Snake (High Risk Books) [Hardcover]

Mary Woronov (Author)

Book Description

Series: High Risk Books | Publication Date: May 1, 2000

Brilliant first novel by one of Warhol's 'Chelsea Girls'.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The story of Cassandra, the Greek prophetess who was cursed by the gods with visions that none believed, is remade by cult-film actress Woronov as a contemporary American fable, starring Cassandra ("Sandra") Wagner, who recounts her dramatic early life while being sheltered in San Bernardino at a Catholic hospice for the insane and drug-addicted. Sandra's first memories are of her grandmother, on whose farm in Ohio she was dumped by her hippie mother. Her grandmother's world is primal, with creeping flora, snakes and warnings (when her grandmother is drunk) about the brutality of men. This world disappears when the old woman dies and Sandra is sent to her mother, now trying a conventional life in suburban Cleveland with a new husband, who winds up overcome with lust for the teenage Sandra. At 17, Sandra escapes her mother's hatred by moving to L.A., where she's introduced to the sexual wonderland of nightclubs. Her first lover is Donald, whose many fetishes keep Sandra intrigued until she begins to dread all the arduous preparations, paraphernalia and playacting of their sex life. Then Luke appears, a drug dealer with snakelike yellow eyes, who apparently murders Donald at an orgy while a groggy, drunk Sandra looks on. Instead of killing her, too, Luke takes her with him to Idaho. Donald's murder was a hit, planned by Luke's brother along with some scary associates who want Luke to finish the job by disposing of Sandra, but the couple are in love. Woronov excels at depicting the ways sexual sophistication and excess often mask deeper anxiety and insecurity, effectively spelling out Sandra and Luke's fate in an uneven surrealistic montage of erotic love, sacrifice and brutality. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A first-rate suspense thriller by actress/director Woronov (Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory, 1995), who has appeared in over 20 films, including Paul Bartel's surreal Eating Raoul and Warhol's Chelsea Girls. Woronov's fearless prose and plot surrealism bring to mind top suspensers like James M. Cain, but her stunning gift of simile is all her own. At the beginning, the reader has no idea that everything in the story may be coming from the mind of a schizophrenic. After all, Sandra--short for Cassandra--has the habit of lapsing into a stare that seems to let her see the future or to let her put things together that she might not otherwise know. Then, too, she has the animist's vision of nature, with the wind and trees as living things, and the desert sand as death crystals hither and thithering about her feet. The narrative moves forward, then backward, like a glove reversing itself, until we are forced to ponder just how real the story is as we follow it over Sandra's shoulder. She is, apparently, in a Catholic mental ward as she tells us about lighting out from Ohio, about her early days in L.A., then treating us to whip-smart dialogue from her nympho best friend Tanya; her S&M boyfriend Donald, whom Sandra may or may not have knifed to death; and from Luke, a yellow-eyed drug dealer who takes her under his wing on a big road trip to Idaho as they're chased by suits bent on blowing them away.If David Lynch wants a new script, send him this chunk of lost highway. -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1852426578
• ISBN-13: 978-1852426576
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #809,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weirdness IS an art form, October 27, 2002

By 

Michael E. Weihn "Michael Weihn" (Las Vegas, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snake (High Risk Books) (Hardcover)

Mary Woronov has proven countlessly in film that she is a little off center. Her strange and intriging roles have made her a classic cult actress & even an icon. This, her 3rd novel interestingly mirrors the strangeness of her movies onto print. It's the story of a mixed up girl on a journey that's both terrifying and exciting. She tries to flirt with romance but her focus of interest could be a killer that may make her the next victim. Each chapter is titled with a snake theme as is the overall plot twists and turns much like a seemingly harmless snake would turn. Roll up under a blanket and enjoy a little piece of derainged fiction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAN A SCHIZOPHRENIC KEEP A STORY IN FOCUS?, January 6, 2001

By 

Donald A. Newlove (Greenwich Village) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Snake (High Risk Books) (Hardcover)

AND THE ANSWER IS YES. I wrote the Kirkus Review under Editorial Reviews and would direct you there for my comments on this noir knockout.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY THIS BOOK!, October 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Snake (High Risk Books) (Hardcover)

This novel is a hilarious romp through the seedy sides of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, until it becomes a love story, and then it's both a dark comedy and a poignant look at impossible relationships and the lengths people go to find intimacy. It's great.