This is the saga of a man's attempt to define himself through acts of pure violence and extreme sensuality. Throughout the novel there are passages of dialogue between the narrator and his mistress which emphasize the sexual nature of their relationship. From the author of "Being There".
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Steps (Kosinski, Jerzy)
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First Sentence
I WAS TRAVELING farther south. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I WAS TRAVELING farther south. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By michelle
Format:Paperback
Some imaginations are almost too much, even for me, and for that, it is impossible for me to give "Steps" a rating higher than two stars.
However, this book did not win the National Book Award on accident.
Kosinski's work is so good, it's almost hypnotic; and, as you read through each dark episode, it seems almost certain that this author weighed each word to produce the exact amount of tension for each scene. The language and structure is poetry, and Kosinski's choice of the erotic and the sexual adds as a certain amount of chaos to his text, enabling him to construct his book without any sense of time. Additionally, by focusing on sex, he chooses a subject that is universal and knows no divisions of class, gender, religion or race. The totalitarian government and the victim, the oppressed and the oppressor, are therefore merged.
What is this book really about? The passage where I think Kosinski best answers this is when he writes, "Many of us could easily visualize ourselves in the act of killing, but few of us could project ourselves into the act of being killed in any manner. We did our best to understand the murder: the murderer was a part of our lives; not so the victim." Could Kosinski have written about this same topic without the bestiality or the rape? Of course. Would it have been as effective? Would you remember it? Probably not.
This book was written to stir up uneasy images. It is meant to disturb you. And I think that in this, at least, it succeeds.
Format:Paperback
This may be a little deviant for you. Perhaps the new Ann Coulter book would be a better choice.
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3.7 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Gratuitous Sex, Bestiality, Sado-masochism, Revenge
These are a few of the themes in "Steps". This book is not a novel, but is a series of dark vignettes which concern themselves with the degradation of men, women,... Read more
Published on Dec 19 2001 by Frank J. Aredia
2.0 out of 5 stars
degradation as entertainment
In 1969, the well-known writer Jerzy Kosinski published a novel, Steps, which won the National
Book Award. Read more
Book Award. Read more
Published on Nov 4 2001 by Orrin C. Judd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Early Kosinski Works Endure
Kosinski's early works, "Steps" and "The Painted Bird" endure inspite of the conspiracy to destroy him. Read more
Published on April 20 2001
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece
Kosinski, or the Kosinski committee or whatever it was (Paul Auster is one of many who claim to have been paid to 'fix up' his early drafts), wrote some psychologically fascinating... Read more
Published on Nov 20 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mesmerizing, boldly honest and brutal masterpiece.
A magnificent achievement! Oddly touching psychology and searing brutality work together to create a portrait of a man who for all mankind represents how multifaceted we can... Read more
Published on Mar 9 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
steps is fractured though distilled
Steps is amazing, spellbinding, and entrancing. the narrator is distanced to such an eextent that the amorality permeates every word. Read more
Published on Mar 24 1998 by Mark Gluth (whiterat@worldnet.att.net)
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