Exquisite Corpse

I finally picked up this book after remembering what a big splash the author made back in the mid-90s. I have to say that the splash was well deserved. If you know anything about the author’s books, you know that I mean that in the ways you’re probably thinking. But I also mean it in others.

The quality of the writing here is very strong. The characters are all generally drawn quite well, with the exception of

Andrew’s voice is compelling, and as he drives a majority of the events, having him take the lead in the first chapter is an excellent choice. And, despite the fact that he is a serial killer who revels in all the usual cruelty and unique bloodiness his obsession entails, he is a compelling character whenever his scenes queue show more up. A bad guy readers love to hate and love at the same time.

It is a particular testament to the author’s skill to note that the method by which Andrew escapes from prison is drawn quite believably in the novel…even skeptical readers will agree to suspend their disbelief.

Jay is a budding killer who has the discipline to avoid fouling the city where he lives with his own kills…until Tran, a particularly beautiful Vietnamese hustler throws his considerable charms at Jay’s feet.

Tran’s sections are very well drawn, and allow readers to walk in yet a third lifestyle and mindset that is very different than the first two offered up in this book.

Lucas is the one that is the least compelling. Perhaps this is because his illness keeps him quiet in terms of activity, or perhaps it’s because he has the most common, almost suburban, existence of all the characters. Still, his portrait, when added to the other three, rounds out this work and creates a richness that otherwise would be lacking.

The four are pulled ever more tightly together. The two killers begin to work together, and there is that bloody finale that had so many people squawking when the work came out. (The author was rejected by the publisher of all his previous books because of the gruesome climactic orgy.) Which certainly is shocking but really isn’t any more horrible or ugly to read than many of the sections the killer recalls and enacts in preceding scenes. Which leads you to wonder why this was rejected at all.

If you’re a gory fiction fan, this one is for you!

4 stars

If you enjoy stories that capture the mind of killers, you should check out [b:Beloved: A Sensual Noir Thriller|31159964|Beloved A Sensual Noir Thriller|Laine Cunningham|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1469650329s/31159964.jpg|23316671]. show less

Okay, this is not a happy or pleasant book. It's nasty in a myriad of ways. But it's not mean spirited. It feels more like a wounded animal lashing out with whatever energy it has left. It WILL fight you to it's inevitable death and you won't be able to comfort it.

If you want a very queer horror book and can stomach necrophilia and cannibalism, give it a read. You'll get it.

If you want a horror book but aren't willing to engage with queer themes find something else. That's what the book is about under the viscera.

When I was 13 I attempted to read this book, and now, I distinctly remember throwing it away in disgust after the first chapter.
WARNING, WARNING, WARNING
This novel truly is *disgusting*, vile, extremely disturbing, putrid. Feel brave? Come on in.
This would be equivalent to a scratch and sniff garbage pail kid sticker, labeled bloody fart.
But....SERIOUSLY this retched story sucks you right in, twists and turns you all around, has you writhing in gore, wincing through DETAILED rough gay sex, and squirming through the wretchedness of HIV and necrophilia.
When it’s through with YOU, it spits you right out to rot in your own stench in the relentless sun.
Absolutely terrifying. I had an actual night terror/ sleep paralysis from this book. show more I swore it was from having the book on my bed while I slept. I woke up and threw it off my bed.
I made it through, I have no plans to read it again, as it is not my favorite genre of horror (necrophilia) But I pay my respects to Brite, Brite sure knows how to TERRIFY me.
I do plan to revisit all older Brite titles now that I am an adult and not my rad 90s goth tween self, looking at the world through rose colored glasses. show less

The grotesque framing of the 80s/90s HIV crisis through the lens of two excessive, cannibalistic serial killers and their "perfect victim" is not a thing I would've done, but it is a thing I enjoyed nonetheless

Exquisite Corpse may be the most graphic and horrifying novel I have ever read. I can summarize the plot in a few simple words: Homosexual cannibal serial killers with AIDS. Truly. This is not the name of a metal band or a B-Movie from the 80s. That is the point of the story. One may be able to find deeper meaning in this gore-fest if they were to dig deep, but I doubt they will find much. This book was written simply to shock the reader and that it does. Excuse me while I go read something about rainbows, puppies and unicorns to restore balance in the universe.

Maybe the most terrifying book I've ever read, even more so than [b:The End of Alice|75479|The End of Alice|A.M. Homes|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170875930s/75479.jpg|2702599], another book about a child killer written by a woman. The whole book is wet and diseased, rich, sweet and sick. It's New Orleans. It also reaffirmed that if you need to find somewhere for a monster to live, you put them in the same house in New Orleans, on Royal Street, where Lestat de Lioncourt lives, where Jay Byrne lives. Perhaps an untapped gateway to hell?

I absolutely LOVE this extremely graphic little book. Revoltingly horrifying or horrifyingly revolting, I'm not sure which. I can't figure out how Poppy got so very descriptive in so few words. Very few books seem to have any real effect on me. I read them and "Oh, that was a pretty good book." and I move on to the next one. This is not one of those books. I find I still have to read it about once a year. It completely makes my skin crawl and any book that has that effect on me, is awesome. Read it if you dare. Love it or hate it, this book will effect you in some way. You just can't un-see it after you read it. So, you've been warned.