Customer Reviews

Bodies of Work

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Acker is well known for her curious brand of W.S. Burroughsian hypertextual fiction. However, in this essay collection, Acker experiments with the realm of non-fiction and pushes the essay to its limits. Her writing here is just as political, transgressive, and outrageous as it is in her novels. Acker takes on a wide breadth of subject matter including the importance of Peter Greenaway's films and the ideological underpinnings of fairytales. What makes Acker a cut above the rest of the postmoderns known for shock is the same thing that made Burroughs so great, a razor sharp intellect. A must for Acker-ites and a good place to start for those who want a glimpse into the interests that inform Acker's fiction. Bodies of Work is also a useful and concise essay collection for anyone interested in art, politics, and culture in the postmodern frame.

If you aren't familiar with Kathy Acker, I wouldn't recommend this as your introduction to her. If you enjoy Acker's fiction, I wouldn't recommend this book. Acker's fiction is irreverant, fun and thought provoking. This collection of her interviews and academic-style essays, however, just comes across as awkward. There's little to no connection between the essays collected here and Acker herself says in the introduction that she doesn't like this collection.

There are a few essays in this collection that are interesting to look at, but they can be found online for free instead of dealing with everything else in this collection.