Kinky [Paperback]

Denise Duhamel (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

I'd buy this book just for the cover, but the poems are even twice as wonderful. Denise Duhamel has apparently obsessed for months about the Barbie doll phenomenon: all the poems have to do with the "what if " of Barbie attempting to fit into the real world. For example, what if Barbie were codependent? What if Barbie were in therapy? What if she were a religious fanatic? Do you know why Barbie and Ken don't dress in underwear? Why Barbie joined a 12 Step Program? How can you sleep nights without delving into the mysteries of this pop culture darling with the plastic eyelashes?

Product Details

• Paperback: 90 pages
• Publisher: Orchises Pr; 1997 edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914061615
• ISBN-13: 978-0914061618
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms Duhamel not only deconstucts Barbie but all America, May 17, 1999

By 

Howard F. Mandel (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kinky (Paperback)

First off this is one of the funniest books of serious petry ever written. Second, using Barbie to show all the hypocracy and flaws in our culture and society works wonderfully. Third the empathy the poems show for those of us, for whatever reason, don't fit the Barbie and Ken mode is truly touching.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a STITCH!, May 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Kinky (Paperback)

I've read all of Denise Duhamel's collections of poetry. _Kinky_ is the funniest, most focussed, most controlled, least self-absorbed, most accomplished of them all. I've given it to friends and shared it with my family, and we all absolutely love it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kinky is an excellent, lively collection of poems, November 10, 1997

By 

Matthew T. Mason (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kinky (Paperback)

An entire book of poems about Barbie dolls? You bet, and you bet it's good. Duhamel approaches these overly-proportioned pieces of plastic with a mixture of childhood enjoyment and deep cynicism which will wash you away with both the humor and the tragedy you didn't know were there. This book is fantastic, it's poetry that's not just alive, it's brighter than a pink taffeta ball gown.