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A review by futurama1979
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper
5.0
i feel i have nothing of meaning to say that hasn't been said better by the text or by Cooper elsewhere. this book stunned me like everything i've read by him. his understanding of and relationship with structure is incredible to see. the way he structured this one was so incredibly suited to both his content and storytelling strengths. each of those three aspects seamlessly bolstered each other to produce a fucking insanely crafted narrative. it felt really balanced for a Cooper novel, in perspective, in voice, there was quite literally a moderator of the book's discussion who would help tie things together or weigh truths and compare. by some insanely good trick of craft this levelling actually upped the tension. now every truth and lie is on equal footing, now your closest-to-word-of-god figure is guessing at the same information you are. it's a cyclical book, starting when Brad was actually in southern California with the real 'Brian' and ending with them both actually having given up and moved on and in Brad's case survived the book, and a new Brad and Brian doing it over one or several steps further removed from reality.
to me there was a real element of metatextual commentary on the George Miles cycle in the themes of the Sluts that made it both heavier and more heartfelt. Cooper's ability to dissect and reconstruct his own psyche leading to moral arguments played out over message boards on escort sites, in conflicting reviews; more strongly than in any books in the actual cycle besides maybe [b:Try|51594|Try|Dennis Cooper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328185126l/51594._SX50_.jpg|841648], there is a clear devil's advocate moral voice in the midst of violent fantasy: this is wrong, and i want to save that boy. there is also the closure element, the fact that 'Brian' successfully let Brad go. in the context of George Miles, this passage in Brian's last post stands out: Of course I knew Brad, and you didn't. Brad was just your idea, and I guess you think he's a great idea. He may be a great idea, but Brad himself is just a kid who got drafted into the job of representing an idea. Now Brad is just a name. You don't even know who it belongs to anymore. i guess reading this book gave me closure on the cycle in a way too.
the last thing i wanted to say is the portrayal of Brad's bipolar shit rang so brutally true at least in my personal experience. Cooper has a solid understanding of it and doesn't pussy around writing it.
to me there was a real element of metatextual commentary on the George Miles cycle in the themes of the Sluts that made it both heavier and more heartfelt. Cooper's ability to dissect and reconstruct his own psyche leading to moral arguments played out over message boards on escort sites, in conflicting reviews; more strongly than in any books in the actual cycle besides maybe [b:Try|51594|Try|Dennis Cooper|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328185126l/51594._SX50_.jpg|841648], there is a clear devil's advocate moral voice in the midst of violent fantasy: this is wrong, and i want to save that boy. there is also the closure element, the fact that 'Brian' successfully let Brad go. in the context of George Miles, this passage in Brian's last post stands out: Of course I knew Brad, and you didn't. Brad was just your idea, and I guess you think he's a great idea. He may be a great idea, but Brad himself is just a kid who got drafted into the job of representing an idea. Now Brad is just a name. You don't even know who it belongs to anymore. i guess reading this book gave me closure on the cycle in a way too.
the last thing i wanted to say is the portrayal of Brad's bipolar shit rang so brutally true at least in my personal experience. Cooper has a solid understanding of it and doesn't pussy around writing it.