Name: The Sluts
ISBN: 9780786716746

Dennis Cooper

The Sluts

A fun beginning that ultimately delves too deep into depravity and fizzles out to a whimper.

Though that's sort of the point, I think. Part of "The Sluts" is about 'legends' and how sometimes you have to let the mystery be. How finding out the answer is not going to be satisfying, yet we all have a human urge to know more and find that answer regardless of the odds being stacked against our interest.

There's also an element of selling a dream: it'll be good, but hollow; you're better off looking for something real on your own. A touching truth.

My favorite parts of "The Sluts" were the funny moments, which were definitely more common in the beginning. It follows a similar doomed structure as "American Psycho" where unfortunately there's just no good way to end things. It's the upfront blossoming that ropes you in, but there's little to hold your interest as the flower fades before your eyes.

This is true of many things other than the humor. The reviews get repetitive to read and their format is tired by the end, though the emails/faxes are just lousy from the get-go and I was happy to see them leave.

The depravity? Yes, it's funny and somewhat shocking initially: gay men revealing every detail you could possibly imagine and some you probably never could. Towards the end, the stories turn clearly into fantasies and these fantasies keep seeking deeper and deeper pits to return on investment. A character on the forum even mentions it in a somewhat-fourth-wall break, though it's a very human realization. I wasn't upset to get hit over the head with it, it felt real. 'Feeling real' is a pretty big point, here, too.

The mystery of Brad gets as answered as it's going to and... that's it. I wasn't really expecting any more (I suppose I expected less, actually), but it's sad to see it just play out slowly into a flatline.

I somewhat recommend "The Sluts." I was definitely interested enough by it to read more of Dennis Cooper's work, we'll see if we cross paths again.

Evan

A fun beginning that ultimately delves too deep into depravity and fizzles out to a whimper.

  

Though that's sort of the point, I think. Part of "The Sluts" is about 'legends' and how sometimes you have to let the mystery be. How finding out the answer is not going to be satisfying, yet we all have a human urge to know more and find that answer regardless of the odds being stacked against our interest.

  

There's also an element of selling a dream: it'll be good, but hollow; you're better off looking for something real on your own. A touching truth.

  

My favorite parts of "The Sluts" were the funny moments, which were definitely more common in the beginning. It follows a similar doomed structure as "American Psycho" where unfortunately there's just no good way to end things. It's the upfront blossoming that ropes you in, but there's little to hold your interest as the flower fades before your eyes.

This is true of many things other than the humor. The reviews get repetitive to read and their format is tired by the end, though the emails/faxes are just lousy from the get-go and I was happy to see them leave.

The depravity? Yes, it's funny and somewhat shocking initially: gay men revealing every detail you could possibly imagine and some you probably never could. Towards the end, the stories turn clearly into fantasies and these fantasies keep seeking deeper and deeper pits to return on investment. A character on the forum even mentions it in a somewhat-fourth-wall break, though it's a very human realization. I wasn't upset to get hit over the head with it, it felt real. 'Feeling real' is a pretty big point, here, too.

The mystery of Brad gets as answered as it's going to and... that's it. I wasn't really expecting any more (I suppose I expected less, actually), but it's sad to see it just play out slowly into a flatline.

  

I somewhat recommend "The Sluts." I was definitely interested enough by it to read more of Dennis Cooper's work, we'll see if we cross paths again.

ok i did not know what i was getting into here… not my usual thing but a very quick read and entertaining! incredibly gruesome and i am a woman of iron constitution. loved the format :)

yasi

An unnecessarily explicit gore and violent book with a lot of repetitive situations that are constantly proven to be fake in the narrative, camouflaged under an empty murder mistery thopic that uses sex as a false promise.

Joaquín Reixa

sobrang dugyot. i think there’s something that can be said on how unreliable the internet is (given that this 

 2000s/y2k era of internet skepticism) and how that somehow is still present today, but tbh, after the first 5 pages, i thought this was more of a commentary on how pedophilia is blatant and rampant in the community, coloring preferences and “kink”. so much so for transgressive fiction—the question now how much this tries to *emulate* reality. sana hindi though. the castration scene was enough to make my stomach churn wahaha

Mika

sobrang dugyot. i think there’s something that can be said on how unreliable the internet is (given that this is 2000s/y2k era of internet skepticism) and how that somehow is still present today, but tbh, after the first 5 pages, i thought this was more of a commentary on how pedophilia is blatant and rampant in the community, coloring preferences and “kink”. so much so for transgressive fiction—the question now how much this tries to *emulate* reality. sana hindi though. the castration scene was enough to make my stomach churn wahaha

Riley

Faith 

So disturbing and raw. Almost reminds me of All About Lily Chou-Chou and Gregg Araki’s films.

4.5

nothing could've prepared for what i was about to read jesus dennis cooper ur one sick fucker love that from u

maybe i don’t read enough but this was genuinely one of the most disturbing, unsettling, nauseating, and overall horrifying things i’ve read

stefano

Mary Marshall

absolutely disgusting and ?????? but also my favorite book i’ve ever read maybe??????

The concept is interesting but the ending just didn't quite land for me. The parts that are meant to be shocking certainly were shocking though. And to give it credit I was fairly invested for the first half ish. 

deacon

i get what he was going for but its just bad and kinda pointless

eris

Vin 

You know after you finish a book and log it in that you’ve completed it, you get an email from goodreads stating “You have finished “****”, what’s next?” 

My answer to that email for this book is therapy.