Customer Reviews

The Exquisite Corpse

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Read the first 100 pages through in one shot and am enjoying it immensely. That book has been on my must-read list for many years, but I was never able to find a copy. I mainly wanted to read it because of its cultural/historical relevance, having also read everything by Bowles (both Jane and Paul) and Burroughs, etc. But Chester's writing is exceeding my expectations in a big way. Part of his problem might have been that he was just way ahead of his time.

I'm so happy to see this book reissued. Alfred Chester is one of the most unappreciated and underrated writers of the twentieth century. At his best, Chester is up there with the best. Like much of his other writing, "The Exquisite Corpse" is filled with startling images and strange and unforgettable characters. His weird and wonderful voice is an inspiration. Chester was able to look unflinchingly at his own unhappy life (and mental illness) and use it to spin literary gold. He captures pain, loneliness, and sexual confusion on a page like few writers. Any serious writer should read him for his mastery of language and word play. Any serious reader should read him for sheer enjoyment.

I've read three books called Exquisite Corpse and they have all been excellent. This one was a little wierd and slightly hard to follow but it was an incredibly creative yet somehow realistic portrayal of the life some of the less fortunate in fates tend to lead. I intend to read every book called Exquisite Corpse that I can find.

Weaving the variegated stories of a cast of characters, "The Exquisite Corpse" is a surreal tale of loneliness that paints vivid episodes, but doesn't seem to give a sense of wholeness, of completion to its tapestry. It's a bit like the energetic style of William Burroughs, but without the cohesion (for lack of a better term) his books contain. Yes, "The Exquisite Corpse" is quite fascinating and compels the reader on, but by the final page, the reader watches as the story flits away without leaving any imprint in the reader's mind. The novel is #78 of the 100 Best Gay and Lesbian Novels.

At the April 2008 meeting of the NYC LGBT Center book discussion group, we had a very nice sized group of men and women to discuss "The Exquisite Corpse" by Alfred Chester.

On the surface, this sounded like this might be a challenging but interesting book (a la Barnes' "Nightwood"). But I think that nobody liked this book and a couple of readers hated it a lot.

The characters change name and gender between chapters, and the story is told non-sequentially. Maybe.

It is a surrealist novel and one reader probably had the right idea when he said "After 100 pages, I just read it and didn't think about it - like a Bob Dylan song. I sort of enjoyed it, but I didn't try to make much sense of it." Another reader pointed out that Chester was a brilliant critic and much in demand. He almost single-handedly derailed John Rechy's early career.

But he worked on this novel for years - and we just didn't get it. One reader pointed out that some of the individual scenes were very cinematic, extremely powerful and moving, but they didn't come together to amount to much.

This book gets our lowest rating for appropriateness for gay reading groups. No stars. For academics only.