Zombie00 [Hardcover]

Brad Gouch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2000

In the tradition of The Story of O, a daring gaze into the life and mind of an avowed "zombie," from the author of Scary Kisses and City Poet.

Meet "Zombie," a strange and wonderful young man growing up in Truckstown, Pennsylvania, whose earliest childhood memory of visiting the "Sacred Voodoo Chamber" (with its beautiful glowing rocks and mysterious mummy) in the nearby Scranton Art Museum leaves him in thrall and begins in him a process of "zombification" that will last a lifetime. Fear and worship become his guiding forces as he stumbles through life wondering if there are more of his kind or if he is alone. After a series of petty crimes, commited at the behest of his first "master," Zombie is given a one-way bus ticket to New York City, along with a tiny inheritance. He embarks on a weird, dark, surprisingly funny, and ultimately poignant odyssey where he meets those who will be responsible for his destiny, which unfolds after a trip to Haiti where he explores the ancient African religions where the loas rule. Zombie is a unique story, a fable that dares to explore the dark recesses of human desire.

Praise for Scary Kisses:

"Crisp, cinematic. . .an utterly realistic and classy chronicle."--The New York Times Book Review

Praise for City Poet:

"The first biography of the poet Frank O'Hara is also an extremely informative gossip survey of the social and sexual mores of the New York avant-garde art scene of the 50s and 60s. . .Entertaining and readable."--San Francisco Chronicle

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zombies, as we all know, are made, not born. But in Gooch's (City Poet) weirdly blas? tale of sadomasochism and bondage, the unnamed narrator appears to possess zombie qualities from a very young age. On a visit to a museum in Scranton, Pa., with his parents, he is mesmerized by grainy, gray anthropological photographs of pain and abasement on display in the voodoo room. Soon afterwards, Mark, a sadistic 15-year-old, christens the younger boy "Zombie" and makes him his willing personal slave. Zombie performs simple tasks like sharpening pencils, but he is also sent on dangerous assignments that result in beatings by older bullies. The ensuing tale is Zombie's search for the "most colorful master." In high school Zombie is put to work by a hood named Mitch and his girlfriend, Paulette, who start a small crime wave. Eventually, Zombie gets caught vandalizing a funeral home and is kicked out of the house by his dad. Making his way to New York City, he discovers the subculture of s&m clubs, where he meets Sir Edward, M.D. Sir Edward is a drug dealer and a very willing sadist, as is his nephew, an aspiring wrestler with the improbable moniker Wseal64735. But Sir Edward goes too far one night, and Zombie moves on to a bodybuilding public access cable performer named Control Freak. Control Freak is not the "most colorful master," either, but he does give Zombie a one-way ticket to Haiti, where Zombie finally gets lucky. Gooch takes his hero's search for perfect zombiehood seriously. Sexually adventurous readers might find themselves genuinely sympathetic to Zombie's quest, and at times even amused by his search for the perfect balance between fear and worship. However, this far-from-the-mainstream saga is not for the faint of heart. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The blurb on the cover of Gooch's third novel, following Golden Age of Promiscuity, promises "a unique story that dares to explore the dark recesses of human desire." But Zombie00 actually explores little that hasn't been examined before and better by such writers as Anne Rice in the "Sleeping Beauty" trilogy and Exit to Eden. As a child, the narrator becomes interested in the symbols of voodoo and the creation of zombies. He identifies with beings whose only purpose is to serve others without question or will of their own. As he sinks further into his "zombie" personality, he allows himself to be used and abused by his "masters," whose motives are unknown. The focus is on Zombie's journeyDand Zombie drifts. And drifts some more. Since the memories of the narrator are rather clouded, much is left unexplained, and, in the end, it is difficult to decipher what the main point is. Gooch's writing talents come through but not enough to balance the inconsistencies in plot and time line and the lack of character development. Not recommended.DT.R. Salvadori, Margaret E. Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Hardcover; 1st edition (August 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158567043X
• ISBN-13: 978-1585670437
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,169,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Everyone Can Identify With, August 12, 2000

