The Sluts

Having fallen behind somewhat I'll now try to catch up on things - so apologies for brevity.
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, falls much more into what I expect from his work - compared with God Jr. mentioned below. Quite simply, its subject matter is largely about sex and sexual fantasy. Cooper's work attracts me for the way it engages with transgressive themes about sexuality and for the damn fine quality of his writing. The Sluts is structured about different forms of web based communication. In avoiding direct narrative Cooper says much about how people represent themselves online, and allows for characters (if that is the correct word) who misrepresent themselevs, lie and even co-opt others identities. This perhaps challenges the usual reader experience of identifying to some extent with at least one character and positions the reader as almost a voyeur or a disturbing online conversation. All credit to Cooper for keeping this structure tight and manageable and for a satisfactory resolution. A challenging and though-provoking book that I'm still thinking about over a week later.