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A review by boomlight
Closer by Dennis Cooper
5.0
Wrote smth for this but seems to have disappeared lol?
Anyways
Closer is an absolutely genius work. A book on Identity. Searching for Identity, trying to understand your own Being. However, in this search for identity each of our characters rely (and idolize) George Miles. George is made into myth. The book deconstructs the myth of George Miles then. This paints a complicated portrait, which sees George as angelic and pure, yet ultimately human. We see how George has his purity ripped away from him by the evils of the world. Then, in the final chapter, the novel collapses on itself. Every character's self is exposed. Artificiality is ripped away. What we have left are the lost souls. But with George, even with his purity ripped away, the novel finds love. This is the loving picture Cooper paints for George. That even when George' myth, George's innocence, and his purity, is ripped away. The love for him exists. This novel is brutal, yet with intent. It transgresses and evokes many emotions, but never feels like its simply trying to be edgy. Rather its a tale of searching for identity and how it affects others. Which seeps into its true portrait of how Cooper sees George. Incredibly beautiful work of art.
Anyways
Closer is an absolutely genius work. A book on Identity. Searching for Identity, trying to understand your own Being. However, in this search for identity each of our characters rely (and idolize) George Miles. George is made into myth. The book deconstructs the myth of George Miles then. This paints a complicated portrait, which sees George as angelic and pure, yet ultimately human. We see how George has his purity ripped away from him by the evils of the world. Then, in the final chapter, the novel collapses on itself. Every character's self is exposed. Artificiality is ripped away. What we have left are the lost souls. But with George, even with his purity ripped away, the novel finds love. This is the loving picture Cooper paints for George. That even when George' myth, George's innocence, and his purity, is ripped away. The love for him exists. This novel is brutal, yet with intent. It transgresses and evokes many emotions, but never feels like its simply trying to be edgy. Rather its a tale of searching for identity and how it affects others. Which seeps into its true portrait of how Cooper sees George. Incredibly beautiful work of art.