Exquisite Corpse [Import] [Hardcover]

Poppy Z. Brite (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group) (May 1997)
• ISBN-10: 0753800209
• ISBN-13: 978-0753800201
• Shipping Weight: 0.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (174 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I'm the author of eight novels, three short story collections, two nonfiction books, and some miscellanea. My earlier books -- LOST SOULS, DRAWING BLOOD, WORMWOOD, EXQUISITE CORPSE, THE LAZARUS HEART, ARE YOU LOATHSOME TONIGHT? (a.k.a. SELF-MADE MAN) -- tend toward the twisted, horrific, and frequently erotic. I still have a definite interest in this sort of thing, but my writing doesn't reflect it as much these days. My recent books -- THE VALUE OF X, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, LIQUOR, PRIME, and the forthcoming SOUL KITCHEN -- all have to do (in varying degrees) with a couple of young New Orleans chefs named Rickey and G-man, their families, and their restaurant, Liquor. I've been married to a chef for 16 years now and he's still bringing me new stories. We lost our home in Hurricane Katrina, but we are back in New Orleans and doing our best to help rebuild the city. I'll note new books, anthology appearances and such here, but to read my day-to-day blog, please visit http://docbrite.livejournal.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Proceed with extreme caution, May 26, 2000

By 

Cheyenne Lang (San Bruno, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Exquisite Corpse (Paperback)

So you're a Poppy Z. Brite fan? Read Drawing Blood? Read Wormwood? Read Lost Souls? Consider yourself able to handle anything she could possible deal out? Think again. Do not read this book just because you loved her other work, and certainly don't read it if you've never read her other works. There are things in this book that you can never un-read; she makes you feel things you can never forget. Granted, all you hardcore fans out there won't head this warning- I certainly wouldn't have. So do go right ahead, and when you are done you will know what I'm refering to. All of which is not to say that this is not an incredible book- as always, Poppy Z. Brite is the master of descriptions so vivid that they make you feel, smell, or taste her words. And that is what makes this book so profoundly disturbing and so utterly unforgettable.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gross and Intertaining, November 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Exquisite Corpse (Paperback)

The few things I've read by this author in the past have not impressed me -- more splatterpunk than anything else. I was browsing through the mystery section at the book store and stumbled across this (obviously this book was in the wrong place). The back made is sound good, so I decided to read a few pages -- I was hooked! One of the serial killers describes a young man he picked up who had a tatoo across his neck that said "Cut Here" so the serial killer merely had to follow the directions! (this is on the 2nd page!)

The book is extremely gory -- for those of you who have a weak stomach you might want to pass on this one.

AIDS is a theme throughout the book. I found myself thinking how true some of her points were about the amount of research being done to find a cure and the extremes some people might feel like going to so that a cure could be focused on.

This is the best book I have read by this author -- and ranked in my top books I have read. This book is a must read for anyone who is into horror -- but it might spoil you for others...

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mistress of the Macabre creates a disturbing vision, July 16, 2000

By 

Josh Hitchens (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exquisite Corpse (Paperback)

It has been said that Poppy Z. Brite's regular publishers would not accept this book. It's not because of the content, its because of the quality. But before you resolve not to read "Exquisite Corpse," let me finish.

In this novel, the setting is the mid-1980's a time where fear of AIDS was riding high, and people were dying right and left. In this bare, unemotional world, we meet two serial killers. Jay and Andrew murder for the joy of it, reveling in the corpses that they construct. The murders are graphic and gory, the prose clinical and restrained. Fans of Poppy's flowing poetic prose will find a different thing all together this tome around.

"Exquisite Corpse" was written in this way because it suits the mood of the novel. A world where people are dying from a ravishing disease, and embrace death as an escape. Where we are thrust into the minds of murderers of the most sickening sort. A literal hell on earth, this novel is without love, without hope, without any semblance of normalcy.

Poppy took a chance on writing this novel, and I praise her for it. "Exquisite Corpse" is relatively short, which some will think of as a blessing. The ending is too fast and unsatisfying, as if Poppy just got tired of living in the nightmarish world of depression and depravity that she created.

Still, this novel is worth a look for hardcore Poppy fans only. I would read "Lost Souls" and "Drawing Blood" before delving into this book, though.