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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Blaxploitation" and its discontents,
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This review is from: Erasure: A Novel (Hardcover)
In "Erasure",Percival Everett has written a book within a book and the reader can be excused for feeling he or she has purchased two books in one. Everett is clearly fed up with the current plague of "blaxploitation" novels, badly written by writers with no art and even less craft, whose only purpose is to jump on the "ghetto fab" bandwagon and make a quick buck. His protagonist, Thelonious Ellison (with the name Thelonius, what else could he be called but Monk?), writes literature deemed too obscure (read: too "white") for a black audience and finds his work relegated to dusty corners in the back of the bookstores. Fueling his outrage is a piece of trash literature called "We Lives In Da Ghetto", hailed as an "authentic" voice of the "black experience" by reviewers who lump all blacks as ghetto blacks, which rakes in $3 million. What's a struggling author with bills to pay and a terminally ailing mother to do? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em... better yet, out-do 'em. In no time at all, Monk has banged out the blaxploitation novel to end all blaxploitation novels, a mishmash called "My Pafology" (later renamed a four-letter word I can't print here), under the pseudonym Stagg R. Lee, which not only wins the National Book Award, but also has Hollywood beating his door down for the movie rights. Everett is clearly disgusted both at those whites whose contempt of blacks runs so deep that they take trash "blaxploitation" novels at face value and consider them as representative of "the black experience" (as if there is one single "black experience"), and at those blacks whose lack of self-respect is so deep that they buy into the hype. As a black reader, I share his feelings totally. Everett at times takes himself too seriously and this is the only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars; but he's an enormously talented and promising writer who has the gift of making you think even while he has you laughing out loud. I'm looking forward to his next book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intimidating and wonderful!,
By
This review is from: Erasure: A Novel (Hardcover)
I've recommended this book to about 10 people since finishing it about a week ago. This writer blew my mind and I cannot wait to read his previous titles. Nails the black lit scene to the wall, makes you laugh out loud and throws in enough obscure references to send you running back to college textbooks. A wonderful book from top to bottom.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!,
By David C McGoy (Staten Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Erasure: A Novel (Hardcover)
This book offers perhaps the first great protagonist of the new century. Thelonius "Monk" Ellison, college professor, author of "dense" experimental novels, and recipient of seventeen rejection letters, is forced to leave L.A. and return to his childhood home in D.C. to care for his ailing mother. He parlays his frustrations into "My Pafology", an exploitive novel that represents everything he hates about the publishing industry. The novel, written under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh, catapults him to the forefront of literary scene, causing Monk's wildest dreams and worst nightmares to unfold simultaneously.Using Rinehart (from Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man") as a role model, Monk's pseudonym becomes all too real and comfortable for him. The elusive Stagg is able to show just enough of himself to impress a Random House editor and sell the film rights to his novel for a whopping $3 million. To his shock and horror, Monk now finds "My Pafology" on the short list for the most prestigious book award in the country. The compelling plot takes many interesting turns, addressing themes of race, family, and publishing. A murder, family secrets revealed, and his mother's worsening condition all swirl around as Monk's literary transformation unfolds. He grapples with his creative integrity, but it is hardly a moral dilemma over taking the money. The conflict lies in his extreme sense of isolation, even in his own family, and his level of acceptance at "selling out". While Monk is ultimately able to come to terms with "My Pafology" as his masterpiece, his sense of isolation remains all too real. With multiple layers of satire, "Erasure" takes no prisoners in its assault on the publishing industry and its notions of "African American literature". Percival Everett thumbs his nose at the literary snobs and the commercial hounds alike. Television is also a target for his wrath, as he dedicates several unforgettable scenes to exposing the adverse role it can play in literature and the stereotyping of Black people. Everett masterfully executes this novel-within-novel ("My Pafology" is presented in its entirety, comprising 75 pages of "Erasure"). The result is a multidimensional protagonist interacting on several different levels. There is Monk, a lover of wood, fishing, and intellectual humor; his altar ego Stagg, the pimp-like ex-con-turned writer; there is also Van Go Jenkins, the shuckin-jivin main character of "My Pafology"; and finally, there is the prevailing voice of Everett, threatening to turn the literary world on its ear with his relentless attack. This is not a good book by a Black writer, nor is it a Black book by a good writer; it is a remarkable work of fiction that transcends labels. With his strong intellect and satirical wit, Percival Everett has seemingly resolved his own place in the literary spectrum while providing readers with the best of both worlds. "Erasure" is a compelling and insightful read, and a must study for serious writers.
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