In his highly acclaimed 11th novel, Crews has written a wild, weird black comedy that takes place over one weekend during a women's bodybuilding competition. A secretary has found a new life as a champion bodybuilding contender, but her turns things upside down with their redneck antics.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Female bodybuilding competition is the background for a tale of ambition, success, and failure. Shereel Dupont, a leading contender, has been trained to a fine-tuned perfection by Russell Morgan. At the Ms. Cosmos contest Shereel is confronted by her past as Dorothy Turnipseed--mother, father, sister, two brothers, and a former lover from the backwoods of Georgia. Bawdy humor is generated by the Turnipseed family, and conflict is supplied by Marvella, a big black woman who is Shereel's only real competition. The interplay among the leading characters is propelled with lean prose and dialog to an ending that is as shocking as it is inevitable. Not as powerful or controlled as the author's A Feast of Snakes ( Atheneum, 1987. pap.) or as surrealistic and fascinating as The Knockout Artist (LJ 4/15/88), this is still a taut, readable book that the author's fans will savor. First serial, Playboy . -- Robert H. Dona hugh, formerly with Youngstown & Ma honing Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
bizarre page-turner,
By Chapulina R (Tovarischi Imports, USA/RUS) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Body (Hardcover)
A strange dark comedy, "Body" is the story of a small-town Southern hick transformed into a bodybuilding superstar. "Shereel Dupont" is everything Dorothy Turnipseed was not -- sophisticated, admired, perfect. But although she could mold her physique, unfortunately she could never change her pedigree. And when the Clampet-esque Turnipseeds show up at the Ms. Cosmos contest to root for their hometown gal, all hillbilly hell breaks loose. The bizarre characters in this novel are remniscent of the wacky creations of Carl Haaison, yet they bear a disturbingly creepy familiarity to real people. The narcissistic Shereel, the steroid-monstress Marvella, and the bullying trainers -- every gym rat has met these folks. The eccentric, socially-inept kinfolk, an embarrassing reminder of a former forgotten life... And the brooding redneck boyfriend whose violent Vietnam past is constantly on the verge of eruption... Thanks to Crews' absolutely brilliant writing, these characters are real and their antics believable. I couldn't put this book down. The fastpaced plot careens wildly and often uproariously toward an unexpected, twisted climax. "Body" is out of print, as are many of Harry Crews' works -- a shame really. He is a truly unique author.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Just OK,
By Luciole "Traduttore" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: BODY: A Novel (Paperback)
I'm divided as to whether the characters, who feel caricatured, are overdone and outsized, or whether I just haven't spent enough time in the South to see the truth behind the types, something to which Crews certainly has more claim. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt however, this novel-whether because of the aura of caricature in whole or in part-just doesn't have the same believability as The Knockout Artist. Things just as dangerous and outrageous happen in both books, but The Knockout Artist plays it cool, almost underhanded, without scene after scene of someone impotently fuming or otherwise blowing his top. The style is still knocked-off, rough-hewn; in Knockout Artist it approached the genuinely terse. Whereas that book generated genuine fear and creepiness, this one merely seems grotesque and hysterical.
That said, I really warmed to the characters halfway through the book. I'm a sucker for moments of genuine tenderness in unexpected places, be it teacher-student, parent-child, or between rivals. The ending, played almost entirely for shock value, manages to be surprising but unsatisfying, insufficiently supported either by tone or character development. Perhaps more time might have been spent on Nail and Shereel, and less on the burlesque between Billy Bat and Earline. All in all, a breeze of a book when you're tired, and not up to more complex syntax. Good for late night, or recovery from a cold, even very early morning commute.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful and Funny Novel,
By Alan Chadwick Radford "spookyfresh69" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Body (Hardcover)
This is a really fun novel to read. It is a tragicomedy about a female bodybuilder who is competing in a major bodybuilding contest and has completely re-invented herself from a redneck to a hard as nails bodybuilder. Unfortunately her redneck family shows up and this threatens to destroy her image and her chances of winning the contest. And they are a bunch of nutcases indeed. Its a really great novel that is funny throughout yet does end tragically. It also touches on the issue of female bodybuilding direction and struggle of whether the women need to pump themselves full of steroids and get as big and muscular as possible or whether they should stay drug free and stay more feminine looking. It is a real struggle for female bodybuilders today and its great that the book does touch on that issue.
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