Drawing Blood

Periodically I feel unbearably suffocated by how much stuff I own and how unnecessary nearly all of it is. One such phase has just engulfed me, thus I've sifted through my shelves to find books that I either never intend to re-read or want to re-read once then give away. 'Drawing Blood' falls into the latter category. I first read it as a teenager, indeed reading Poppy Z. Brite was formative for me. It was a little odd re-reading it for the first time in years. I still enjoyed it and think it deserves five stars, but perhaps now I am too old and cynical to get quite so immersed in the love story of Trevor and Zach. After all, their relationship is violent and somewhat problematic, albeit very Romantic-with-a-capital-R. These days the show more character I identify with most is Kinsey, as he cooks badly, worries about his friends, and displays no sexual interest in anyone. I still like the horror elements very much, especially the powerful and disturbing sequence in Birdland. It’s the settings and little details that make this novel really special, I think. It has such atmosphere. Even as a teenager, though, it never made me want to go to New Orleans and the Deep South to loaf around gothically; why bother, when Poppy Z. Brite brings it to you? I should re-read [b:Lost Souls|452244|Lost Souls|Poppy Z. Brite|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1420793346s/452244.jpg|440863] as well and then pass both on. show less

Strange places, incredible imagery, sharp-edged characters and a difficult romance--this is a book that does what horror does best and always keeps its eye on the pain, discomfort and darkness of life and art. Hits hard if your head's in the right place.

A beautifully written, highly unpleasant story. Not, strictly speaking, horror - at least, it fails on my basic calculation. No one ever, for more than a few minutes, feels helpless. In fact, the horror is rather ineffectual - short-term scary, but never anything like overwhelming. It is a very nasty story, on several levels - lots and lots of (mostly illusionary, but not entirely) gore, but more importantly some seriously screwed-up characters. And all of them seem to be determined to do a thorough job of screwing up any parts of their lives that aren't already screwed up. Drugging yourself constantly (whether with legal or illegal drugs) is a really bad way of handling problems - they only show up later, and worse, and accompanied by show more the problems caused by the drugs. In fact, my objection to the book is less that it's horror and more that it's too literary - unpleasant things happening to unpleasant people. It does improve on most literary novels by having something of a happy ending - several of the characters are actually better off, both physically and emotionally, than they were when we first met them. So I'm not really sorry I read it. However, I have no intention of ever reading it again, or any others by the author. Not my cup of tea. If you truly enjoy R. Crumb comics, though, read this - you'll love it. show less

Brite's writing and characters immediately sucked me in, and I absolutely loved the way art saturated the book's pages--drawing and music were both a constant source of atmosphere and brought home Brite's thematic intentions in a way that made the book resonate all the more. Tying together art, powerful relationships and friendships, and haunting violence, the book is a novel worth every horror-lover's mind, so far as I'm concerned. It escalates further and further until the climax of the book brings everything together in brilliant fashion, and I only wish there were more Brite books to be read. I'll come back to this one and recommend it over and over again, I'm sure.

It has been a long time since I read this novel, but I recall being quite amazed by the absorbing moodiness, evocative prose, and compelling themes. My impression of Brite's writing, especially on the subject of vampires, is that she is everything that Anne Rice fans think of Rice -- but where Rice falls short of the legend, Brite exceeds all expectations.

Some of Brite's preoccupations in her writing (which somewhat mirror Rice's, but Brite is less coy about it) get to be a bit much for my tastes after a couple of books (it began to feel like reading the same book), and as such I stopped reading her works some years ago, but there's no denying that as an author she has an impressive talent and formidable skill in her craft.

You might show more notice this review is almost identical to my review of Lost Souls. Yeah, I know. I read them both at the same time, and my memory of each has faded about the same amount. show less

This is not my usual sort of book. I am not a horror or a fantasy fan in the slightest. I would far rather read about women sitting in the laundrette down the street than ghosts & demons. Just thought we should get that clear before I say that...I really liked this book!

The characters were very well fleshed out, & the storyline so well paced, that it didn’t feel like a cheap horror. The violence & more out-there moments were used to enhance the story rather than for shock value. The quality of the writing was such that in many ways, it was nearly a believable story.

I don’t know where this particular book lies along the spectrum of Brite’s work, but it has definitely made me see her as an author to read more from.

I wish this book was called BIRDLAND and not "drawing blood". I avoided this book for over two years because I thought it was a vampire novel.

It isn't.

Is IS a really satisfying gay horror with lots of gore and sex and all the things I want in a trash novel.