The Basketball Diaries cover art

The Basketball Diaries

 Preview

Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Basketball Diaries

By: Jim Carroll
Narrated by: Jim Carroll
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

 In his teens, Jim Carroll roamed the streets of New York, shooting baskets with some of New York's best "playground" stars, and shooting heroin with some of the city's most memorable street characters. The Basketball Diaries is his chronicle of those years. Written while in his teens, it is a literary tour-de-force and a stunning portrait of contemporary urban street life. The characters and incidents are moving and funny and sad, but always very real.©1963 -1978 by Jim Carroll (P)1994 by Audio Literature Politicians Funny

Critic Reviews

"At thirteen, Jim Carroll writes better prose than 89 percent of the novelists working today." (Jack Kerouac)

What listeners say about The Basketball Diaries

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    10
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Austin McDonald

A Bare Bones Coming of Age Story in NY Streets

A harrowing juxtaposition. Both an innocent coming of age story and a dark street tale of drugs, sex and crime. New York City and the 1960s social and political climate serving as the perfect backdrop.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

Relatable

Narrated by Jim Carroll himself I loved it..
completely different backgrounds and decades of growing up yet it is so relatable to me.. I love this story.. recommend 100%

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Anonymous User

Not a bad book

Great to hear from the horse's mouth and he reads well. But it feels like scattered pages read one after another with no closing. It just stops like as if pages are missing at the end. I'm sure there's a reason for it but it's still too foreign to me.

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Kindle Customer

poorly narrated

this is living proof that the writer shouldn't always narrate the book, not only is it read poorly, it's seems like it was really poorly recorded too. it's hard to know if it's poorly written cos it's just so bad. I would have returned it but it sat in my library for ages before I listened and I wasn't able to return or something like that, hard to remember but what is straight fact is, this is trash. don't do it!!

Report this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.