Permanent Obscurity: Or, A Cautionary Tale of Two Girls and Their Misadventures with Drugs, Pornography and Death by Dolores Santana

Permanent Obscurity is a dark story about unrealized dreams that can leave a person (in this novel, artists) searching for ways to break into the (art) world of the "known". It shows how desperation can lead one to make bad choices and how quickly these choices can get out of hand. Before a person realizes it, their life has spiraled downwards and has hit rock bottom. Rock bottom can be death, imprisonment, addiction, or any combination of these. The author, Richard Perez, illustrates this point on many levels. He not only uses his main characters, but includes his minor ones as well. In the end, he successfully interconnects all of them.

This is a well written book that can be classified as a "page turner" - one you cannot put down show more until you are finished. It is not erotica, but a story involving erotica as an unfortunate goal two females make when they do not know what else to do with their unrealized artistic gifts. Sadly, many young women do take this direction, especially when feeling there are no other alternatives. Richard Perez shows us this dark side of life. A side we do not want to admit exists, but does. In the end, there is no redemption. How can there be, when you are addicted to drugs, the cause of numerous deaths, imprisoned and have a family that has disowned you? You have become your worse nightmare,you have become permanently obscure.

I highly recommend this book. show less

Permanent Debt: A Review of Permanent Obscurity by Richard Perez

Permanent Obscurity, fascinated me from the beginning. I didn’t know anything about it really, but when I read a quote from Richard Perez that said the novel needed some explanation, I was sold. That usually means that it’s raw and uncensored. Here’s what he wrote:

"It’s specifically an exploitation novel, written in that vernacular, which some might regard as “low brow” or vulgar. And it delves into BDSM territory with these two young ladies taking the dominatrix (exploitation) route."

But I’m not sure that any of that really matters. Or rather the question is not so much an issue of “low” or “high brow” but of pornography. How does one write a novel show more about pornography (at least in part), in this instance one female character taking on the role of female dominatrix?1 It is inherently a tightrope act and Perez’ balance is struck by couching the entire novel as a confession. The novel’s subtitle is “A Cautionary Tale.” So the “vulgar” parts are actually Dolores Santana’s (the confessor) retelling of a story written by someone else (the script, for example, of a femdom movie Dolores and Serena, her best friend, make) through Perez’ supposed recording. I like this. It’s pleasantly convoluted and allows Perez to be honest with the material, which means that it is not a novel for squeamish readers. But I was forewarned about the subject — not that it would have made any difference to me.

Juxtaposed with the story within a story point of view, is the tone of the story. It is written largely in dialog: quick, simple conversations that keep the story moving (a plot that the characters seem unable to escape, like fate). The prose between the dialog keeps that conversational patter (it is a confession after all), which gives an ironic lightness to the rather dark subject matter (drugs, sex, violence — the exploitation of both sexes). It’s fitting, though, to think about the off-handed way people often commit crimes and about the way that exploitation movies and literature and tabloids themselves are written. Sensational acts are often a result of habitual mundane activities. There are always reasons behind them and this is a story about that.

The characters pull the book through and keep it from becoming a farce or worse, pornography itself. It is about self-identification. It is about a fall from grace and redemption, in that Catholic sense of confession. It is about understanding the dark side of human nature through experience and coming away wiser through self-realization, which is the only way to improve ourselves. Raymond, Dolores’ boyfriend, tells her, “You gotta let people be who they wanna be.” That may be true to an extent, but there are boundaries and Dolores learns that the hard way. Life is difficult and unjust and filled with “truly perverse, heinous stuff” and self-doubt (even at the very end, she looks for guidance: “You tell me.”). And while she may have learned something about herself and those around her, it comes at a cost. We never finish paying it. show less

~blurb~

"My blood. Hot and red." When Permanent Obscurity's protagonist, Dolores, makes this statement, we're not sure just which source of blood she's referring to. Ready-made for Roger Avary or Robert Rodriguez, Richard Perez takes us on a blackly comedic romp that will have us laughing, gagging and crying in mostly equal measure as we frenetically turn the pages. Thanks for not pulling those punches, Mr. Perez; New York noir hasn't tasted this fresh in years.

~full review~

"You better recognize this fact. People are complicated." -- Dolores

Ah, Mr. Perez. I began Permanent Obscurity, my very first Richard Perez read, with a sort of jaded hopefulness; there must be hundreds of writers of post-90s, post-Giuliani noir in NYC alone. As a show more minor armchair connoisseur of hip-noir fiction and film, I've been subjected to many; “derivative” is a kind work; “sucks,” more apt.

