Vulgar Lives [Paperback]

Rosalyn Drexler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2007

Fiction. VULGAR LIVES LIVES is the shocking portrait of a woman's intense incestuous love for her brother composed in the form of a fictional journal. The book consists of letters addressed to the narrator's dead brother as she becomes more and more alienated from reality. The feelings and fantasies that make up her distorted world are described subtly and sensitively, depicting her with keen psychological insight.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Chiasmus Press (February 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0978549953
• ISBN-13: 978-0978549954
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,891,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars very fascinating, but fails to engage, August 22, 2007

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Elevate Difference "Elevate Difference" (worldwide) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vulgar Lives (Paperback)

Rosalyn Drexler's Vulgar Lives claims to depict a narrative of incest between a brother and sister, yet does little to illuminate the complexities of their relationship. The central premise of the fractured narrative is of RD (possibly meant to be a version of the author herself) writing letters to her dead brother Edmund. Throughout the succession of letters RD describes (fictitious?) conversations she has with other artists (some famous, some obscure) about the nature of art, the value of art in the political sphere of second wave feminism.

As elusive as these passages are, they characterize RD's deteriorating mental health. Interspersed between the letters are numerous false starts for the novel RD is trying to write, as well as family anecdotes relating to her and Edmund's childhood. Further, the novel is framed by another story of an unnamed reader who receives RD's collection letters after her death. Afterward, it is suggested that Edmund is still alive, only to commit suicide following the publication of the letters.

This all sounds very fascinating, but fails to engage on the written page. Because of RD's insistence on the blurring of fantasy with reality she remains a largely isolated character. Edmund never emerges as anything more than a stereotypically self-centered, pretentious gay man. But perhaps this is all the point Drexler is trying to make -- that art itself is elusive, readers will never have a full understanding of character, and narrators can never be counted on to be trustworthy storytellers. Fascinating yes, but no longer original, and unfairly frustrating for the reader.