Sunday, May 23, 2004
Exquisite Corpse - Poppy Z Brite
Wow!
It is going to take a while to digest this, but I really felt like writing about it immediately after finishing it.
It was grizly, gruesome, exquisite, stomach-turning, vivid, disturbing, fascinating, perverted, wonderful.
Definitely not for the weak of heart. Way too much gay sex for my liking, but the amazing imagery both repulses and *searches for appropriate verb* attracts, fascinates, absorbs , I don't know. I can also read it more easily after being exposed to LOTR slash.
As I am writing this a NIN song that actually gets mentioned in the book ("Something I Can Never Have" for those who are interested) came on my random playlist . Freaky. Good song though.
The novel follows four intertwined stories. Three (Jay, Tran, and Luke) are told from third person, and one (Andrew) from first person. The shift from third person to first person was interesting as you immediately knew you were back in Andrew's perspective without having to garner a hint from the prose.
Jay and Andrew are serial killers preying on young gay men. Their urge to kill is closely linked to their sexual urge, as well as other less savoury things.
I wonder sometimes how horror managed to steal a disproportionate number of the cool words in the English language. I mean it is hard not to write some chilling stuff when you have access to words the quality of putrescent, foetid, sepulchre, and others. But it is the way they're woven that allows me to overcome my gag reflex and languish. Lovecraft had this effect as well, but his imagery is much more abstract, less violent, less sexual.
I realise that this post may be completely disjointed, but I really enjoyed the book, and am currently really enjoying the Glen Fiddich.
A good book, and a good scotch, two wonderfully warm buzzes.
Life is good.
It is going to take a while to digest this, but I really felt like writing about it immediately after finishing it.
It was grizly, gruesome, exquisite, stomach-turning, vivid, disturbing, fascinating, perverted, wonderful.
Definitely not for the weak of heart. Way too much gay sex for my liking, but the amazing imagery both repulses and *searches for appropriate verb*
As I am writing this a NIN song that actually gets mentioned in the book ("Something I Can Never Have" for those who are interested) came on my random playlist . Freaky. Good song though.
The novel follows four intertwined stories. Three (Jay, Tran, and Luke) are told from third person, and one (Andrew) from first person. The shift from third person to first person was interesting as you immediately knew you were back in Andrew's perspective without having to garner a hint from the prose.
Jay and Andrew are serial killers preying on young gay men. Their urge to kill is closely linked to their sexual urge, as well as other less savoury things.
I wonder sometimes how horror managed to steal a disproportionate number of the cool words in the English language. I mean it is hard not to write some chilling stuff when you have access to words the quality of putrescent, foetid, sepulchre, and others. But it is the way they're woven that allows me to overcome my gag reflex and languish. Lovecraft had this effect as well, but his imagery is much more abstract, less violent, less sexual.
I realise that this post may be completely disjointed, but I really enjoyed the book, and am currently really enjoying the Glen Fiddich.
A good book, and a good scotch, two wonderfully warm buzzes.
Life is good.
