Nihilesthete [Paperback]

Richard Kalich (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Only when something is dead can we possess it. Only when it's dead can we really control it." Haberman is a social worker in Harlem. It's an appalling job with brutal paperwork, a nit-picking boss, and clients whose lives are relentlessly depressing. He is deeply entrenched in his resentment of anyone who aspires to be something more, who creates and gives and believes in life. Then one day he meets his destiny: a limbless, mentally deficient man named Brodski who appears to have a spark of appreciation for art. A relationship begins, an emotionally intimate relationship in which Haberman travels out to the borders of his sanity and beyond, and Brodski desperately grows and changes and reaches for Beauty--all without words, in a bleak endgame that Samuel Beckett might've imagined. "The Nihilesthete speaks with a singular honesty, power and eloquence about our spiritually diminished modern world," wrote the Mid-American Review. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In this suffocatingly gloomy first novel, Haberman, a social caseworker based in Harlem, morbidly attaches himself to one of his wards: Brodski, a hideously deformed quadriplegic whose speech consists of garbled sounds. Somehow Haberman, a man in his mid-50s who once may have entertained the notion of becoming an artist, senses that Brodski is an incipient painter and makes it the mission of his desolate life to help the quadriplegic realize his ambition. Equipped with all sorts of prosthetic devices, Brodski paints magnificentlyin the style, we are solemnly informed, of abstract expressionism, or primitive minimalism, where "less is more." But despite his initial good will, Haberman is driven by malign jealousy to deprive his protege of everything that makes life bearable. This parable of art and the forces that seek to destroy it is so static and literal minded that the reader is not so much harrowed as oppressed by its grim story.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579620795
• ISBN-13: 978-1579620790
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,754,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars plumb the depths of sadistic insanity, July 21, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Nihilesthete (Paperback)

In _Nihilesthete_ by Richard Kalich, a sadistic caseworker in Harlem finds the perfect victim - a limbless, mentally-deficient man who can only communicate by mewing like a cat.

The caseworker, who delights in raising people's spirits then dashing them to pieces, learns that his victim is a lover of beauty. One cannot help but be caught up in a sense of doom while watching the caseworker elevate his victim's soul to seemingly impossible heights, all the while knowing that the final outcome will be cruel and heartrending.

The caseworker's descending spiral into insanity is an intense counterpoint to his victim's increasing triumph over the cruelty he experiences. Disturbing, yes... dark, yes... but highly recommended for cutting-edge fiction fans who enjoy peering into the depths that a person's soul can reach.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unique, September 5, 2007

By 

Henry W. Wagner (Rockaway, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nihilesthete (Paperback)

The Nihilesthete is the journal of Robert Haberman, New York City social worker, unrepentant sadist, and connoisseur of pain. Walking home from the subway one evening, Haberman encounters a limbless, mentally deficient man in a wheelchair. The man, named Brodski, is a dream come true for Haberman--the perfect victim.

Fate throws them together when Haberman is assigned as Brodski's case worker. Haberman insinuates himself between Brodski and Mrs. Rivera, a kindly woman who has cared for the handicapped man throughout his life. Haberman introduces Brodski (who can communicate only with sounds similar to a cat's meow) to a new life, exposing him to art and the beauty of the outside world. Haberman becomes the center of Brodski's existence, a virtual god. He revels in his power, anticipating Brodski's inevitable fall.

Haberman eventually gains custody of Brodski, thus acquiring the power to indulge his fantasies. He slowly deprives his victim of everything he cherishes, taking back all the gifts he has given. He designs tortures to break Brodski's will, subjecting him to constant humiliation and pain. Brodski, however, never loses his dignity. As Haberman steps up his efforts to break him, Brodski gains strength, and the two become embroiled in a battle of wills where the outcome is anything but certain.

The Nihilesthete is unique, a welcome antidote to the slew of vampire novels and idiotic theme anthologies which crowd bookstore shelves. Kalich's dark, disturbing vision is grotesque, but strangely fascinating--you'll feel more like a voyeur than a reader. Like Tim Lucas' Throat Sprockets, The Nihilesthete will shock and unnerve readers, but who, after all, reads horror for its soothing effect?

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow., May 3, 2007

By 

Susan Hickey "Singed Cat" (Atlanta GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Nihilesthete (Paperback)

Yes this story involves the dark & creepy extreme of human nature, and a machinistic, sytematic dismantling of a helpless person, but it's *about* the victim and a triumph over the title character so complete that it makes the denoument of a Stephen King novel look facile & tame.