Customer Reviews

The Crow : The Lazarus Heart

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First, let us establish that through the movies I never got overly attatched to the Crow series. I thought the movies were ok, but not great; not to mention that the sequel appeared to be a regurgitation of the original plot. But since Poppy Z. Brite is one of my absolute favorite writers, I had to give this book a chance (and even sprung for the nice $50 edition--this is how sure I am of Brite's writing.) This novel holds up to all of Brite's previous novel-length work, and quite possibly exceeds it. The characters are amazingly developed--but aren't they always--and for once one of her major characters is a woman! Ok, so she used to be a man, but the point is that she's strayed from the teenage gay mail a little. Brite also expands on the Crow mythos, and writes a powerful story. The main antagonist is the complete embodiment of hate and bigotry, and the hero's purposes are genuine and satisfyingly revengeful. I recommend this book for anyone who loves good horror, but I warn you that Brite is a very dark writer when it comes to her horror. Her fiction makes the works of Steven King look as cozy as a Charles Dickens novel.

Enjoy!

The was the first book I read by Poppy Z. Brite, and I do not regret it one bit. I recognized the name, but the main reason I bought it was that it was a The Crow novel that didnt cost 13-20 bucks.
Brite's dark style of writing and chracterization was great. She went a little away from the Crow mythos, but did a great job none the less. I love all of her referances to Edgar Allen Poe and the main charater's (a crow and RAVEN are relatives)were interesting. But going away from The Crow mythos was probably her only flaw.
This inspired me to test her other stuff out, so I read Lost Souls, which was really great. I would definately suggest this one.

The problem with the concept of these CROW novels that are going to be coming out is that the mythos has been so prevalent through comics and movies that the original motive of the idea has been so watered down, it would seem to lose its impact in each succeeding volume. That is the biggest obstacle to the writers who accept this challenge.

Poppy Z. Brite meets and supersedes all of these problems and actually flourishes under the tight reins she was given as guidelines for using this licensed character.

Ms. Brite puts The Crow in her familiar, if alluring, New Orleans with Jared Poe, a photographer based a bit on Robert Mapplethorpe, an artist who is pushing the envelope of kinky. At one of his shows, he meets Benjamin and his transsexual twin, Lucrece. They make a fearsome threesome...until somebody murders one of them, another is found guilty of that murder and dies on Death Row and the other, with her guilt/grief, calls back the "innocent" Death Rower to reek revenge on all of those responsible.

The writing is poetic, the story captivating and Lucrece is Brite's first true "female" star (if you don't count Courtney Love) to evolve into a serious character. No gore is spared when needed and Poppy has mastered the art of moving from present to past through flashback scenes that are so real, I actually had to stop reading at work for a while because NOTHING was getting done!

Ms. Brite has accomplished something only a few gifted writers can; using a limiting character and mythology that's been so overexposed it seems to cry out for monotony, and just kick its butt to make it your own unique and lasting own.

Most Highest Recommendation! END

I love Poppy Z. Brite. I think she is a wonderfully descriptive writer. With that said, I must say that I was once again pleased with The Lazarus Heart. To those unfamilar with Brites writing I must say that she is a strong female author that plays with the concepts of both erotic literature and dark horror fiction. If you are a person in the market for this type of book I recommend her with out hesitation. If you are not then be warned. Her writing in this book is delightful. In this novel she takes the concept of The Crow series and puts her familar Poppy twist on it. The characters are complex and facinating. The story is macabe and expertly written. I found myself so caught up in the story I read it in one sitting. The Lazarus Heart is a story of a serial killer, death, transgender underground, sex, and above all New Orleans. It is a great read. I especially recommend to people who have visited, lived, or wish to go to New Orleans. Like I previously stated I am a huge Brite fan. I recommend all her books.

As a fan of both Poppy and The Crow, I was thrilled to see this book was available. But while "The Lazarus Heart" is a quick, rather twisted fun read, it lacks depth. It started out with much dark promise...the fascinating triumverate of Jarred Poe and the twins (no one does more mystifying twins than Poppy) you embrace immediately, even if they are a bit weird. Present are the brilliant metaphors I've come to expect from Poppy from the days of "Swamp Foetus". Present is her sensory touch of "putting you there." This time in New Orleans. But she failed in letting us "know" the characters once we got attached to them. To me the gore overshadowed the character development. And sadly, the treatment of the Crow mythos under her deft hand could have been elaborated on in more detail. It's only because it's Poppy that we come to expect so much. She set the standards for herself with her short stories, "Lost Souls" and "Drawing Blood." No one writes about the goth subculture with such knowledge. I hope that whatever constraints led to the lack in "The Lazarus Heart" (deadlines, publisher's critera?) don't hold her back in her next effort.

