In an attempt to make sense of his disappointing life, a thirty-five-year-old man explores his sexual history with the woman of his childhood fantasies, a series of Vietnamese prostitutes, a stranger, and his jealous wife. Reprint. NYT.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Pulitzer recipient Butler's lyrical novel in which a 35-year-old man recounts a succession of erotic affairs was a four-week PW bestseller.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Butler has already published six novels to subdued response, but his first collection of stories, A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain ( LJ 5/1/92), won the Pultizer Prize. This new novel details the rich, erotic life of Ira Holloway, an ordinary 40-year-old guy.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
One man's desire,
By
This review is from: They Whisper (Paperback)
If you're looking for a great story, you might want to pass on this. If you're someone who can appreciate a book for a writer's command of language, than take the chance. I found the book a beautifully written meditation upon the ever-waxing and waning of one man's desire from that age of ten when he became transfixed by the foot x-ray of Karen Granger through the madness that overtakes his intensely jealous wife, Fiona. For me a very good writer slows down my senses and reminds me to pay attention to all that encompasses moments such as that first glance, that first kiss, that turn of the foot, the first touch, those whispers behind the outward manifestations of desire. "For myself, I'm just trying to understand why my life is so powerfully compelled by soft touching, joined flesh, complex parts of a self unseen." I can't say I loved the book (and there is an element of self-indulgence to it), but I can say this 300 page love letter left me with my senses more attuned to those subtle moments of desire and sensuality that normally get overtaken by life's noisey rush.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Writing=5 Stars, The Story? 1 Star,
By lxsinmarin (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: They Whisper: A Novel (Hardcover)
This is beautifully written. Whether you approve of Ira's point of view about women and sex, I have no doubt from my own life experiences that he speaks the truth from a man's point of view. So I think it can be very illuminating for women who are trying to get how men approach women.However, as beautifully written as it is, the prose becomes repetitious. Eventually the erotic charge is lost, the desire & longing become predictable and unless you are very patient and committed, you will find yourself skipping long sections.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Obsessively obsessive?,
By A Customer
This review is from: They Whisper (Paperback)
What I admire about the novel is the lyrical intensity of its (often successful) attempt to recreate erotic obsession. What I don't admire is a redundancy of detail and motif that often veers toward monotony. Scenery is well drawn (Southeast Asia, NYC, various rural outposts of the US) and dialogue is generally terse. Though plot is not a dominant element here, being subsidiary to image and tone, it's sometimes a bit formulaic, especially the end. It's worthwhile if you're a patient reader and enjoy psychic/linguistic convolutions.
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