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A review by nothingforpomegranted
Erasure by Percival Everett
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
There is so much going on in this novel, and it’s really brilliantly done. Every time I read Percival Everett, I am struck by his ability to play with perspective and narration and create fascinating characters.
In Erasure, Percival Everett explores the world of writing and the way that art is received. Theolonius (Monk) Ellison is an author of experimental fiction whose mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and whose two older siblings are busy doctors with marriages falling apart. Monk is infuriated by the publication and subsequent celebration of We’s Lives in Da Ghetto, regarded as a true account of the Black experience, despite the fact that it bears no resemblance whatsoever to Monk’s own life. When his sister is shot and killed by anti-abortion activists in her own office, Monk moves home to care for his mother. Concerned about the cost of her care and caught up in his frustration at the writing world, Monk sits down and writes a furious satire in the same vein, filled with coarse language and gratuitous violence.
Everett grants us the entire parody within the novel, so there’s truly a book within a book. Especially knowing that it was a satire, I got a bit tired of the shtick and was ready to return to Monk’s story about two chapters before we actually returned to it. Nonetheless, this was incredibly well-crafted, and that the final line is shared between the two novels is brilliant.
There are echoes of Erasure in The Plot, Yellowface, and Black Buck and I am appreciative that in the 20 years since this was published that the world of publishing has expanded so greatly. In any case, I admire Everett and look forward to continuing to read all the weird stuff he’s ever published.
In Erasure, Percival Everett explores the world of writing and the way that art is received. Theolonius (Monk) Ellison is an author of experimental fiction whose mother is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and whose two older siblings are busy doctors with marriages falling apart. Monk is infuriated by the publication and subsequent celebration of We’s Lives in Da Ghetto, regarded as a true account of the Black experience, despite the fact that it bears no resemblance whatsoever to Monk’s own life. When his sister is shot and killed by anti-abortion activists in her own office, Monk moves home to care for his mother. Concerned about the cost of her care and caught up in his frustration at the writing world, Monk sits down and writes a furious satire in the same vein, filled with coarse language and gratuitous violence.
Everett grants us the entire parody within the novel, so there’s truly a book within a book. Especially knowing that it was a satire, I got a bit tired of the shtick and was ready to return to Monk’s story about two chapters before we actually returned to it. Nonetheless, this was incredibly well-crafted, and that the final line is shared between the two novels is brilliant.
There are echoes of Erasure in The Plot, Yellowface, and Black Buck and I am appreciative that in the 20 years since this was published that the world of publishing has expanded so greatly. In any case, I admire Everett and look forward to continuing to read all the weird stuff he’s ever published.