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raymond_murphy's review
2.0
I wish I could say that I didn't get it, but I did. Cooper dressed up his erotic themes in Brideshead's clothing. The result was not very interesting. I didn't see anything original, new or even true in the telling of this story. A real disappointment compared to almost any other Cooper novel I have read
amyw_97's review
2.0
Hm, I could not finish this. Maybe I've outgrown the content Cooper writes. I might go back to it. For the most part it was uh, wordy... and the narrator even tells you he has trouble with being wordy. Too verbose for my liking.
I think this was intentional, but I didn't enjoy it.
The narrator explains the 'marbled swarm'. What is it, you ask? A verbose way of speaking that takes from many dialects. It's makes you sound knowledgeable but sends you into a loop. That's what this book did to me.
I read partway into it then just didn't go further.
I had no interest in Serge's presumable demise... I don't know if he dies or not but his injuries are rough. Everyone in this story turns out to be some predator, whether it be Serge's dad who hides in the tunnels or Serge's dead brother, or even the narrator's taxi driver. After a while it gets boring.
I like Cooper's prose in some of his books, like The Dream Police (albeit that's poetry), and Safe was one of the most beautiful works I've read.
This guy can seriously write. And there is a reason I still give his work a chance despite the questionable content. His prose is inspiring. It's really well done, and it's why he's hailed as a literary hero in some circles and given awards in France for his writing. It's why queer literature lets him pass by despite him writing content that might give LGBTQ+ people a bad rep.
I look up to him as a transgressive writer... so it's painful to give this book a 2/5 because Cooper says this is his best work. I think his early work, again like in Safe, the story My Mark is his best work. My Loose Thread is also sad, from what I remember.
Safe was written in 1984 though, maybe it's not fair to compare them...
Here's a funny issue: Cooper kept capitalizing 'emo'. Hear me out - it's like an old person viewing 'emo' as a phenomena of the younger generation and as something revered. I guess it's because I grew up in this era, that I find it funny how people take it seriously.
I will say that this is one of my favourite lines of all time, though:
For the love of God, he is a really talented writer when he's not writing about whatever has graced his pages for the last decade or so. Just go read his older stuff, you'll thank me, try to find the stuff that isn't about snuff and more about relationships with people.
I'm going to read his upcoming novel and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Or return to his older work. Please Dennis, write more of the stuff you wrote in Safe or even Wrong, I am begging you because that stuff was legit. You don't need to write about killing people to be a good writer.
I think this was intentional, but I didn't enjoy it.
The narrator explains the 'marbled swarm'. What is it, you ask? A verbose way of speaking that takes from many dialects. It's makes you sound knowledgeable but sends you into a loop. That's what this book did to me.
I read partway into it then just didn't go further.
Spoiler
Got to the part where they kidnap Serge, stop on the side of the road and I am 99% sure what's going to happen because the narrator makes it very clear what he wants out of the people in this story. He's a cannibal - possibly a step up from the usual people Cooper writes about - but unsurprisingly a predator, which is the EXPECTED for Cooper's work.I had no interest in Serge's presumable demise... I don't know if he dies or not but his injuries are rough. Everyone in this story turns out to be some predator, whether it be Serge's dad who hides in the tunnels or Serge's dead brother, or even the narrator's taxi driver. After a while it gets boring.
I like Cooper's prose in some of his books, like The Dream Police (albeit that's poetry), and Safe was one of the most beautiful works I've read.
This guy can seriously write. And there is a reason I still give his work a chance despite the questionable content. His prose is inspiring. It's really well done, and it's why he's hailed as a literary hero in some circles and given awards in France for his writing. It's why queer literature lets him pass by despite him writing content that might give LGBTQ+ people a bad rep.
I look up to him as a transgressive writer... so it's painful to give this book a 2/5 because Cooper says this is his best work. I think his early work, again like in Safe, the story My Mark is his best work. My Loose Thread is also sad, from what I remember.
Safe was written in 1984 though, maybe it's not fair to compare them...
Here's a funny issue: Cooper kept capitalizing 'emo'. Hear me out - it's like an old person viewing 'emo' as a phenomena of the younger generation and as something revered. I guess it's because I grew up in this era, that I find it funny how people take it seriously.
I will say that this is one of my favourite lines of all time, though:
Spoiler
"Truth is, my wealth is psychological as well as moneyed, and, in order to spare you some crushing verbiage, I’ll ask you to witness my cruel-in-quotes decision for yourself and trust me when I say the bitch just simply had to die."For the love of God, he is a really talented writer when he's not writing about whatever has graced his pages for the last decade or so. Just go read his older stuff, you'll thank me, try to find the stuff that isn't about snuff and more about relationships with people.
I'm going to read his upcoming novel and hope to be pleasantly surprised. Or return to his older work. Please Dennis, write more of the stuff you wrote in Safe or even Wrong, I am begging you because that stuff was legit. You don't need to write about killing people to be a good writer.
miles03's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
iahk's review
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
2.25
regrettably unimpressed by this one. I tried to warm to the writing style but found it too tedious and almost cringeworthy more often than not, although there are the odd really fantastic paragraphs here and there which motivated me to keep reading. not only did I find the narrator obnoxious - not because of his depravity, actually, but because he often times reads like a teenager with a contrarian complex (oh, wait…). I’m also really not sure whether the inventiveness of both the “marbled swarm” and the labyrinthine structure of both the narrative and language is grossly overexaggerated or not. I don’t find the gruesome aspects of the book worth remarking on - in the sense that although I enjoy reading “”disturbing”” books, I’m largely indifferent to whether it elevates the story or not.
and to be fair, I am not that familiar with the works of, say, De Sade and Bataille (Cooper’s literary heroes) yet, and maybe The Marbled Swarm really isn’t an “inferior” version of a similar sort of story and the problem lies with me.
fiendfull's review
3.0
I wanted to like this book more than I did - it has a load of interesting elements like Dennis Cooper writing about Emo kids and cannibalism, and some weird layers of narrative and language - but I just found it a bit boring at times. One thing I like about Dennis Cooper's books usually is that I find them easy to get into and to grasp the narrative voice, but as The Marbled Swarm is purposefully not like that, I found my attention drifting. I did like the playful narration, but I don't know enough about French literary styles or France in general I feel to really enjoy this one.
magenta_menace's review
2.25
yoooo what the fuck!!
but actually, this book’s gratuitous violence, bizarre organization, and peculiar linguistic structure of the title concept almost made it a dnf for me. i did appreciate the level of grotesque that cooper was able to achieve with this one, and i know the narrator was meant to be irredeemable and his level of depravity knows no bounds, but i just couldn’t get into it.
but actually, this book’s gratuitous violence, bizarre organization, and peculiar linguistic structure of the title concept almost made it a dnf for me. i did appreciate the level of grotesque that cooper was able to achieve with this one, and i know the narrator was meant to be irredeemable and his level of depravity knows no bounds, but i just couldn’t get into it.
pudo's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Murder
eatyourphone's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
funny to say this about dennis cooper as if it isnt always sort of this way but: hard to get through! i sense that it would be worth revisiting though. it deserves note taking and an attentiveness i cannot give to library books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence
joejoh's review
3.0
As much as I wanted to love this book, the narrator is just too much of a monster. In the end, I found him convincing, but too terrifying to relate to. There are no soft edges to grab, and so every encounter with the book made me both disgusted and nauseated. I love the work of Dennis Cooper but I found nothing redemptive, and in the end, the book is both empty of meaning and heart. I'd give the book 3.5 stars if I could, but only because of the incredibly high quality of Cooper's prose. I could only recommend this book to Cooper completists.