Frisk [Hardcover]

Dennis Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1992

An exploration of the fine dividing line between desire, pornography and violence, this is a novel both about the macabre temptations of taboo and the power of fantasy and faith. Dennis Cooper has also written "Closer" and several volumes of poetry, including "The Tenderness of the Wolves".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Cooper says, "I present the actual act of evil so it's visible and give it a bunch of facets so that you can actually look at it and experience it. You're seduced into dealing with it. ... So with Frisk, whatever pleasure you got out of making a picture in your mind based on ... those people being murdered, you take responsibility for it." In unsparingly confessional mode, Cooper leads the reader into a confrontation with what they get out of fantasized scenes of violence. A brilliant novel -- not a genre horror work but, rather, a critique of the power of genre. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Cooper has produced edgy works of fiction ( Safe ; Closer ), but this novel is his most disturbing. The narrator of this study in brutal sexuality and psychosis is an emotionally detached, intelligent man named Dennis. Cooper traces key episodes in Dennis's life over two decades, following his interest in gay pornography. In the '70s, Dennis and his lover, Julian, engage in three-way sexual encounters with strangers. One of their partners is a drugged-up young man who turns out to be the model in faked snuff photos Dennis discovered as a teen. When Julian accidentally knocks the youth's head against a table, the incident triggers in Dennis an ongoing obsession--the perverse imagining of murdering anonymous lovers after sex. Cooper immerses us in Dennis's conflicting thoughts, which he articulates with frightening lucidity. The book is drenched in homoerotic desires of several varieties, from Dennis' fascination with Julian's psychologically disturbed younger brother to his intellectualized encounters with Pierre, a hustler who listens as Dennis airs his murderous thoughts. After Dennis takes off for Amsterdam, he writes Julian a detailed account of his erotic killing spree, but with a surprise twist. Horrific as these passages are, they testify to Cooper's exceptional boldness.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail; 5th edition (June 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852422785
• ISBN-13: 978-1852422783
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,802,720 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chewy, December 30, 2001

By 

"blissengine" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frisk: A Novel (Cooper, Dennis) (Paperback)

Clinging to his memories of fake snuff photographs, the mysterious narrator named Dennis explores the dangers and taboos of sexuality. Finally, in Holland, he finds himself free of restrictions and is able to act upon his dark fantasies. A fascinating tale of fetishes and deep desires that disturbs as it compells the reader onward. While not as lush as Poppy Brite's "Exquisite Corpse" or as satirical as Ellis's "American Psycho", "Frisk" charts its own course along similar territory, coming up with a new revelation. And I have to agree that Cooper's writing style can easily put off readers, and I found "Frisk" to be the most readable of his books I've read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart., November 3, 1997

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frisk: A Novel (Cooper, Dennis) (Paperback)

This is Dennis cooper's breakthrough novel, which got him both praise and death threats. The narrator, "Dennis", is obsessed with the connection between sex and death, desire and annihilation. As you read his story, he implicates you in indulging him his fantasy, but he also loves you for listening to him. Don't put it down when it starts to repulse you, because so much is waiting for you at the end.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, gruesome, beautiful words: a true American Psycho., May 1, 2000

By 

Shane C. Desmond - See all my reviews

This review is from: Frisk: A Novel (Cooper, Dennis) (Paperback)

This is one of those rare novels that can fully restore your faith in the written word as a truly higher artform, while simultaneously destroying your faith in humanity. Alternately grisly and utterly fascinating, Cooper's Frisk will take you through a devastating landscape of psychological and sexual depravity, bring you right to the point of absolute empathy, and then save you with a loving reality slap. A truly marvelous work, but certainly not for everyone.