Product Description

Lyric and tender one moment, cruel and dizzying the next, The Exquisite Corpse neither celebrates perversity nor laments it; rather it projects it as part of man's never-ending search for a true self and for transcendent communion with others.

In forty-nine brief, highly cinematic chapters, we meet a series of twisted but sincere searches Tomtom Jim and his naked, hungry family; Mary Poorpoor and her utterly "otherly" baby; angry John Doe and his sex slave, James Madison each in flight from despair. As one surreal episode morphs into the next, these searchers change shape and their journeys change direction; names and identities come and go, storylines collide, and desires intertwine, all with the lightning-quick illogic of a dream. The result is a tragicomic tour de force, an upside-down roadmap to everyone's inner Sodom, a perversely moral (and morally perverse) masterpiece by a modern-day Marquis de Sade.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #622802 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 263 pages

Review
Sometimes brutal and hilariously waspish, but always humane. --Sam Jordison, Guardian Unlimited (UK)

About the Author
Alfred Chester was, in the words of Gore Vidal, "a glorious writer, tough as nails." His other books include The Exquisite Corpse (Black Sparrow Books, 2004), Head of a Sad Angel (stories, 1990), and Looking for Genet (essays, 1992). Born in Brooklyn in 1928, he died in Tel Aviv in 1971.

Customer Reviews

Exquisite Writing: Chester's weird and wonderful voice
I'm so happy to see this book reissued. Alfred Chester is one of the most unappreciated and underrated writers of the twentieth century. At his best, Chester is up there with the best. Like much of his other writing, "The Exquisite Corpse" is filled with startling images and strange and unforgettable characters. His weird and wonderful voice is an inspiration. Chester was able to look unflinchingly at his own unhappy life (and mental illness) and use it to spin literary gold. He captures pain, loneliness, and sexual confusion on a page like few writers. Any serious writer should read him for his mastery of language and word play. Any serious reader should read him for sheer enjoyment.

Must Read
Read the first 100 pages through in one shot and am enjoying it immensely. That book has been on my must-read list for many years, but I was never able to find a copy. I mainly wanted to read it because of its cultural/historical relevance, having also read everything by Bowles (both Jane and Paul) and Burroughs, etc. But Chester's writing is exceeding my expectations in a big way. Part of his problem might have been that he was just way ahead of his time.

Great writing, but..
Weaving the variegated stories of a cast of characters, "The Exquisite Corpse" is a surreal tale of loneliness that paints vivid episodes, but doesn't seem to give a sense of wholeness, of completion to its tapestry. It's a bit like the energetic style of William Burroughs, but without the cohesion (for lack of a better term) his books contain. Yes, "The Exquisite Corpse" is quite fascinating and compels the reader on, but by the final page, the reader watches as the story flits away without leaving any imprint in the reader's mind. The novel is #78 of the 100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels.