Customer Reviews

The Evil Queen: A Pornolexicology

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"(everyone in Hell is a literary critic)" says Mephistopheles in the prologue to The Evil Queen: A Pornolexicology, by Benjamin L. Perez. What are we to make of this statement? Talisman, prayer, abuse? None or all of the above? And then some? For it requires a literary critic - or a reader with the deep knowledge of a critic - to come to terms with this text. The depth and breadth attempted by Perez are fascinating, though the speed at which he moves through his self-proclaimed piece of "transgressive fiction" can be trying. Nonetheless, the text is a significant positive addition to a genre too often inundated with cheap and meaningless prose.

Perez's deep interest in language is reaffirmed with each discrete segment of the text, which progress in a generally linear manner according to the three major parts of the book: the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension and/or Descension. A Glossary completes the text and provides references in four languages, as well as scientific and religious-theoretical terms. In these individual segments, sometimes a fragment, sometimes a few pages long, the Eunuch serves the Evil Queen in every possible capacity, graphically and carefully catalogued by Perez. The formatting of these segments plays an important role in a reading of the text, imposing a pace and rhythm that owes as much to contemporary poetry as it does to hypertext.

With such skill as is displayed in The Evil Queen, and with such a demonstrated love for the theory and practice of language and writing, future work from Perez will be as worthy of notice as his debut. Perez is a bright new talent worth keeping an eye on, and The Evil Queen is a promising achievement.

Wow. This book is a real treat. Poetry just got dangerous again; poetry just got sexier. Or maybe the (sexy and dangerous) novel just got more poetic.It's brilliant to see a writer exploring new space so fearlessly and with such obvious joy. Perez's love and respect for language, legend, and pure storytelling shine through on every page. You've never seen anything like this, no matter what's on your bookshelf. This book blurs the line between poetry, novel, history book, and peep show. You'll laugh, you'll get horny, you'll learn several new words, some of which you may use in mixed company. Perez is truly a cunning linguist.

If you can't find this book on Amazon or Spuyten Duyvil [http://www.spuytenduyvil.net/], then e-mail the book's author at vostu@yahoo.com -- he's got a few dozen extra, signed, which could use a good home. But be warned, this book could give you nightmares . . .