I must admit before you read this that I have been a HUGE Poppy Brite fan since reading "Lost Souls". I was, however, not really familiar "The Crow" beyond the limited notion that it came - I believe - from a comic book format; that Brandon Lee was killed during the making of a mediocre movie; and that a sequel was made with Vincent Perez. I was NOT aware that there was a series of books until I read an interview with PZB in which she stated she was writing a "Crow" book. In that interview, she JOKINGLY said that she was writing it cause - paraphrasing - they were paying her a boat load of money. That made me apprehensive about its quality. That apprehension was unwarranted. Brite has created in this book another boat load of memorable characters who find themselves at the mercy of their circumstances. What Brite manages to do in her novels (and in this one as well) is create people who - even though they may be very different from the reader - resonate love, desire, pain, dreams, and fears with which anyone can empathize. Her protagonists, while dark and flawed, are all - at heart - wonderful examples of literary Innocents. And her "villians" are terrifying because you know that they are not that far removed from the reality of the world. What I appreciate greatly about this book (and PZB's others) is that she does not spoon feed us as to why the "bad guys" have done what they've done. She gives us enough "explination" that we walk away satisfied AND permitted to extrapolate the motivations for ourselves. Brite also does not feel it necessary to give us a happy ending. Refreshing. All this is all wrapped up in a dark, scary, inviting and seductive package created by her understanding of the human condition. We are all different, Brite knows, but not that different. So, will "The Crow: Lazarus Heart" make me run out and buy every "Crow" book on the market? Nope. It simply will make me wait with great anticipation! for Poppy Brite's next work of fiction...one which I hope comes quickly.

The Crow was originally an incredible story that Poppy Z Brite not only writes with the same intensity and anger as the original but adds a more current theme. Hatred for gay men. Not only does this bring a different edge to the story but makes the triumphs of the crow character that much more thrilling. The gore is a little too much it takes a little bit away from the love story. You can almost feel the love between the main character and the dead lover. It's a beautiful story of love torn apart by hate and the revenge that follows.

I am from Louisiana and this book goes into all the details of New Orleans and it's dark side. It feels like you are right beside Jared, feeling and seeing everything that he is doing and feeling. Though I didn't purchase this book of of amazon.com, I still much enjoyed this book and I do recommend this book to anyone. I hope in the near future to buy of Poppy Brite's novel to add to my collections.

I'm not too familiar with The Crow. I had seen the first movie a few years back but I didn't really remember much about it other than thinking that it was ok. Being the huge Poppy Z. Brite fan that I am I, of course, had to read this book. I was a bit disappointed by it though. Poppy's writing style is as wonderfully descriptive as ever but the plot was very inconsistent.

I felt that the main character, Jared, wasn't given nearly enough character development needed to make me care about him. I would have loved to hear more about his past with the twins. Another character, Frank, had great character development but he barely figured into the rest of the book. The killer could have used more character development as well. If we had learned more about what drives him, like with Jay and Andrew in Poppy's previous novel Exquisite Corpse, it would have made the main plot a lot more interesting.

All in all, I found the main plot of the book to be pretty dull but a few of the back stories made this book wort reading. My favorite part was the chapter when we were introduced to Frank. I found the events that happened with him and his ex partner to be particularly memorable. I was really disappointed that he wasn't in the book more. I also enjoyed the back story of the twins. That would have made a terrific short story.

I'd recommend this book to hardcore fans of Poppy and/or The Crow but if you are looking to get into Poppy's writing, I suggest you start with Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, or one of her short story collections if you are a fan of short stories.

::smiles:: I have just finished "The Crow:The Lazarus Heart" about 15 minutes ago and i wish i hadnt! this book is so good.. this is the first Poppy Z Brite book i ever read.. and it was great.. the unusual mix of the dark settings of new orleans and the surreality of the crow really grips your attention. The main character Jared Poe is so realistic.. this book is really twisted due to all the trannsexuals and homosexuals.. which are very rare components in books these days! Poppy.. if you are reading this i just wanna say.. thank you for making such a good book! and i am gonna read your others!.. the only downfall is that its only about 350 pages.. which is only about 2 days of reading for me.. .::sighs:: well.. everyone out there take my advice and get this book! :)