Suspicious River [Paperback]

Laura Kasischke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 1997

Leila Murry is young, married, and working in a motel as a receptionist - and then as a prostitute. The seemingly random abuses and perils of her adult life parallel those Leila suffered as a child, and in reliving them she is uncertain whether she will survive them this time, or indeed, if she wishes to. This "extremely powerful debut" tells a story that is at once "profoundly disturbing but also resonant with hope and rebirth" -Los Angeles Times.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bestowing her gift of lyricism upon a sordid subject, acclaimed poet Kasischke (Wild Brides, 1992 winner of the Bobst Award for Emerging Writers) limns a young married woman's plunge into prostitution in a first novel that, despite alchemical prose, leaves the reader feeling as breathless and entrapped as the protagonist. Leila Murray begins to moonlight as a hooker while working as a receptionist at the Swan Motel in the small town of Suspicious River, Mich. As she attracts more "customers," the arrival of Gary Jensen-a persistent john who is by turns violent and affectionate-turns the story toward the past, to Leila's abused childhood, her promiscuous adolescence and the unfolding horror of her mother's death. In the present, Leila must determine whether the cycle of abuse that has trapped her can cease-and whether survival even matters to her anymore. Kasischke's prose is sure and her command of the telling detail exemplary; but her protagonist seems more a product of social theory and demographic findings than a living woman. While the story's slow pull down an emotional drain evokes a chilling gravity, moreover, the unremitting bleakness makes the dispirited Leila's final resistance to her fate less than credible.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Young, married Leila Murray is working as a motel receptionist and a prostitute on the side. Then she meets Gary Jensen, who alternately hits and sweet-talks her, ultimately becoming her pimp. Although she recognizes that Jensen is a truly dangerous man, she seems compelled to follow his lead, having sex however and with whomever he dictates. She slowly reveals the details of her childhood, the circumstances surrounding her mother's murder, and the reasons behind her promiscuous adolescence. It soon becomes clear that Leila's headlong rush toward self-destruction is her way of connecting with and processing the horrific events surrounding her mother's death. Poet Kasischke's beautifully written page-turner is sure to be controversial. In a clinical fashion, she juxtaposes scenes from Leila's traumatic childhood, which are almost unbearably sad, with graphic descriptions of the sex acts Leila performs as a prostitute, which are both erotic and chilling. This is a deeply unsettling first novel that will haunt you for days. Joanne Wilkinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 18, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395860024
• ISBN-13: 978-0395860021
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,052,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laura Kasischke teaches in the University of Michigan MFA program and the Residential College. She has published seven collections of poetry and seven novels. She lives with her family in Chelsea, Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hate her, love her, December 16, 2000

By 

Mary A. Turzillo "Marite" (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suspicious River (Paperback)

You hate her, you love her, but in the end, you don't want her dead. Leila is such a punching bag you ask yourself why you care so very very much. Because you do care. I guess it takes a poet like Kasischke to make Leila's world real, and it takes more than mere wordcraft to grab you by the hair on the back of your neck and twist.

Because that's the feeling you get as Leila starts to wake up and run from her demons.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poet-turned-novelist offers exquisite tale, July 24, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Suspicious River (Hardcover)

"Suspicious River," a first novel from poet Laura Kasischke, is a dark, introspective tale illuminated by the bright, precise language of a poet-turned-novelist.
Leila Murray is a receptionist at the Swan Motel, in the small town of Suspicious River, Michigan. Her narrative begins when she decides to offer the motel's patrons more than just a friendly smile at check-in. Soon she's so busy with her newfound profession that she hardly has time, between the exquisitely-recounted "sex" scenes, to reflect on her tumultuous past. "Suspicious River" is told with the sure rhythm of a steadily-flowing river, alternating between Leila's present interludes as a prostitute and her frightening childhood story of the build-up to her mother's murder. Leila's conclusion is as dramatic as her mother's, but with a shimmer of hope that her story will turn out differently.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for vivid imagery, masterful use of metaphor, poetic prose..., March 7, 2007

By 

hawthorne wood "hawthorne wood" (santa fe, new mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Suspicious River (Paperback)

I gave this five stars because, quite simply, it belongs in the category of Great Literature. She's right up there with Joyce Carol Oates, one of my favorites. And Mary McGary Morris, another great. One of the most interesting aspects of the book is her ability to control what I might call the "erotic" factor. In early chapters in which Leila is turning tricks at the hotel, the encounters with men are not in any way erotic; they are mechanical, dull-sounding, unappealing, in fact, they are icky. However, when she describes her sex-addict mother and philandering uncle's affair, the sex comes alive; it's stimulating, arousing. I believe it's because the writer understands that for children, sexuality is always arousing - children are sexually naive and at the same time more primal beings, which is why violent or inappropriate sex can be so traumatizing for them, as it was for the young Leila. And with time, as the book progresses, the sex becomes different yet again: more brutal and frantic, but less automatic; Leila is definitely coming undone, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, because the novel indicates that things are rising to a spiritual boiling point. I did agree with one reviewer here who said the similes and metaphors began to get repetitive and a bit too grim (or, if you will, "depressing." I found myself cringing at yet another bird carcass, bloody feathers, drowned furry creature, eyes staring out of skeletal bones, just that whole ugly death thing that went on and on and on. Warning to future readers: do not read this book with your dinner. Still, it kept me (if reluctantly) right up to the end. But I gotta say, once again - this writer is masterful when it comes to metaphor. I found myself thinking WOW! Can she write! In fact, the writer who came to mind most often was Egyptian Nobel winner Nagib Mafouz, another writer who can sling metaphors that make you shake your head in disbelief - how the heck did he do that? Kudos to Ms. Kassischke.