STRANGE ANGELS [Hardcover]

Kathe Koja (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1994

A freelance photographer accompanies an artistic young schizophrenic into the disturbed periods of his life and, further, into an exploration of altered states that promises complete madness of transformation. By the author of Bad Brains.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Writing with a pretentious, almost adolescent sensibility and a bad case of logorrhea, Koja ( Bad Brains ) whines unremittingly in a single-pitched, overwrought stream of consciousness that will probably alienate most readers. The story concerns out-of-work Pennsylvania photographer Grant Cotto and his narcissistic infatuation with Robin, a certified schizophrenic who is being treated by Cotto's therapist girlfriend. Cotto thinks his own anguished sense of futility will be remedied if he can partake of the startling visions Robin expresses in his artwork, so he embarks on a self-serving plan to wean the deeply troubled patient from doctors, therapists and medication, and to unite with him spiritually in a quest for a new perspective on life. At the high point of his experiments, Cotto becomes convinced that Robin is being transformed into an angel and will soon disclose rare and wonderful insights. When Robin goes totally mad instead and starves himself to death, Cotto's conscience prickles, but his greater sorrow is over having missed the revelations promised by Robin's dementia. Though Koja's premise is interesting enough, her characters are one-dimensional monomaniacs engaged in a disturbingly simple-minded, voyeuristic search for altered states in bona fide pathology.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A gratuitously bizarre, reader-unfriendly tome by the author of Skin (1993); you can almost see through it, despite the murky prose. Grant Cotto is a photographer with a serious case of artist's block and a lot of time on his hands. When he sees the tortured drawings of Robin, an institutionalized schizophrenic under the care of his art therapist girlfriend, Johanna, the fun begins in earnest. Grant decides to help Robin free his artistic inner self by encouraging his drawing, a talent the author intimates is part of Robin's illness. Naturally, Johanna disapproves of this manipulation of Robin, and after a few heated exchanges, she moves out. Now misguided Grant can enjoy some real destruction. He encourages Robin to leave Clearwater Psychiatric, go off his medication, and move in, so that he may devote himself slavishly to producing drawings of fascinating, twisted beauty. Soon, a strange kind of co-dependency develops, and Grant's interest shifts from the drawings to Robin himself. The two share all kinds of adventures, including experiments with sensory and sleep deprivation and a visit to an Evangelical Pentecostal meeting in order to assuage Robin's growing fixation with angels. At the church, they meet Saskia, also a Clearwater outpatient, and before long they're spending a lot of time at her ``Holiday House,'' so named because she won't take down her Christmas decorations. Of course, an odd triangle develops, but the unmedicated Robin begins to fall apart, starving himself and resisting help from his roomies so that he may die and join the angels. With the exception of a sensitive, if somewhat drawn-out description of Robin's death, Koja portrays her characters as one-dimensional losers. Additionally, the story is laden with what aspires to be foreshadowing--too bad there's so little action to foreshadow. Strange, indeed. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (April 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385308922
• ISBN-13: 978-0385308922
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,467,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kathe Koja Super Star, April 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Angels (Mass Market Paperback)

Koja is one of the very few authors that "impresses" me. Her language is far beyond any of her contemperaries, especially the mainstream authors (stephen king couldn't write as beautifully as her even if he sold his soul--which I'm pretty sure he did) Anyway, this novel was good, but I didn't appreciate it as much as her earlier works. If you want koja at her best pick up her third novel, SKIN. It is a work of art. Another good one was THE CIPHER. I randomly grabbed THE CIPHER in a bookstore, back when I was in high school. I read the first paragraph and became an instant fan. I highly recommend it.

Kathe Koja is for readers who love poetic language. You can open up any of her books and read random paragraphs, totally unaware of what is going on, and LOVE doing it. I read SKIN for two years, only reading random excerpts. Just recently, I read it from begining to end for the very first time. And I loved every minute of it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For poets only, April 23, 2000

By 

Akasha Chandler (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Angels (Mass Market Paperback)

Koja has a command of language not generally found except by poets. If you love action/adventure stay away from this book. However, if you love to feel words on a visceral level and experience a new world from inside the head of new characters, try this book. Although dark, it touches on a primal level.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An OK Horror Novel About Art, Madness, & Obsession, February 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Angels (Mass Market Paperback)

"Strange Angels" is one of those books I clearly remember reading, for no other apparent reason than I was on vacation. It's also one of those books I had to read a second time to like, basically because my first impression was one of disappointment. I had thought "Strange Angels" was about--what else?--angels or some other type of supernatural entity, going by the synopsis on the back cover. However, I must have misinterpreted it, because the book isn't supernatural at all. It's about a photographer named Grant who becomes obsessed with his girlfriend's client, a mental patient named Robin, after he sees some of his drawings. Grant's interest in him has its repercussions, though, especially when he isolates Robin from his doctors and family in attempt to understand him better.

Koja's schizophrenic writing style perfectly suits the chaotic madness in both Grant and Robin's minds, making the story come more alive. Unfortunately, the ending is rather predictable and somewhat misleading. Mental disorders aren't as contagious as catching something like the flu, which makes me guess Grant wasn't all there to begin with. So, if you're into low-key, psychological horror, then you might like "Strange Angels."