Customer Reviews

Plainclothes Naked

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book that begs to be put up on the big screen. In fact, I was constantly reminded of Richard Linklater's take on "A Scanner Darkly," visualizing this as a better framework. Not that there's anything wrong with "Scanner," but "Plainclothes" beats it with a rusty razor-studded belt for sheer drug-drenched slapstick. The pages turn like a Jim Thompson potboiler read out loud blindfolded in a scramjet scraping the treetops at full throttle. Jerry Stahl has here sketched out a cartoonish burg riddled with misfits and sex maniacs, as if all the world's twisted psyches gathered for a crazy convention in one small town about the size of 300 pages or so. The words glide along the concourse of your mind in horse-sized slaps. This is the kind of prose that makes you do double-takes; some lines have to be repeated because you can't believe you read them right the first time.

If you've dunked your eyeballs into Stahl's earlier "Perv: A Love Story," you're no stranger to his brand of verbal assault, scenarios that no God-fearing person could read straight through without feeling that spine-scorching flash of guilt. However, while "Perv" was like a more demented version of Disney's "Small World" boat ride, populated by child rapists, deformed bullies and schizophrenic daredevils, "Plainclothes" is a sort of angel dust-flaked detective pulp novel with tongue firmly wagging through hole in cheek. The impetus of the tale involves the presidential scrotum. Oh, and it's a Last Tango-esque love story to boot. Manny, a former heroin addict cum codeine junky, is a police detective blackmailing everyone he knows. When he stumbles on the scene of a wife who's offed her hubby with a bowl of Lucky Charms, Draino and one mashed-up lightbulb, he falls in love and gets a gander at a photo involving George W. Bush, the town's mayor (formerly knowns as Manny's wife) and G-dogg's family jewels markered up in a happy face. To get to the bottom of the story behind the snapshot, Manny will have to tangle with the likes of a sexually abused, crack smoking killing machine; a delusional police chief immersed in a Hollywood fantasy wherein his biggest concern is casting a star to play his part; and a rest home nurse who's into S&M. Stahl proves once again that's he's the best thing around since I had to give up taking acid alone because I could no longer handle walking the plank above hell and hearing my echo repeating into the infinite for hours on end.

Totally gross, whacked-out, really well written, suspenseful, with an unexpected romantic twist. I laughed out loud a few times reading this insane stuff. The perfect antidote to an overdose of George W. Peace.

This wasn't bad, or anything. It was just... very unbelievable. I like unbelievable, but not extremely unbelievable. I didn't have to strain to read it. I just kind of said "huh..." when I was done. After I finished reading Permanent Midnight I said "Wow!" I want more of the wow response, Jerry. No more of this huh stuff. Perv was right in between the two with a "Nice"

I don't really know. It just felt like everything had the expectable twists and turns. I mean, I never saw anything coming, but after I read it, I wasn't surprised. There was ONE surprise that caught me off gaurd though. And it was pretty good. When Stahl is good, he absolutely amazes me. When he's not being absolutely smashing, his writing just comes off as blah. Still interesting, but blah at the same time.

In retrospect, this book wasn't that bad. I have read FAR worse (the STRAW MEN by Micheal Marshall; it was a "I can't believe I wasted all that time reading that piece of crap" book). Plainclothes Naked was interesting and fun to read. And while I'll still read anything Jerry Stahl puts out, I wouldn't read this for a second time. Permanent Midnight, maybe. But not this.

Maybe this should be 3.5. Ehh.

I loved both of Stahl's previous books, Permanent Midnight--the best drug memoir ever--and Perv, which captured the skeezy side of Flower Power with such precision that any newbie Phish or SCI wookie skank should check it out before getting in a car with some parking lot tour rat. Plainclothes Naked transfers Stahl's dark vision to the noir style, and it's a perfect marriage. More plot-driven than PM or Perv, it's hilarious, driving, disturbing, and ultimately, like all of Stahl's writing, redemptive. Can't wait for the next one.

Other reviews and product descriptions trumpet Stahl's work as contemporary, experimental, and dark. However, the truth is far from that. Stahl tries to compete with masters like Selby and Burroughs, but he just can't cut it. This book is good in some areas but too often drags off into meaningless tangets. I expect something good after a three chapter exposition on irrelevant information, but none is to be found. I never say discard the idea of reading a book just because I don't like it. Try it out, see if you like it--you be the judge.

I still don't know if I enjoyed this book or not. Stahl obviously used to be a crack head or just did some up-close-and-personal research. If you have never smoked crack before and were thinking about trying, read this book! It will kick your curiosity instantly. Not one likeable character in the entire book, and too many impossible coincidences. However, I was hooked, once I got into it I wanted to see how Stahl was going to end it. Even though it took him a little too long to do so. The really only believable part in the book was dubbahya's photo. The only positive(?) thing I came out of this book with was a vote for Nader.

to writing a truly great novel. Perv began so wonderfully and lost a little bit toward the end (in my opinion). Stahl has managed to correct that area with Plainclothes Naked, making it a more consistent novel throughout (not that it doesn't have flaws, but in comparison it is much more consistent), and he has also managed to include more of his trademark use of language that makes reading his Details articles so wonderful. Stahl manages to provide an intelligent sense of humor without trying to curry the favor of the literati by talking down to the average reader. He is willing to have fun, and it seems like he is having fun as he writes. That's great to see when you pick up a book for enjoyment. I devoured the book because of his sense of humor and was ready to read more. Whether or not it matches Permanent Midnight I can say, but it certainly looks like Stahl is progressing in his fiction and I can't wait for the next novel to surpass the two before.

Stahl's latest is already an underground cult classic ; highly recommended. (no pun intended)!

I've been randomly picking books lately that I hear are being turned into movies. I have to agree that this book could jump right on to the big screen. You can easily picture every detailed moment. This book didn't let me down in the end. I was actually upset to finish it, which NEVER happens to me. If you like anything by Chuck Palahniuk you'll be happy with this book.

I too enjoyed much of Stahl's black humor, but I grew bored eventually because I didn't find anything redeeming or attractive about any of the characters in this book.

I understand that pivotal characters don't have to be likable, but I didn't feel anything for anyone after about 70 pages. Everyone in this novel seemed like scumbags, and not very interesting scumbags at that.

Plainclothes Naked is titillating, but ultimately it's an unsatisfying read.