Closer: A Novel (Cooper, Dennis) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "John, 18, hated his face..." (more)
Key Phrases: George Miles, The Forefront

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In chapters titled with the names of the characters on whom they focus, this brief novel links together a small, bleakly debauched cast of gay men. Dedicated to sex and violence for the catharsis these acts would seem to promise, the men settle into a dull grind of physical encounters that, no matter how searing, fail to provide transcendence. The fault of their miserable existence seems to lie not in them, but in existence itself; life by its very nature can offer little but a thrillingly painful prelude to death. The novel's problem is not Cooper's point of view but the monotony of his spare, honest treatment: his deadpan look at chronic sexual anomie is so faithful to the phenomenon it describes that the work succumbs, laconically, to weariness. Scope is further limited by Cooper's decision to address the condition of despair more than its cause. Though convincing, sometimes darkly funny evidence of dissolution and decay abounds (" . . . men had worn him away. They'd fastened him to a treadmill that spun until there was nothing around but a vague outline, smeared in blood"), memorable details tend to languish in dolorous prose.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Like Jean Genet and William Burroughs, Dennis Cooper assaults the senses as he engages the mind with visions of nightmare intensity in a world where stimulation without excitement and experience without emotion are prized.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (January 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080213212X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802132123
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #445,687 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars stunning, April 26, 2002

By	"imfukt" (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

this is one of the most painful books i've ever read. it hurts to read it, but it's still one of my favorite books. cooper has an ability to show situations that are both horrific and beautiful. that really hit home for me because i think that's how life really is. it's like children singing in hell.
i read this one right after _Frisk_ and liked it a lot better. i could identify more with the George character, than i could with anyone in the other book. the portrait of the kid who gets exploited by everyone around him in different ways is just amazing. i couldn't sleep the night i read it. it's one of those books that makes you sad and contemplative. if you want to do that, definitely pick it up. if not, it might not be a good idea.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting in a sick wierd kind of way, September 24, 2000

By	"saint_artaud" (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews

I intially got into Cooper by mistaking his work for another writer, but found myself happily surprised after reading some short stories he had written.
This book is pretty much standard for Cooper, not to say it is bad. It is always fascinating to read about the sorts of things people think about but never admit to. Or the things which ahppen in life no one wants to talk about. Specifically very dirty sex and murder. And this book will cover all of that.
It's rather hard to explain the plot since I don't think there is one in any normal sense. Dennis Cooper ust isn't that kind of writer. Instead, we have vignettes all orbiting around one character, George Miles, a teenager sort of confused by and removed from the world. This quality he has allows numerous tortures to be enacted upon him and he takes it, not really seeming to feel any deeper sort of pleasure. A character it is easy to project upon by the other characters.
It's been a few months since I've read this, but it still seems fresh in my head. This is the sort of stuff which will seriously affect you, but some will find it too shocking and repulsive for their taste.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my all time favorites, June 16, 2004

By	A. White "adynomoose" (New Orleans, La United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The fact that it is told, mainly, from the perspective of those using this young man, who is looking for love and understanding after the death of his mother, makes every act of cruelty (the emotional even more so that the physical) stab at your heart so much more.
Dennis Cooper manages to infuse hope, love and compassion in with the loss, cruelty and sex. Making this a really brilliant work.
If you have a heart, read this book!
I think a lot of readers get it wrong when they say that Cooper's work is sado-homo-erotic. It's too human and emotional for such a narrow definition.
Dennis Cooper and his works are a perfect example of why I love to be a reader and wish I was a more eloquent reviewer.