This is the story of a man who is murdered twice. At least. Maybe four times? Perhaps six? It's hard to say with any certainty, really, and if you are a reader who requires certainty for satisfaction, then you may want to skip this one.
The details, though the writing is glass-shard sharp and often uncomfortably evocative, are blurry in my mind. This is partially because my intention to read the first couple of pages at bedtime morphed into a marathon one-sitting read that left me gritty-eyed and pleasantly desolate at 4:30 in the morning on a work night...and partially because it is just that kind of book.
I would say the strength and charm of By the Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends lie in the arcs and implications, the consistent overlapping of soulful (esophageal?) human sensitivity with brutal slit-gut splatter, the pairing of the ethereal with the most grotesque afflictions (and inflictions) of which confined and crazed meatsacks are capable. This essential whipsaw juxtaposition ceases at some point to be disorienting and instead becomes mesmerizing and...inevitable. Much like the hellish settings the characters find themselves alternately resigned to enduring and striving desperately to escape.
I think at this point I've said enough about what I think the story is "about." And I would caution against going into it with the intention of deciphering what it is "about" as you go. Not only will you miss out on the immersion in fleshy immediacy that makes it such a fantastic read, I would venture that you will have a better time saving those contemplations for the gritty-eyed 4:30am doldrums that will almost certainly accompany its conclusion. ( )

Have you ever read a book where, when you were finished, you were pretty sure there was some kind of subtext (or some such thing) that went right over your head? I have, and that book is By The Time We Leave Here, We'll Be Friends by J. David Osborne

The book is set in a Soviet-era Siberian gulag. The main characters are all prisoners and guards. There's drug use. There's a throat parasite. There are placentas wearing diapers. There are tattoos. There is violence.

Heck, I'm not really sure how to explain it. I will say that even though I didn't really understand it, I did enjoy it. ( )