Literary cult hero Dennis Cooper delivers his highlyanticipated new novel. Written in a voice that is lush and intricate, TheMarbled Swarm is Dennis Cooper’s most accomplished (and most beguiling)work to date. Cooper tells the story of a man who secretly influences his sonto commit a grisly act. Justin Taylor, author of The Gospel of Anarchy,calls The Marbled Swarm “a mindbendingmasterpiece . . . vivid, slippery, ferocious, and rich with secrets. Nobody elsecould have written this novel and nothing else like it exists.” Cooper,following his collections Smothered in Hugs and Ugly Man, offershis fans the expansive novel they have been waiting for—one that will become atouchstone of outsider literature.
The Marbled Swarm
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“A mesmerizing, labyrinthine tour through an especially hellish father-son relationship.” (Vanity Fair )
“Provocative...Cooper’s interest in the darkest corners of the human experience...has not dimmed with age. The novel’s contradictory narratives intentionally echo the secret passageways in which the narrator’s predatory activities take place, creating a baroque, voyeuristic effect. (New Yorker )
“The Marbled Swarm is concerned as much with language as it is with relationships and power….His fantastical story of everyday cannibalism is told in such finely chiseled yet disorienting prose that you suspect you’re being led into a maze.” (OUT Magazine )
“Cooper’s status as an underground renegade of experimental fiction doesn’t reduce his talent or the brilliance of his dark views. He is a passionately humane writer. We need his voice now more than ever.” (Paste Magazine )
“… lies somewhere in between Lolita and Dracula, mixing the gothic terror and disturbing subject of both, within a contemporary bi-sexual, skinny jeaned, iPhone-totting environment, and a much further push of the envelope. … a novel that must be read.” (The Coffin Factory )
“In The Marbled Swarm, Cooper has coupled a clever intellectual romp with stomach-turning brutality and quite a bit of humor.” (Washington Independent Book Review )
“…deftly executed plot surgery…” (Nylon Magazine )
“The most personal, and honest [of Cooper’s] daring, perplexing books.” (BookForum )
“Readers unfamiliar with transgressive fiction would do well to brace themselves for what will either be the shock of the unrelentingly different or, perhaps, the shock of recognizing writing that speaks to their souls.” (Booklist )
“… language every bit as thrilling, rapt, and brain-waking as we could want from one of our living legends…” (Fanzine )
“Patient and careful readers will be rewarded for their diligent attention to the text with a controversial, dazzling and intelligent work of literature.” (Bookreporter.com )
“There is a brutal honesty to this novel, a brutal wisdom.” (Barnes & Noble's "Unabashedly Bookish" )
“The Marbled Swarm cumulates mystery, desire, and connections as it appears to shed mystery, desire, and connections; magic. Or sleight of hand....This book is great art.” (HTMLGIANT )
“The Marbled Swarm is a mindbending masterpiece from one of my all-time favorite writers. It is vivid, slippery, ferocious, and rich with secrets. Nobody else could have written this novel and nothing else like it exists.” (Justin Taylor, author of The Gospel of Anarchy and Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever )
“Disquieting, humbling, and sadly beautiful in the way only Dennis Cooper can be, The Marbled Swarm is a mystifying and courageous novel that represents his finest work to date.” (Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers and Ablutions )
“This gorgeously warped brain-bender of a novel… reimagines the family romance (fathers-and-sons side only) in perfections of language that will startle and seduce you anew on every page. The Marbled Swarm is Dennis Cooper’s most genius-haunted achievement.” (Gary Lutz, author of Stories in the Worst Way )
“Provocative...Cooper’s interest in the darkest corners of the human experience...has not dimmed with age. The novel’s contradictory narratives intentionally echo the secret passageways in which the narrator’s predatory activities take place, creating a baroque, voyeuristic effect. (New Yorker )
“The Marbled Swarm is concerned as much with language as it is with relationships and power….His fantastical story of everyday cannibalism is told in such finely chiseled yet disorienting prose that you suspect you’re being led into a maze.” (OUT Magazine )
“Cooper’s status as an underground renegade of experimental fiction doesn’t reduce his talent or the brilliance of his dark views. He is a passionately humane writer. We need his voice now more than ever.” (Paste Magazine )
“… lies somewhere in between Lolita and Dracula, mixing the gothic terror and disturbing subject of both, within a contemporary bi-sexual, skinny jeaned, iPhone-totting environment, and a much further push of the envelope. … a novel that must be read.” (The Coffin Factory )
