- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Vintage (Dec 8 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 067974424X
- ISBN-13: 978-0679744245
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 1.3 x 21.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 204 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Alienated characters drift aimlessly through a bleak urban wasteland in Nugent's rather turgid first novel, whose flat, affectless tone becomes monotonous early. The narrator, Catherine, is a college dropout who works at an X-rated movie house and lives in a transient hotel. Catherine is obsessed by memories of her dead sister; likewise, the porn theater's owner, Dave, is obsessed with his former wife, whom he accidently killed. The closest thing to a friend in Catherine's life is Jerome, a self-absorbed transvestite hustler. Eventually, Dave produces his awkward, unsophisticated nephew, Danny, in the hopes that he and Catherine will somehow hit it off, rather wishful thinking considering both characters' utter inability to communicate. The extreme emotional isolation of everyone in the book makes it difficult for any sort of plot to develop, and a reader's empathy is pushed to the breaking point by such narcissistic characters. While Nugent mined very similar territory to great effect in her debut short-story collection, City of Boys, the material is not sufficient to propel this novel.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
After her critically acclaimed stories in City of Boys (LJ 6/1/92), Nugent offers a very haunting first novel. Her work dwells deep in the inner psyche of the protagonist, twentysomething Catherine, whose key friends are Jerome, an anorexic drag queen; Dave, who owns a rundown porn theater that he feels portrays true art; and a cat. Catherine has led a very down-and-out life, yet ironically she seems unaware of her desperate situation. However, she's quite aware of everyone else's disconnection from society; as she states about her friend Jerome, "If I leave him now, he will be alone; he will fill his pockets with sand and walk into the waves." Weaving dark detail into her portrayal of all her characters, Nugent presents a life that is not always glamorous but is very real. A promising first novel; essential for most collections.
Vicki J. Cecil, Hartford City P.L., Ind.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Vicki J. Cecil, Hartford City P.L., Ind.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Have a seat in the parlor.,
By UberBarbie (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Live Girls (Paperback)
I was at a thrift store and took a chance. I read the back of the book and I must admit, the anorexic drag queen lured me in.I bought this book for way under a dollar and it has been the best change I have ever spent. This book is highly entertaining. The descriptions that Beth Nugent uses are so sad and dark and beautiful. These descriptions haunt and delight me. Grotesque and gorgeous. This book touched me in so many ways. I found myself in a lot of the characters, from Catherine to Jerome. Live Girls does paint a depressing picture but don't let that throw you off of this book. There is so much more. This book is like reading a diary. We learn so much about Catherine's psyche. I keep letters I find in the street and pictures I find at thrift stores. I sit and think of these people's lives. I even carry a man's drivers license I found on my way home one day in my purse. I love to learn about people and although Catherine isn't real, I've had a wonderful time learning about her. The characters are very real and you do feel sorry for them. Read this book with an open mind. Beth Nugent is an excellent writer and I look forward to all of her books. Take a chance and read this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nugent is a subtle, powerful writer!,
By m.j.hyland (Melboure, Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Live Girls (Paperback)
Live Girls is a novel suffused with an unforgettable atmosphere; the world it conjures can't easily be forgotten. Anybody who cares about the craft of writing (particularly aspiring writers), should read this book to learn how much can be done with a first person, intimate narrative, without 'writerly' showing off or horrible sentimentality. Yes, it's dark and creepy, but people who criticise the book on this basis seem to miss the point completely. I wish Nugent would write another book. Is there another book I don't know about?
5.0 out of 5 stars
An eerie, isolated world,
By A Customer
This review is from: Live Girls (Hardcover)
This is one of the most exciting novels I've read in a few years - even better perhaps than Nugent's 'City of Boys' collection. In this book, Beth Nugent has created an atmosphere, a slightly surreal world of her own that reflects but is at right angles to this one. Her characters live isolated impenetrable lives, unable to communicate or make real contact with others. Perhaps the eerie quality of the prose and the unexplained nature of Catherine's (the narrator) motivations have led some people to call the book pointless or depressing (more a personal reaction than than a valid criticism), but that is to misunderstand the atmosphere she creates, the humour she manages to inject into the story, and the way the book is just so readable.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