I was not heartened by the first few pages. They were redolent of the same kind of faux-gritty first-person dialog you can find easily in any fiction section in your local indy bookstore; I thought I was in for a disjointed, self-indulgent romp involving predictable sex and crimes of passion at the hands of Serena and Dolores, the book's 20-something main characters. The fact is, having finished the book, I still don't know whether the played verbiage at the beginning was on purpose, versus Perez trying too hard. It didn't really matter by page 10, though. Somehow, I was suddenly on the fast-track to being hooked. Whether it was my sudden, mild sexual arousal, the deepening complexity of the characters, or the addictive, stream-of-consciousness prose, I'm not sure. So, after having lamented just minutes earlier that the book was going to perhaps be mediocre at best, I was on page 169 – how the hell did i get there?

"We need to acknowledge our own selfishness, too, and get it over with. Repeat after me: I am selfish, I am cruel." -- Dolores

For one thing, I was delighted that a male author could grok a woman's POV so handily. All 20-something women are insane (this included me). We're too young to know how to use our sexuality, and we're still experiencing the last vestiges of adolescence; too sexy for our own, insecure goods. No honest female has ever not been guilty of the kind of scenario that Dolores Santana, the book's protagonist and narrator, speaks of when she laments, “And, without even trying, I found a million ways to hurt him... we need to acknowledge that, ok? Acknowledge our inner bitch.” On the very next page, Perez describes the relationship between Serena and Dolores over the course of about 12 hours: “And I went so far as to smash a framed portrait of Serena,” Dolores informs us, “one that I took at CBGB, on the Bowery. The next day Serena called me, and we went shopping together.”

An area of improvement for Perez may lie in smoother transitions involving the fun, if horrifying, coincidences that are a hallmark of noir. I've been to NYC for concerts and shopping (and street food; let's be honest) over the years, but have never lived there; I began thinking, “Hey, maybe people do constantly run into random acquaintances multiple times per day!” Many of the “chance meetings” could have done with a bit more lube – uh, back-story.

"It's just a game. Be cruel. Have fun!" -- Serena

I was a little disappointed as I began noticing that no female character had any sort of depth, or developed sense of morality; the women, all knee-jerk, emotional egoists -- from Dolores' mamma, to Serena's ex-lover, to Dolores' ex-boyfriend's new flame, and others in-between. Nothing says a story has to involve at least one great female; but, being too analytical for my own good, I began to wonder if Perez' personal feelings towards women were showcased, inadvertently. In fact, Perez lead me on until the end of the book, when lots of cool things came together to give us our dubious denouement; we do have female redemption, I'm happy to report. (Don't worry, though – you'll still get your unsettling ending!)

"Well, for fuck's sake, we may have to saw it off!" -- Serena

The end of the book contained portions that were as fun as the most effective black comedy noir film; think Killing Zoe, Curdled, Very Bad Things, House of Yes; loved it! What a romp. These scenes were almost as awesome as Mr. Perez making introductions between the word “clitsy,” and myself.

"She must've used 500 feet of nylon recycling twine, which, for some reason, reminded me of spider's silk." -- Dolores

So... just what's the book about? Like any good noir, the cover and back-blurb are all you need to know, my precious. Enjoy. ;) {{goes to download Bound}}

"My blood. Hot and red" -- Dolores

Craving papas rellenos,
m show less

Once upon a time (actually about 20 years ago), I ran a small indie video store in the Boston MA area. A major part of our business came from the sale of "femdom" videos. People visited our little store from as far away as Germany and Japan. They came from all walks of life- quiet college professor types to the raincoat crowd. I was to meet several "starlets" and "directors" during my employ there.

That being said, I scored this story a BIG HIT! True to its subject matter and bringing the reader into the "amateur porn" business on a personal level. You see how someone could see this endeavor as a way for quick cash, and an easy way out of poverty and anonymity.

