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Narrow Rooms [Import] [Hardcover]

James Purdy (Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews) |

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$28.82

Product Details

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Black Sheep Books (1980)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0906538602
ISBN-13: 978-0906538609
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's James Purdy Page

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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews

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

Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars gay american "wuthering heights", November 3, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Gay Modern Classics Series) (Paperback)

a beautifully written story of love and hate going to the extremes which resembles "wuthering heights" in more than one respect; semi-articulate passion in a deserted land bordering on madness and advancing slowly into a near intolerable showdown. it's amazing with which composure Purdy manages to tell this pitch black "romantic tale"; never corny, never embarassing, a perfectly clear, simple plot and language. Highly recommended (for everybody by the way, gay or not gay)

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12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully dark, a brilliant articulation of desire & power, June 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Gay Modern Classics Series) (Paperback)

Purdy is poetic in his descriptions of some of our darker places. I've never read anyone write about pain, pleasure, desire, hate with such beaut

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange, wonderful, and erotic, February 22, 2009

P. Theroux "yuppie perfectionist" (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Narrow Rooms (Paperback)

This is my favorite Purdy book. It is one of the most original novels ever written - straightforward, brilliant, and weirdly kinky. I had the pleasure of telling Purdy so in person. He is a charming and kindly old fellow and I think he still lives in Brooklyn.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Purdy's Books: The Emperor's Clothes
I just don't get Purdy. And believe me, I have tried since 1977 when I read "Jeremy's Version." The prose was unusual, but became boring. Read more

Published on February 3, 2009 by RareRare

3.0 out of 5 stars Grim, loopy, interesting
While it is both beautifully and repetitively descriptive of desire and power, I found Narrow Rooms to have a stony quality (in several senses of the word stony). Read more

Published on May 21, 2008 by G. W. Cable

1.0 out of 5 stars love james purdy's other books. hated this one.
james purdy is one of my favorite authors. his inventive storytelling and fantastic prose have always worked wonders on me. sad to say, i really really hated this book. Read more

Published on February 9, 2007 by fluffy, the human being.

› See all 6 customer reviews...

Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
Vance De Lakes waited an interminable while in Dr. Ulric's office. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Roy Sturtevant, Sidney De Lakes, Irene Vaisey, Gareth Vaisey, Bent Ridge Tavern, Doc Ulric, Ruthanna Elder, Charles Ulric, Jesse Ference, Mountain State

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 5 books:

Eustace Chisholm and the Works by James Purdy in Front Matter
In a Shallow Grave by James Purdy in Front Matter
The House of the Solitary Maggot by James Purdy in Front Matter
Color of Darkness: Eleven Stories and a Novella by Anon in Front Matter
Cabot Wright Begins by James Purdy in Front Matter

8 books cite this book:

Jeremy's Version by James Purdy in Front Matter
Rainbow County and Other Stories by Jack Fritscher on page 228
Titanic: Forbidden Stories Hollywood Forgot and Other Gay Canon Stories of Gay History, Queer Culture, Leather, Bearotica, and Gay Studies, with an Erotic Screenplay by Jack Fritscher in Back Matter
American Literature In Belgium.(Costerus NS 66) (Costerus New Series) by Gilbert Debusscher on page 149
Writing of America: Literature and Cultural Identity from the Puritans to the Present (Cultural History of Literature) by Geoff Ward on page 162

See all 8 books citing this book

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