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A review by amyw_97
The Marbled Swarm by Dennis Cooper
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.