Dermaphoria by Craig Clevenger.
(The following post is not porn-related, normal service will be resumed shortly)
I’m a lucky guy. I have a body women fight over, a car people try to buy from me when I stop at the coffee-shop, and a blog which is read than more people than I know (the crucial measure of blogging success.)
I also have a number of very talented friends, among them Craig Clevenger, the guy in my circle I’ll curse at when I’m in my seventies, and the movie of his life comes on my full-imersion, holographic TV for the third time in a week. We’ve all got one.
His new book, ‘Dermaphoria‘, is just out and once read, will become your default gift-choice for the next twelve months (Craig’s first book ‘The Contortionist’s Handbook‘ has filled that role for me since 2002.) Craig’s fans include Chuck ‘Fight Club‘ Palahniuk, Irvine ‘Trainspotting‘ Welsh and the team who put together the movie ‘Donnie Darko’. If you read ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife‘, Craig’s published by the same people. In a nutshell, he’s a shockingly talented writer.
I haven’t read Dermaphoria yet, but Publishers Weekly describe it as “…a sometimes brilliant, heavily stylized novel whose psychedelic prose and labyrinthine story line will enthrall some readers and enrage others.” That’s the perfect review, literature that doesn’t upset anyone is principally published by Hallmark.
Here’s what it says on the back:
“Eric Ashworth awakens in jail, unable to remember how he got there or why. All he does remember is a woman’s name: Desiree.
Bailed out and holed up in a low rent motel, Eric finds the solution to his amnesia in a strange new hallucinogen. By synthesizing the sense of touch, the drug produces a disjointed series of sensations that slowly allow Eric to remember his former life as a clandestine chemist. With steadily increasing doses, Eric reassembles his past at the expense of his grip on the present, and his distinction between truth and fantasy crumbles as his paranoia grows in tandem with his tolerance.”
You want to read it now damnit.
Links to his books at Amazon are below. There’s no affiliate payment stuff going on, I’m just happy to turn you on to a book you’ll love and Craig’s a friend. I know you’ll thank me when you’ve read them.
- Dermaphoria – Craig Clevenger (not about skincare)
- The Contortionists Handbook – Craig Clevenger (not about the circus)
Popularity: 21% [?]
The plot sounds a bit like Total Recall, but probably takes a completely different path. If Irvine Welsh is a fan, it must be pretty darn cool. I’ll put it on my Christmas list…
The Total Recall comment could be unkind until I remembered the book the (pretty crappy) movie’s based on which is a classic. Craig’s not sci-fi but he tends to really challenge with ideas. The resolution of ‘The Contortionist’s Handbook’ will give you goosebumps. I’m sure this’ll be the same.
Sam.
Sounds very cyberpunk. I can dig that. I’ve already put it on hold at the library (aren’t online OPACs a dream?)
He writes in a way that’s both muscular and genuine. The literary equivalent of a Jensen Interceptor (a British sports car, styled in Italy but powered by a huge Mopar V8) – the elegant hoodlum thing guys like me go for (I think he’s better at it).
It’s very cool to have a friend you can ‘hype’ with total sincerity. You’ll dig it.