The author is skilled at the art of writing believable dialogue, making the show more reader quickly ensconced in the story. These are believable characters who take you on a wild ride through lives so chaotic they seem almost too wild to suppose any base in reality. Don't get me wrong. This is a novel, dark and comic but like all such efforts it has to have a grounding in reality. This book does.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a quirky character driven story of porn, drugs, sex and yes, love. You will surely not be disappointed!! I wasn't!! show less

I didn't have any doubts about reading this book even though I was well forwarned that it may be quite offensive to some. Keep an open mind because this book contains about as much realism in a stories characters as I've seen in quite some time. Sure they swear, sure they take drugs but this is realism and not a sugar coated Hollywood mainstream story. I enjoyed the dialoge format because I think anything else wouldn't bring across the sharp edge of realism needed for this story. The dialoge shows the special relationship that "best friends" have. Richard Perez lived these characters and he presents Dolores and Serena with outstanding literary talent. As I read the book I thought of Dolores and Serena as the modern day Thelma and show more Louise. However, Thelma and Louise are tapioca pudding while Dolores and Serna are triple mocha expresso with a shot of RedBull. I was facinated with seeing what they were going to do next. Overall this story builds on the fact that the ordinary can quickly spiral out of control. It's amazing the lifestyle of these heavy drug users and how they just totally destroy their lives with drug use and the false sense of encouragement and hoped gained by using drugs. My only complaint about this book is the length. I feel it could have been edited down to around 300 pages? However, this is a great story and I could actually invision a movie made from this book. Congratulations to Richard Perez on a great book. I'm going to get a copy of his other book The Losers' Club. show less

Cautionary tale indeed. What happens when you mix drugs, bad relationships, mounting debt, careers with no focus, and a generally wandering existence with the seemingly-problem-solving-idea to make a femdom movie involving drugs, alcohol, a willing submissive, and a bit of boosted equipment? Mayhem. Page-turning mayhem. My only complaint is that it takes us awhile to get to the point of this page-turning explosion of storytelling; there's a lot of buildup to the really meaty part of the story.

But the buildup isn't all bad. We see Dolores' dependent relationship with the domineering Serena, see the chronicle of her self-destructive habits, generally get to delve into the world of a would-be artist who's stuck in the groove of a vastly show more unfulfilling 9-5 daily grind as a temp at MTV. Art meets life, as it were. And they don't mix well, throwing Dolores into dependence on drugs and cheap booze just to get through her days. Dolores' voice is quite spunky; she's intelligent, and we hear that fierce sparkle of wit, but she's also street-wise, and that gritty street langugage comes through loud and clear as well. In her voice, we hear the contradictions of her personality.

Her friend Serena is equally well drawn as a vortex from which little emerges. She is a relentless force, taking advantage of everything and everyone that stands in her way. She has a few moments of vunerability in which we see that life truly has been hard for her, and these moments really do stand out. But by the end of the novel, she's as hard as a glittering diamond, unforgiven and unforgiving.

Baby, Serena's submissive, is equally worthy of mention. He is intenesly likable and is a very well-developed character for someone whose overdriving passion is to serve. Dolores' moments of connection with him are intense and powerful.

If you're the squeamish type, stay away from this novel, but the title really ought to tell you that. There's nothing gratitutious here; what's said and done is crucial to plot and character development. Perez is hardly wallowing in filth; far from it. The language, the drugs, the sex: these are all part of the culture he wishes to portray, and he portrays it faithfully, in whole, sparing no detail. The dialogue is snappy, the street scenes crisp, and the characters so realistic that you want to grab each of them by the shoulders and give them a good shake at times.

Four stars. show less

This book is rightly labeled as a cautionary tale. It might better be summed up as "two irresponsible idiot losers who do too many drugs attempt BDSM porno without a clue to what they're really doing and only end up hurting themselves and killing others". This was not an easy read. The language is extremely foul. The story is uncomfortable. The author is not kidding when he says this piece is not for the faint of heart. The characters seem to spend most of their time screaming, either at each other, their friends, or the world in general. Most of the plot dissolves in a lunatic haze of drugs and random unsexy-sex. It breaks every rule of the BDSM community, and flaunts that fact openly (which is precisely why somebody ends up dead). I show more felt no sympathy for the characters. They're all losers, one way or another. Most of the males are wimps, and the females are unlikable bitches. They steal, they cheat, they lie, they bitch and moan and scream, and generally just dig themselves deeper into their own mess, despite being practically handed decent ways of escape on more than one occasion. They're the sort of people I remember despising in art school, because for all their talents, they were never going to go anywhere due to their own shortsighted, selfish pride. It just struck a sour chord for me.

I forced myself to finish the book, mostly out of morbid curiosity, but also so I could give it an honest review. All I can really say in summation is that I prefer my sexploitation a little sexier and a little less screamy and whiny. show less