Requiem for a Dream: A Novel

Harry, Tyrone, Fred, and Marion smoke hash while Tony watches TV. Tony is obsessed with his shows, and he rants and raves at the TV when the plot does not go the way he wants. The others sniff amyl and laugh at Tony’s escapades. Harry and Marion grow more intimate. Tony’s frustration with the show reaches a breaking point, and he shoots the TV. They all laugh over it, feeling good.

Sara watches TV while painting her nails and eating a box of chocolates, planning to go to the library to borrow weight loss books the next day. She always eats a box of chocolates in one day, saving the chocolate-covered cherry for last. She wants to dye her hair red to match her nails and dress, fantasizing about introducing herself as Little Red Riding Hood.

Harry walks with Marion to her place. On the way, the pass a drunk couple. The woman complains she needs the bathroom, then urinates in the street. Marion’s middle-class parents pay for her apartment and give her $50 a week to see her psychologist, with whom she is now having an affair. She uses the money for drugs and partying. Harry and Marion sleep together that night.

Sara goes to the library after buying a Danish at the bakery. The librarian has to hold back judgmental laughter as they help Sara pick out a diet book which promises to show her how to lose 10 pounds a week. She visits Ada to dye her hair closer to her desired shade of red.

Sara reads a diet book, incredulous about its diet regimen, which revolves around hardboiled eggs, grapefruit, and black coffee. She feels hollow and abandoned, picturing herself in her red dress, remembering how she used to look when Seymour, her husband, was alive. However, the anticipation of being on television gives her courage, and she goes to bed happily (after finishing her evening’s box of chocolates). She reminisces about Seymour and thinks about Harry as a child before falling asleep.

Harry and Marion use the rest of Harry’s heroin and sleep together again. Afterward, Marion tells him he is the only man who sees her for herself and not just her beauty. Marion makes Harry want to be a better man. He thinks with her, he would be capable of great things. He tells her of his dream to open a café where they could serve food and drinks from around the world and stage poetry, music, and theater events. Marion is ecstatic about this dream. They discuss that all Harry needs to do is get a stash of heroin to sell; the money will flow in. He tells Marion he loves her. Planning their beautiful dream makes the couple feel on top of the world.

Sara feels optimistic when she gets up, a feeling that is hard to maintain as she eats the first, disappointing breakfast of her diet. She goes to Ada’s to finish the dye job, and the two women speculate about the type of show Sara will be on and what the prizes will be. She waits for the mailman with her friends, other neighborhood women. They discuss her diet; one woman mentions her daughter, who lost 50 pounds thanks to diet pills. Sara receives an enigmatic form in the mail. She fills out her personal information and returns it.

Harry and Marion wake up that evening, and Marion gives Harry Dexedrine (an amphetamine) to wake him up. The drug puts him in a manic mood, and Tyrone walks in as Harry is in the midst of making grandiose plans and pretending to be Cyrano de Bergerac. Tyrone has been up all night with a woman and is exhausted. Marion gives him Dexedrine, too. Sara, meanwhile, goes to bed after the trying first day of her diet.

Harry and Tyrone join other day laborers loading newspapers. Thanks to the Dexedrine, the work is easy, and they share beers and wine with the other workers as they work. They are disappointed that they will not be paid until the end of the week but they are otherwise optimistic. Sara, meanwhile, cleans her apartment, filled with a happiness and warmth she has not experienced since she discovered (and lost) her passion for painting in Italy. Sara wakes in the night to use the bathroom, filled with the optimism of starting a brand-new life. Harry returns to Marion’s apartment, and she gives him downers to fall asleep.

The next day, Sara’s hair is finally the perfect color. The red dress even fits a bit better. Though she still does not know what show she will appear in, she feels like a star. Marion, meanwhile, visits the art supply store, once again filled with the urge to create. Harry, Marion, and Tyrone fall into a routine. Harry and Tyrone work at night and sleep during the day, supported by uppers and downers. Harry and Marion have sex every chance they get. Marion daydreams about the café she and Harry will own, though she is not yet inspired to produce art.

