good but a bit over-priced and falls short of greatness owing to problems of pacing and because it lacks true insight into addiction. In the end, while the history of opium, its popularity, controversy, is well covered, the addiction part of the story is glib and the riveting opening gives the promise of an epic descent into darkness that never quite comes.

As mentioned by some of the other reviewers, Opium Fiend is much more than a memoir. It is a multilayered book that stays with you long after the last page. Steve Martin is a skilled writer and his descent into opium addiction is a most unusual modern day tale. As the subtitle says it is a book about a man that was (is?) "a twenty-first century slave to a 19th century addiction." Highlighting this unique circumstance is when Martin decides to seek treatment for his addiction. He chooses a Buddhist Rehab monastery in Thailand that once specialized in treating opium addicts. Yet, the opium eradication programs in Asia have been so successful that the use of this drug all but disappeared decades ago. So when the author arrives, the monks at the monastery are surprised that opium is the drug addiction he needs help with. It is a situation that would be similar to an individual showing up at a hospital in the United States suffering from polio. It would leave the doctors stunned wondering how this profoundly dreaded disease from the past appeared once again. So how does the author become addicted to this forgotten drug of yesteryear? It is a tale well worth reading. Martin has a happy childhood in San Diego but his true adventures-and the road to his opium addiction- begin in the Philippines and continue in Southeast Asia. In these passages, the author's background as a writer of travel guides is evident. It is humorous to read his observation about college age backpackers focusing their journeys on Southeast Asia as opposed to the Philippines because sitting next to a Buddhist monk on a bus in Thailand is so much more "exotic" than a Catholic nun in the Philippines. He also relates with as deep an understanding as a "farang" (westerner) can about the people and cultures of Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Martin also treats us to an intriguing interpretation of the history of opium in China and the "Opium Wars" with the British in the 1800s. All of this is included in one fascinating memoir about a man battling a terrible addiction.

I had always thought of opium addiction as something from another time and era. This book makes it very real and in your face. The author writes from personal experience of his addiction in the mid 2000s! He opens with his first serious attempt at overcoming his addiction. He describes the high of opium versus other drugs and why he cherished those highs so very much. He then proceeds into the history of opium in China and the USA. He also describes how he began collecting the various paraphernalia of opium smoking and opium dens. He develops a very extensive personal collection and includes vintage photos. He writes very well and does his homework. He gives the reader a very thorough and, I must confess, at times a very boringly thorough, account of his searches and encounters with sellers and other prospective buyers. In the end he takes us through his recovery, relapse, and eventual uneasy and uncertain abstinence from the drug. The beginning and ending of the book were rather gripping. The middle was interesting but I got bogged down in the minutia of his paraphernalia searches.

I bought this book because years ago, I purchased a couple of beautiful antique opium pipes and wanted to learn more about the history of opium. The author of the book also started out by buying opium antiques and ended up with a huge and priceless collection. Unfortunately, he got sucked into the mystique of opium and ended up with a very powerful addiction. It was very interesting and insightful and I was amazed at how addicts revolve their lives around their next fix (although not as provocative as Burroughs' "Junky").

This is both a history of opium and an addiction memoir, and outstanding on both counts.As Thomas De Quincey did, Martin has woven his romance with opium intimately into his autobiography: in this case, the story of his pursuit of the exotic in South-East Asia, evolving into a collector of its antiquities, and then specifically of its antique opium paraphernalia. This was a market that was surprisingly underdeveloped at the time, and the author's absorption into it is the cue for a fascinating reconstruction of the lost (or, as it turns out, almost lost) art of opium smoking in the Chinese style.Like De Quincey, too, Martin remains a dabbler in opium for many years before his personal use becomes habitual and problematic. The story of his addiction is not the central focus of the book: it emerges only gradually, and by the time it does so the reader is thoroughly caught up in the author's subjectivity, making his plight far more involving than the litany of self-inflicted miseries into which this genre of writing can all too easily descend. He is not evasive about his behaviour - far from it, he delivers more than his pound of flesh - but he doesn't reach for fatalistic explanations of the drug's evil powers, and indeed keeps his faith with it, and with the impulses that led him to it.It's also very fluently written and tightly edited, a quick and gripping read.

Opium Fiend is an amazing read. Even if the subject matter isn't to your taste the book feels like an education in the almost extinct practice of opium smoking. Martin's prose is eloquent, witty and informative. Weighted perfectly I was gripped from the harrowimg first chapter to the (no spoilers) last page.Anyone who has indulged in any kind of recreational substance use for enlightenment will feel right at home and feel heaps of empathy towards the authour as he begins his journey and education. The quality of the writing is superb and as such I felt like I was alongside Steven Martin every step of the way, experiencing the highs and lows and highs! The author charts a perilous course into and out of a dangerous addiction. I also feel like I have made a donation on both monetary and personal levels to keep a dying knowledge alive. As the instigators of opium erradication programmes get their wish humdreds of years from when they began Icthink it is important you read this book to prevent a culture from being lost.I can't reccomend this memoir enough. It is superbly evocative of South East Asia and a must read.

A little long, perhaps - but well-written throughout and providing good detail on a particular form of opium use (and abuse). The author is something of a congenital collector and almost by chance finds himself drawn to the tools and trinkets of opium smoking - that is to say, opium smoking as it was undertaken in the early twentieth century. But his collecting habit gradually leads to use of the drug itself, and eventually a severe addiction. Arguably the most frightening and upsetting parts of the book are the final chapters recounting the death of chandu companion Roxanna Brown. Her treatment at the hands of the American legal authorities is shocking.

Brilliantly entertaining, easy to read and very informative.

I bought this looking for a history of Opium and although It does cover this in broad brushstrokes it offers much more. I particularly liked the author's relationship not only with the drug itself but also the objects used to consume it. His is a journey through the highs and lows of Opium but what I found most fascinating was that his obsession goes beyond simple drug addiction. All told, a great read and one I will come back to at some point.