“In The Marbled Swarm, Cooper has coupled a clever intellectual romp with stomach-turning brutality and quite a bit of humor.” (Washington Independent Book Review )
“…deftly executed plot surgery…” (Nylon Magazine )
“The most personal, and honest [of Cooper’s] daring, perplexing books.” (BookForum )
“Readers unfamiliar with transgressive fiction would do well to brace themselves for what will either be the shock of the unrelentingly different or, perhaps, the shock of recognizing writing that speaks to their souls.” (Booklist )
“… language every bit as thrilling, rapt, and brain-waking as we could want from one of our living legends…” (Fanzine )
“Patient and careful readers will be rewarded for their diligent attention to the text with a controversial, dazzling and intelligent work of literature.” (Bookreporter.com )
“There is a brutal honesty to this novel, a brutal wisdom.” (Barnes & Noble's "Unabashedly Bookish" )
“The Marbled Swarm cumulates mystery, desire, and connections as it appears to shed mystery, desire, and connections; magic. Or sleight of hand....This book is great art.” (HTMLGIANT )
“The Marbled Swarm is a mindbending masterpiece from one of my all-time favorite writers. It is vivid, slippery, ferocious, and rich with secrets. Nobody else could have written this novel and nothing else like it exists.” (Justin Taylor, author of The Gospel of Anarchy and Everything Here is the Best Thing Ever )
“Disquieting, humbling, and sadly beautiful in the way only Dennis Cooper can be, The Marbled Swarm is a mystifying and courageous novel that represents his finest work to date.” (Patrick deWitt, author of The Sisters Brothers and Ablutions )
“This gorgeously warped brain-bender of a novel… reimagines the family romance (fathers-and-sons side only) in perfections of language that will startle and seduce you anew on every page. The Marbled Swarm is Dennis Cooper’s most genius-haunted achievement.” (Gary Lutz, author of Stories in the Worst Way )
From the Back Cover
The Marbled Swarm is Dennis Cooper’s most haunting work to date. In secret passageways, hidden rooms, and the troubled mind of our narrator, a mystery perpetually takes shape—and the most compelling clue to its final nature is “the marbled swarm” itself, a complex amalgam of language passed down from father to son.
Cooper ensnares the reader in a world of appearances, where the trappings of high art, old money, and haute cuisine obscure an unspeakable system of coercion and surrender. And as the narrator stalks an elusive truth, traveling from the French countryside to Paris and back again, the reader will be seduced by a voice only Dennis Cooper could create.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By just-a-body
Format:Paperback
"lies somewhere in between Lolita and Dracula, mixing the gothic terror and disturbing subject of both, within a contemporary bi-sexual, skinny jeaned, iPhone-totting environment, and a much further push of the envelope. ... a novel that must be read" - The Coffin Factory
A book for sadists, for masochists, for connoisseurs of the finest meats
A book for sadists, for masochists, for connoisseurs of the finest meats
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Petra Kim
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I like Dennis Cooper's work but also thought I had a handle on it, but this book genuinely caught me off guard, doing things with the language that I wasn't expecting. Amazing sentences, a kind of fever dream, with dark Sadean content. This is Dennis Cooper at his best.
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the first and the last time I will read a book by this man. The only thing that I am grateful for is that the writing was so convoluted (I assume on purpose, as a 'literary device') that I am not haunted with too many graphic images of brutal child rape. If you want to read a book about violence, confusion, isolationism and sociopathic ennui, just go read some Bret Easton Ellis.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
novelist exposes story as fiction
not all the way through yet so pay no attention to what I'm saying. densely descriptive language in a compelling narrative, or is it? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Keith D. Kurman
1.0 out of 5 stars
Absolute Literary Rot
Don't waste your time with this novel unless you are some kind of sick pervert like the author. He was interviewed by Michael Silverblatt on KCRA's Bookworm. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Robert Reitinger
3.0 out of 5 stars
From Better to Worse
For me, this book started out as a clever, sharp narrative with a narrator that was both brilliant and depraved, but as the story went on, the power of the narrative seemed to get... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jack M. Walter
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