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

Permanent Obscurity - Author Richard Perez was kind enough to select me as one of the early reviewers. To some extent, that makes me want to pull punches, but I feel that would be a disservice to him and his audience, so I'll go with brutal honesty.

First, I HATED the two main characters. That's not always a bad thing. "When She Was Good" from Philip Roth had a despicable main character. The difference was the fact that Roth's character seemed to make sense and his talent as a writer really showed. Unfortunately, for Perez, his main characters don't quite make sense. They're (I guess) more punk, but talk like bangers. More of a problem was the break in character for the protagonist (and narrator). Every now and then, she seemed too deep, show more reflective, intelligent . . . it just didn't fit. It's like the book was a television show and now and then, the director would yell "cut" (which would be appropriate.

Yet, I'm giving the book three stars... That's because Perez can write. His story is gritty, not for the easily offended (although if you've read Roth, you wouldn't have issue). But he shows talent. He's a good writer, he just needs to keep his characters in character a little more.

Oh - almost forgot, the two male characters - Baby and Dick - were more interesting than the two women characters - Serena and Dolores - because beyond the fact that Perez uses the character Dick to get into his own story in some capacity, the names were blatant in what happened to them or with them. Dick has a somewhat humorous episode and Baby, well, without throwing in too obvious a spoiler (but it's still here...so you may not want to read on), I can say Dolores ends up suffering the same fate as Serena at the same time, but with a lower-cased "b." 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

In his book, Permanent Obscurity, Richard Perez tells the story of two girls in New York City, Delores and Serena. Living a Bohemian hand-to-mouth lifestyle, they are fairly aimless and fumble through their lives with little direction. Their alliance seems strong at the beginning, exceeding the bounds of usual friendship and wandering into physical intimacy at times. But, things are not as they seem, as is skillfully revealed as the story progresses.

Delores and Serena are drug users and people users who generally operate outside of the establishment. They hit on the idea of making their own S&M porn film to make money. Permanent Obscurity details their misadventures as they steal a camera, locate a willing submissive male actor, and do show more copious amounts of drugs. They are pursued by dangerous elements to whom Serena owes money. Their escapade turns into a tragedy as things take an unexpected turn for the ugly.

Richard Perez presents his characters with blunt honesty and no-holds-barred authenticity in this rowdy romp through the mismanaged lives of these two freewheeling young women. His writing style is clear, gutsy, and unapologetic. The dialogue is spot-on and the plot is well-paced, accelerating toward the end of the book into a tension that keeps the reader turning pages to find out what happens next. This talented author catches the reader with one hook (the sex and drugs), and then in an adroit bait-and-switch, transfers smoothly to another rail (genuine peril and death) before the complacent reader realizes what has happened. Suddenly, the story has shifted from what it seemed to be in the beginning to something else entirely. It is a masterful transition, tasty and surprising, as consequences and accountability finally rear their ugly heads.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book, well-written and expertly handled. Warning for readers: it contains graphic scenes best suited for adults. Permanent Obscurity is edgy, hip, street-wise, and irreverent. I highly recommend this book. show less

A month after finishing reading, I'm still having difficulty deciding what to say about this book. Bear with me and follow my whole thought process here.
The premise? A good one, full of promise.
The events? Gritty, well-paced, and appropriate for the genre.
The characters? Well, that's where the tough part comes in. Perez has created a colorful, multi-textured collection of amusing characters, most of them quite fringy and cleverly hidden in plain sight of a typical modern city. I can picture them as real people inhabiting the same world I do.
The protagonist's characterization, however, grated on me the entire time I was reading -- while she occasionally had an interesting insight into her generation or the art scene she strives show more to navigate, it is often obscured by the mismatched dialogue she vomits through the entire story. Clichés, mixed-era and -scene slang terms/idioms made her nearly impossible for me to accept as a realistic character. With the emotional control of a two year old, she has potential to be an interesting character, but her disjointed narration just killed it for me. In her thoughts, she uses words like “assuage” and “apropos”. However, when it comes to dialogue she is all over the place in a very distracting way. She calls a girl she finds her boyfriend cheating on her with a “cunt-sniffer,” and then a few dozen pages left refers to someone’s hat as a “cap”. She calls her nagging drug dealer a “whigger”, and refers to “getting [her] kiss on” with her best friend. And then there’s the time she shouts “Bitch! You got me hyped!” to her best friend-business-partner-occasional-lover Serena.
And I have a nagging suspicion that her obvious overuse of the word “crumby” is a Holden Caulfield pose.
I am tempted to fall into the cliché-fest myself and say she "insists upon herself." For crying out loud, near the beginning of the novel she attempts to foreshadow future events with “[b]esides, there were other factors, other needs … ones you’ll hear about, as this true-life tragicomedy unfolds.” Sure subtlety is not her strong suit in any part of the novel (and is not necessarily a bad thing), but this is just too much for me to bear.
Or is it? (Cue screeching record sound here.) After all, I finished the book and did not regret doing so. The thing that saved it for me (other than the aforementioned basely-intriguing premise and supporting characters) was the understanding that one of Perez’s intentions in writing this novel was to create a sexploitation story reminiscent of Russ Meyer films my roommates used to watch during college. That realization made me dismount my English –major high horse and take it for the rowdy romp of exploitative fun that the book is supposed to be. That said, Dolores suddenly becomes a comedic character – one meant to be a mish-mosh of various lampooned fantasies. When played as a movie in your brain, the book takes on a terrific sense of tragedy – knocked-up Dolores ingesting every illicit substance known to man as she participates in porno production as a way of fulfilling her as-yet squelched dreams of being an artist/photographer.
Amazing what you can find amusing when you realize the pretension you initially saw in a character is actually your own. show less

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

I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book. Yes, I was curious. No, it's not the type of book I usually read. And there I was, unable to put it down.
This is a fast-paced, and most importantly well told, story with excellent dialogues that bring the two main characters, Serena and Dolores, literally to life. You instantly get the feeling that the two girls are real and not just figments of an author's imagination. A raw and honest, at times brutal and in the next moment touching, story-line that develops steadily until it inevitably reaches its tragic ending. It even gives you a touch of road-movie feeling at the end. And indeed, if that's not a cautionary tale, I don't know what could be one.
Side note: I'm show more usually not a friend of the kind of language used here, but it absolutly fit and the story couldn't have been told any other, any "softer" way.
In short: Certainly not a book for everybody, but if you're not offended by the sexual content, you'll find some brilliant storytelling here! show less