Reviews

The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

martyrcore's review against another edition

4.0

it’s a great book really but i had a horrible time w it ‘cause it’s too vile & disgusting for me… couldn’t stop reading though

pyreknows's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

junebug333's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Check the trigger warnings before reading. It is a graphic and dark book, pretty descriptive. but everyone has certain limits on what they want to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Stalking, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Drug use

j_yarbrough's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Stalking, Abortion, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Addiction, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Vomit, Blood, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Medical content, Cancer, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, and Violence

birdtrailcam's review against another edition

4.75

“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.”

tom478's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? No

4.0

ginger_curmudgeon's review against another edition

dark

• Loveable characters? No

3.75

I’ve read some pretty weird or twisted books. I enjoy them sometimes. “The Sluts” might be the most twisted that I have read, and, yes, I enjoyed it. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in two evenings. 

One of the things that made it a quicker read is the structure. The story opens as a series of online reviews about a male escort. There’s a section that’s a message board on the same website, a section of emails, and then another section of reviews. 

Part of the story is the growing depravity of the men reviewing, discussing and debating the escort and his pimp/handler/co-conspirator. Another part of the story is that you’re not entirely sure what’s real and what isn’t. There’s a conspiracy/con or two at play throughout the novel. 

There’s not a lot of humanity found in these characters. They’re fairly awful people. But, is this all just a reflection of how horrible people can be in real life and/or of how the internet has given people a forum to explore the dark corners of their minds? Either way, Cooper certainly knows how to keep your attention while showing a dark side of life. 

TW: sexual assault, graphic violence, taboo

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual content

fizr18's review against another edition

5.0

I don’t even have the words to describe how much of a wild ride this book was. I haven’t felt so uncomfortable reading something, but also at the same time I was not able to put it down.

jeffrey_e's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

Vile.

cloudjules's review against another edition

4.0

I stumbled across The Sluts for the first time many years ago, back when I did not have the stomach for anything close to this level of depravity. Now, years later, I've read so much disturbing shit I promised myself I'd take a break, for the sake of my sanity. But then The Sluts popped up again, and I was too intrigued not to give it a go. Long story short, I'm glad I broke that promise because this was one of the most fascinating fiction books I've read in quite some time. In fact, the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that the experience itself was quite unpleasant at times and I do wish I could delete a lot of what I read from my mind lol

I thought my problem with extreme books (e.g. Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted) was the depravity itself, but as it turns out I can handle depravity as long as it serves a purpose. And Dennis Hooper makes excellent use of the horrifying imagery to explore the darkest corners of the human mind, crafting a book that is both incredibly disgusting and very sophisticated in its exploration of truth, objectification, and the blurred lines between violence and fantasy.

The level of fucked-upness also serves to make the multiple narrators' unreliability all the more gripping; I was on the edge of my seat the entire time (and wincing like crazy, not gonna lie), eager for confirmation that all the fucked-up shit being discussed was nothing but lies. That hope was what kept me going, and also made it easier to suspend my disbelief, making for an immersive experience overall.

I seem to be in the minority when I say I loved the ending; call me a softy, but I wouldn't have liked this half as much if it turned out most of the stuff discussed was true. Not only was it cathartic to find out the reality isn't anywhere as bad as it could've been, but I also thought it was a much more interesting creative choice. A lesser book would've gone for a disturbing ending to shock the reader yet again, but The Sluts isn't intended to merely shock. The ending fits perfectly with the book's themes of truth and our fascination with the macabre; that so many people were disappointed by the ending reflects the characters' insatiable hunger for more horrifying details on Brad's situation. The book makes the reader complicit, asking us how we're any different from the men in the thread.

The imagery is still very graphic and takes your mind places most of us would rather not go. Shit is still fucked up, the men in this thread are still terrifying, and there's still a lot of very real horror to be found in between the lines of the fabricated stories. The book doesn't shy away from any of it, but doesn't go out of its way to fuck you up further in the final few pages either. The whole thing is nasty enough as it is, basically, and the ending was a sigh of relief and a pleasant surprise.

So yeah, great read overall. Now back to avoiding disturbing shit before I lose it once and for all.