Like Jean Genet and William Burroughs, Dennis Cooper assaults the senses as he engages the mind with visions of nightmare intensity in a world where stimulation without excitement and experience without emotion are prized.
Closer: A Novel (Cooper, Dennis)
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From Publishers Weekly
In chapters titled with the names of the characters on whom they focus, this brief novel links together a small, bleakly debauched cast of gay men. Dedicated to sex and violence for the catharsis these acts would seem to promise, the men settle into a dull grind of physical encounters that, no matter how searing, fail to provide transcendence. The fault of their miserable existence seems to lie not in them, but in existence itself; life by its very nature can offer little but a thrillingly painful prelude to death. The novel's problem is not Cooper's point of view but the monotony of his spare, honest treatment: his deadpan look at chronic sexual anomie is so faithful to the phenomenon it describes that the work succumbs, laconically, to weariness. Scope is further limited by Cooper's decision to address the condition of despair more than its cause. Though convincing, sometimes darkly funny evidence of dissolution and decay abounds (" . . . men had worn him away. They'd fastened him to a treadmill that spun until there was nothing around but a vague outline, smeared in blood"), memorable details tend to languish in dolorous prose.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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John, 18, hated his face. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A. White
Format:Paperback
The fact that it is told, mainly, from the perspective of those using this young man, who is looking for love and understanding after the death of his mother, makes every act of cruelty (the emotional even more so that the physical) stab at your heart so much more.
Dennis Cooper manages to infuse hope, love and compassion in with the loss, cruelty and sex. Making this a really brilliant work.
If you have a heart, read this book!
I think a lot of readers get it wrong when they say that Cooper's work is sado-homo-erotic. It's too human and emotional for such a narrow definition.
Dennis Cooper and his works are a perfect example of why I love to be a reader and wish I was a more eloquent reviewer.
Dennis Cooper manages to infuse hope, love and compassion in with the loss, cruelty and sex. Making this a really brilliant work.
If you have a heart, read this book!
I think a lot of readers get it wrong when they say that Cooper's work is sado-homo-erotic. It's too human and emotional for such a narrow definition.
Dennis Cooper and his works are a perfect example of why I love to be a reader and wish I was a more eloquent reviewer.
By Douglas King
Format:Paperback
"Closer", the first in a five book series of short novels about young gay men, is hypnotic and disturbing. Dennis Cooper's spare and elegant prose documents the lives of young people in our society who are constantly being exploited. With no support, no sense of themselves, and no real hope for anything better, the characters in this novel stumble toward bleak and sometimes gruesome fates. Dennis Cooper's novels are a wake-up call to a society that is traumatizing its children.
By "imfukt"
Format:Paperback
this is one of the most painful books i've ever read. it hurts to read it, but it's still one of my favorite books. cooper has an ability to show situations that are both horrific and beautiful. that really hit home for me because i think that's how life really is. it's like children singing in hell.
i read this one right after _Frisk_ and liked it a lot better. i could identify more with the George character, than i could with anyone in the other book. the portrait of the kid who gets exploited by everyone around him in different ways is just amazing. i couldn't sleep the night i read it. it's one of those books that makes you sad and contemplative. if you want to do that, definitely pick it up. if not, it might not be a good idea.
i read this one right after _Frisk_ and liked it a lot better. i could identify more with the George character, than i could with anyone in the other book. the portrait of the kid who gets exploited by everyone around him in different ways is just amazing. i couldn't sleep the night i read it. it's one of those books that makes you sad and contemplative. if you want to do that, definitely pick it up. if not, it might not be a good idea.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting in a sick wierd kind of way
I intially got into Cooper by mistaking his work for another writer, but found myself happily surprised after reading some short stories he had written. Read more
Published on Sep 25 2000 by "saint_artaud"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cooper is covering some familiar ground
I've just finished this book, my third so far by Dennis Cooper, the other two being "Frisk" and "Guide". Read more
Published on July 28 2000 by rimbaud_1969@yahoo.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mesmerizing, heart-breaking, disturbing look at gay youth.
This book took me by surprise. Throughout this very quick read, we get to know several unforgettable characters, each of whom could possibly have been the central character, had... Read more
Published on April 18 2000 by Shane C. Desmond
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