Cuts (Mass Market Paperback)

by Richard Laymon (Author)
Key Phrases: doeskin shirt, May Beth, Emily Jean, Kansas City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The Laymon renaissance continues with this provocative author's third novel (along with Come Out Tonight, Forecasts, May 31, and Bite, Forecasts, May 24) to appear this spring/summer. None of the three showcase Laymon at his finest (as did last year's The Midnight Tour, also from Cemetery Dance), though Come Out Tonight (Cemetery Dance as well) comes close. All, however, exhibit his talent for immediate prose and breakneck pacing, and, most interestingly, his penchant for blending genuine pathos with brutality. Here, the blending isn't so artful. This novel, set mostly in 1975, reads like two novellas glued together. One is atypical for Laymon, a sharp skewering of academic life, particularly the marital tribulations of faculty members of Grand Beach (Calif.) High. Substitute teacher Janet Arthur dumps her abusive lover, who wants her to abort their unborn child; librarian Lester Bryant gets involved with aging Southern belle Emily Jean Bonner; Lester's formidable wife, Helen, is sleeping with one of her students, etc. The other plot line is boilerplate Laymon: an Illinois teen, Albert Prince, goes on a homicidal rampage, stalking, raping and slicing several women. The author binds the two plot lines in an arbitrary way, though his tying of pathos and brutality--as Albert is gravely wounded, then soothed, by his final victim--is admirably audacious; and the story concludes with a coda as clever as it is nasty. As is usual with this author, there's at least one scene of heinous sexual violence, intimately detailed, that will leave readers shuddering with disgust. In this novel, as before, Laymon flashes serious storytelling talent, but also the refusal to compromise on theme and depiction that seems to have made him more talked about than read, at least in the States. (July)

Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 301 pages
• Publisher: Leisure Books (February 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0843957522
• ISBN-13: 978-0843957525
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,439 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laymon brings us a different approach and it works!, May 22, 2000

By	P. Legerski (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Cuts (Hardcover)

CUTS is a different Laymon novel; it's subtle, succinct and slow. In typical Laymon fashion, we start the novel during an abbreviated sex act. Albert Prince is trying to lose his virginity, but the girl he's with wants more money than he currently has so Albert leaves her. On his way home Albert has an encounter that makes us understand he's not a nice boy. And that he will return...with hatred.

Janet Arthur wakes up next to her boyfriend, Dave. She tells him a secret, he kicks her out. Janet moves in with Meg. Lester and Helen are married, in words only. Helen's a "cold fish" and Lester has resorted to an affair. Emily Jean is an older woman with a daughter who is just starting to catch her break in the movie business. Ian's a writer. All of these people are put together through work, circumstances or nefarious ways.

CUTS is set in 1975 and the book has the slow, pot-induced, haziness aspect to the narrative. Laymon takes a bit more time than usual to flesh out all the characters and giving them enough life so I could get a good feel for each's idiosyncracies. I knew how they should act, react and deal with each other and in dire circumstances.

The genius in this book is the patience Laymon had to roll these characters out, not hurry them to join them all together, and let circumstance take over and let be what is to be. It's a bit frustrating, trying to figure out what all of these people are doing in this novel: but Laymon's deft skill of pulling you in is addictive and you can't stop reading. You need to know what happens next.

Laymon's a master of subtlety when it comes to understanding the way humans deal with each other. Many times, during a dialogue scene, Laymon will have the characters think sexy thoughts about one and all, even if they aren't in the direct conversation. This makes the characters more human and believable.

CUTS is a step in the right direction for Richard Laymon. It is a novel that hits you in places untouched. It doesn't make you feel good because there is almost no cause for the terror that is being wrought. Laymon has delivered a subtle horror story with a fairly high body count. And he's only beginning, heh heh. Be afraid...be very afraid! Highest Recommendation.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Violent and funny, and can't-put-downable, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cuts (Hardcover)

It takes enormous skill to twist and weave the lives multiple characters, without leaving the reader just a little confused as to who's doing what to whom - Richard Laymon handles the gradually intersecting lives of his cast with skill and humour as they hurtle to the thrilling conclusion. There's a psycho killer type of course, a pregnant woman, her unpleasant boyfriend, and promiscuous best friend. Then there's an unhappy university couple, a teacher with another life, the faded Southern Belle Type, and her wanna-be actress daughter. Like his other books "Cuts" is both violent and very funny (in a warped way).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laymon Cuts Like A Knife., March 13, 2008

By	SpacegrassMan (Insane Land of Words & Music) - See all my reviews

The late great Richard Laymon was one guy who could write a powerful story and have you glued to the pages. I've always thought psychos hiding in closets with sharp knives, waiting for you when you come home, were always scary. The idea of an Albert Prince waiting for me when I go to grab a pair of socks out of my closet, is crazy. The way Laymon stitched all these characters together in the story, is amazing to read. I would advise any writers of horror out there to read this if only for that. Another great thing is how much he packs in to a book the size of some longer short stories. You'll finish this in two or three days, and I thought it was good enough to read back over favorite parts when I was done.
5 Stars!