By 

Daniel Bulifant (Hackensack, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zombie00 (Hardcover)

This is a book about growing up in the suburbs and lusting for a life in the city only to fine more angst for a higher life. Who knows what our destiny is. This is what the book is about: destiny. A wonderful tale of one man's search for destiny that seems like so many other stories, but is not. It has a fresh, unique prespective that is a first.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting, unshakable, and surprisingly intelligent, August 14, 2000

By 

Timothy Hulsey (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zombie00 (Hardcover)

I read this novel some time ago, and have been haunted by it ever since. What follows is an urgent, desperate, unsuccessful attempt at exorcism through analysis:

At first glance, it looks as if Brad Gooch's _Z0mbie00_ is yet another attempt to delve into the self-consciously transgressive homosexual S/M demimonde, the territory of James Purdy and Dennis Cooper, as well as moderately successful imitators like Scott Heim, Gary Indiana -- and, until fairly recently, Brad Gooch. But this fictional territory has grown barren; in Cooper's latest novella _Period_, the hip, postmodern sadomasochistic tendencies are as bland and blase as MTV's _Real World_ or CBS's _Big Brother_, without the faux-voyeuristic kick.

The problem with the transgressive school of Gay fiction, is that scenes of wild, sadomasochistic sex -- Gay or straight -- no longer have the power to shock us. They've been staples of religious-right propaganda for years, precisely because they could "epate le bourgeoisie" a bit. Now that absolutely _everyone_ seems ready and willing to be used, abused, and humiliated practically at the drop of a hat, it's much more difficult to celebrate the S/M dynamic as a transformative, trangressive act of rebellion against a production-driven economy of desire (as Michel Foucault did).

Surprisingly, Gooch's latest book, a tersely written bildungsroman about a self-proclaimed "zombie," still has the power to transgress and to shock, though not in the same visceral manner that this kind of Gay fiction has usually attempted. Even though Gooch inserts all the requisite graphic scenes of ritualistic abuse (some of them quite erotically written), he gives the novel a subtle, disturbing intelligence of his own that transforms the more shopworn aspects of this literature. Throughout the book, Gooch deconstructs the binary of "slavery" and "liberation," first by placing the narrative in the hands of a character who actively asserts his zombie-like passivity, and then by confronting the historical mirror-image (or is it a photonegative?) of the protagonist as he comes to grips with his "zombie" identity. The eventual collapse of the terms produces an intellectual jolt, shattering our received ideas about the nature of oppression.

No less shocking, though, is the novel's emphasis on spirituality. Gooch gives his "zombie's" adventures the quality of a vision quest, or of a spiritual pilgrimage -- complete with an almost monastic retreat in the end. Occasionally this gives Gooch an opportunity to indulge in satires of piety run amuck (as when the "zombie" and an abusive master named Control Freak attend a thinly fictionalized "Promise Keepers" rally). But for the most part, though, Gooch's attitude toward spirituality is surprisingly reverent. The protagonist's search for a cosmic sense of self is real and poignant; Gooch takes that search every bit as seriously as his protagonist.

_Z0mbie00_ is not wholly without its problems. As with most first-person novels where the narrator pulls double duty as the protagonist, the narrative voice isn't always consistent or believable. The chapter on the Promise Keepers rally, though delightful, seems extraneous, and the ending leaves much to be desired. Still, Gooch's novel stakes out bold new ground for transgressive Gay writers, one that reclaims the transformative power of S/M fiction through a more subtle, humane authorial intelligence, as well as a new awareness of spirituality within the S/M world view. Four stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting multi-layered tale, December 1, 2001

By 

Keith White "farmboy39" (Chapmanville, WV USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zombie00 (Hardcover)

Almost anything you could say about this slim book's story is going to reveal too much. It unveils Zombie's journey in a fluid and logical way. The reader is left with no doubt as to the reality of Zombie and the people he comes into contact with on his very unusual and educating trip to understanding what makes him a character for all time.