Are You Loathsome Tonight?: A Collection of Short Stories [Paperback]

Poppy Z. Brite (Author), Peter Straub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2000

This collection by Poppy Z. Brite, author of "Exquisite Corpse" and "Love in Vein," among others, features anew story, "Monday's Special." Poppy contributed story notes as well as the Preface.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this second collection of Poppy's short fiction, she shows that her ability to maintain a high quality of characterization and story telling in a short mode as well. These stories are from small press and large from the last few years and are full of what you have come to expect. Steve and Ghost return in one about "America", Zach and Trevor from DRAWING BLOOD are back in "Vine of the Soul", and others include Elvis, Mussolini, New Orleans only serial killer - The Axeman, and possibly my favorite of the bunch - "King of the Cats" with David Ferguson. This is a well made and designed book with illustrations by J.K. Potter. It is also another volume of Poppy's stories to get under your skin and get you thinking about how dark fiction can be. Read this one with the lights on. - Baryon 72 --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Gauntlet Press (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887368256
• ISBN-13: 978-1887368254
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm the author of eight novels, three short story collections, two nonfiction books, and some miscellanea. My earlier books -- LOST SOULS, DRAWING BLOOD, WORMWOOD, EXQUISITE CORPSE, THE LAZARUS HEART, ARE YOU LOATHSOME TONIGHT? (a.k.a. SELF-MADE MAN) -- tend toward the twisted, horrific, and frequently erotic. I still have a definite interest in this sort of thing, but my writing doesn't reflect it as much these days. My recent books -- THE VALUE OF X, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, LIQUOR, PRIME, and the forthcoming SOUL KITCHEN -- all have to do (in varying degrees) with a couple of young New Orleans chefs named Rickey and G-man, their families, and their restaurant, Liquor. I've been married to a chef for 16 years now and he's still bringing me new stories. We lost our home in Hurricane Katrina, but we are back in New Orleans and doing our best to help rebuild the city. I'll note new books, anthology appearances and such here, but to read my day-to-day blog, please visit http://docbrite.livejournal.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poppy Z. A master of purple proze!, March 25, 2000

By 

andrew mac dougall (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Are You Loathsome Tonight?: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

I've been waiting for the soft cover edition forever and after buying it i finally sat down and devoured the contents spellbound, Even though every novel of Miss. Brite is a masterpiece, her true strenth lays in the form she cut her teeth on. The short story. Every story is a beautifull gem,a self contained work that i find different, more literate, more culturaly aware than every other dark fantasy/horror writer out there, The storys here are newer than the ones in her other collection (wormwood, most of it's storys written in the 80's) so these reflect her newer interests along with her old (voodoo,serial killers, asian culture,gothic/deather trappings, the american south)all told in a poetic, purple, lirical voice, buy imediatly!

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everything I expect from a Poppy Z. Brite collection, June 4, 2000

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Are You Loathsome Tonight?: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

"Are You Loathsome Tonight?" is a little pricey for such a small volume (185 pages) but as a big fan of Poppy Z. Brite's work I felt it was worth splurging on. Why? Because I got a quickie update on two of my favorite lovers, Trevor and Zach from "Drawing Blood" who, as she puts it, are still in "happy, disgusting, perfect love" - that short story alone was worth the cost of the book for me. Other highlights were "King of the Cats" a sweet, kinky, imaginative retelling of the fairytale "The Poor Miller's Apprentice and the Cat", "Self-Made Man" is another favorite because I can't seem to resist a good graphic zombie/cannibalistic tale, and "Saved" was another stand-out that is both violently erotic and terribly sad. If you've never read Poppy Z. Brite you might want to start out with "Drawing Blood" or "Lost Souls" before you delve into this collection.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are You Loathesome Tonight? "Yes...", August 26, 2000

By 

Josh Hitchens (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Are You Loathsome Tonight?: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

I finally picked up Poppy Z. Brite's latest short story collection. The book cover looks so cheap it is a blasphemy to the literary gold that's inside. These stories mark a new direction for Poppy Z. Brite, with her exploring historical fiction and including people such as Elvis. Some of the stories are so short that you wonder, "Is that it?" But there are still some good points. "Vine of the Soul" features an update on Trevor and Zach from DRAWING BLOOD, and "America" is a ditty about Poppy's favorite characters, Steve and Ghost from LOST SOULS. I have to say that my favorite was "Monday's Special," in which Poppy Z. Brite has become a coroner who specializes in weird corpses. "Self Made Man" is also a standout, a horrific tale about a serial killer a la Jeffrey Dahmer whose victims' bodies come to life and eat him. We get such terrifying images of a corpse arising from a bathtub and a severed head rolling around in a refrigerator. "Entertaining Mr. Orton" is very high caliber, if a tad bit all over the place. "King of the Cats" is wonderfully offbeat and has a Grimm's Fairy Tale feel to it. There is one horrible story, and it is "Are You Loathesome Tonight." Elvis does not belong in the nightmarish landscape of Poppy Z. Brite, I'm sorry.

"Are You Loathesome Tonight" is okay, but as a hardcore Poppy Z. Brite fan, I pray every night that she will write another novel.