Sara has still received no supply from McDick Corp. Her diet is getting harder and harder to follow; however, she stays strong, despite the temptation from the refrigerator and its contents, which seem to speak to her. Finally, she breaks and asks her friend for the name of the doctor that prescribed her daughter diet pills.

Marion must go on a date with Arnold, her psychologist, in order to keep receiving the $50 a week from her parents. Harry is bitterly jealous, but Marion manages to allay his fears. Marion asks Arnold about his wife over dinner at a fancy French restaurant. Arnold is intrigued that Marion is making art again; he wants to see her artwork to psychoanalyze it. The concert they attend—a performance of pieces by Mahler—inspires Marian to sketch when she gets back home. She draws a series of images of a little girl, maturing with each subsequent sketch.

When Harry and Tyrone get paid at the end of the week, they realize they are about $100 short of buying their supply from Brody, despite working overtime and claiming 25 dependents each. However, Marion is happy to cover the rest. Meanwhile, Sara’s refrigerator taunts her as she eats a bagel and cream cheese, but she does not let it get to her.

While Harry waits for Tyrone to return from Brody’s, he fantasizes about being a successful drug dealer, nonchalantly making his last deal for a pound of pure heroin at an airport before retiring from the game. When Tyrone returns, they try Brody’s heroin. It is so strong that they can cut it with milk sugar to maximize their profits. Tyrone sells his product in the “Black side” of town, taking great care because he sees this as his one opportunity to rise out of poverty. Harry and Tyrone plan to buy and distribute two more cut batches of heroin before purchasing a pound of pure heroin.

Sara’s doctor prescribes her a regimen of diet pills. Sara gloats to her refrigerator as she eats and takes her first pill. She drinks much more coffee than usual and is not even hungry for lunch. Sara is boundlessly energetic as she waits for the mailman with the other women, and she is not even disappointed when again no letter from McDick Corp. arrives. By evening, her energy winds down, and she ignores her grinding teeth and growing apprehension.

Tyrone purchases another two ounces of heroin. Their business runs smoothly; he and Harry make over $1,000 a day. Harry wants to do something nice for Sara, so he decides to buy her an expensive television. The next day, Harry takes a little heroin to feel better while shopping for a television. Marion joins him. He confidently buys a large television set at Macy’s, though later he feels paranoid about his behavior with the salesman.

When Harry visits Sara, he is astounded by her new energy. Sara is overjoyed to see him—even more so when he tells her he runs his own business and that he is dating Marion, whose family Sara knows. Harry kisses his mom, and, for a moment, feels a sensation of wholeness with which he is unfamiliar. He hears Sara grinding her teeth and realizes that she is taking amphetamines. He tries to caution her against it, but she protests, telling him about the television program and her red dress, and how they have given her life a new meaning. Harry leaves, confused and bewildered. He realizes for the first time how much he wants his mother to be happy.

Weeks pass. Harry and Tyrone score multiple batches of strong heroin while quietly looking for a contact for pure heroin. They continue using it as well, believing they can stop whenever they want. Sara starts to worry about her television appearance only once she has lost enough weight for the red dress to fit. She wishes Harry would visit. Harry and Marion, meanwhile, are using heroin twice a day or more. The more they use, the less concrete and urgent their future plans become.

Sara’s tolerance to her pills increases, and she begins suffering the side effects of amphetamine addiction. She becomes paranoid, and she cannot stop grinding her teeth or rid her mouth of a bad taste. She fights through the paranoia and calls McDick Corp., inquiring after Lyle Russel. After many minutes of gnawing paranoia and being put on hold, an operator takes Sara’s information and promises to get in touch.

Harry and Tyrone discuss their mothers. Tyrone’s mother died when he was a kid, and he remembers her fondly. After listening to Tyrone, Harry remembers some fond memories of Sara from when he was little.

Tyrone moves to a new apartment with his beautiful girlfriend, Alice. Tyrone admires his collection of silk shirts and the mirrored closet. He goes to bed with Alice, hoping life continues this way.