Cock Review

In Will Self's Cock, an uninspired and self-contained woman wakes up one morning to learn that she has grown a fully functioning penis. While the character of Carol is apathetic to everything, her personality is still incredibly intriguing. Her marriage to Dan is the consequence of her first orgasm given by three sandpaper thrusts and Dan's descent into alcoholism is the first time Carol practices masturbating. Carol's awareness of her own sexuality and independence initiates the growth of a "frond" above her vagina. The narrative sequence following the first uncomfortable sexual encounter between Carol and Dan to their vacant marriage is fascinating to observe because Self has a facetious approach to describing it. Self's writing style distances himself from the characters emotionally, yet the omnipresent narrator knows more about the thoughts of the character's than they do themselves. Self incorporates a high-level vocabulary with simple sentences, which blurs the line between poetic and casual jargon. Carol's eventual evolvement into manhood is a striking comment on the machismo and ego that arises from testosterone, and the awareness of a woman's capability to completely fend for herself. As Dan becomes more and more feminine once he finishes the masculine habit of getting drunk, Carol quits drinking and gains attitude as well as the desire for dominance. When Carol behaves like a violent pervert, she takes on the role of the exaggerated "manly man", whose worth is measured in sexual prowess.  

Immaculate

Judy was 57 years old when she discovered she was pregnant. Judy did not worry about her age; she had heard of a 70 year old Indian woman who gave birth to twins. Judy did not worry that she did not have the financial means or the time to care for a child; since her divorce 2 and a half years ago, she had been collecting alimony checks and was well taken care of. No, what Judy was concerned with was the fact that since her divorce 2 and a half years ago, she had not had sex. Not that Judy had not tried to have a fling, because she had. She spent every Saturday night for the last year and nine months putting on her tightest dress and highest heels, painting her face with so many powders, creams, and shadows that it even concealed her personality (conversation was not one of Judy's priorities). She sat at the bar of the Plaza Hotel, eyeing the businessmen in three piece suits wandering through the bar, waiting for a weary traveler to kindly ask for a rest in her bosom. Just one night with a man leaving in the morning, the rush of sneaking out post coitus, the blisters on her feet from being in stilettos too long; this was all Judy wanted. However, each and every Saturday night spent at the bar, eyeing men from beneath her heavy mascara, Judy went home horny and alone. Now, as she sat on the examining cushion in the doctor's office, crinkling the paper with every rise and fall of a hairy thigh, Judy had to accept the doctor's news that she had, in fact, conceived a child. Judy was not worried that her home was not big enough for a nursery, because it was. Judy did not worry that New York was an unsafe place to raise a child; she was raised in the City and as far as she can remember, her childhood was above average. No, what Judy was concerned with was the fact that her doctor's ass looked incredibly firm in his slacks, and she was incredibly horny.

Changes

In Cock and Bull, Carol has begun to realize the downfall of her marriage and relation to Dan, and has therefore begun the practice of satisfying herself. In her transition towards emotional masculinity, she is now growing a penis. Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void is another instance of someone undergoing a physical transformation. Oscar read The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and after he is shot and killed, his body begins floating through the streets of Tokyo, observing the friends and family he left behind. The story is incredibly slow moving and highlights the theme of a reincarnated spirit. Enter the Void does not share a similar plot to Cock and Bull, but in regard to fiction, it holds a similar plot line about changing bodies. Oscar begins to reflect on momentous occasions in his past and the director toys with the notion of a reborn spirit. Usually when a character undergoes some time of extreme physical transformation, they begin to notice impurities in their past self. This early on in Cock and Bull, it's difficult to tell whether or not Carol is analyzing her past life. However, it will be interesting to see how Self utilizes her newfound sexual confidence to separate Carol from her "insipid" personality.

Don't Cry

Mary Gaitskill's "Don't Cry" was similar to stories we've read in class in the sense that the author is disconnected to her writing. Gaitskill's description of the stolen piece of soul gives a very mystical aura to an otherwise casual encounter. None of the characters are named, which makes the story seem generic and attractive to all audiences. Sex and love are often overlooked and not analyzed in a way regarding the spiritual realm. The soul being connected to internal organs is a romanticized way of viewing the body. The "British style" we've been reading so far has been more crass and contains some inappropriate subject matter, but "Don't Cry" is a fairly innocent tale. 

All Guts (No Glory)

"The Guts and Guts Effect" freaked me out. If I were a guy, it would probably be even harder to read a story about young boys almost dying while doing something as common as masturbating. "Guts"'s transgressive style could be noted through Palahniuk's use of explicit detailed writing, as well as his disregard for subtlety. Like Crash or Money, the characters in "Guts" all share an extreme obsession: masturbating. With a complete disregard for how badly they are ruining themselves, the boys did all they could to achieve the highest form of orgasm. The scene with the boy's bowels being trapped in the pool's vacuum is incredibly descriptive, adding shock value to an already obscene narrative. Chuck speaks rather matter-of-factly and states the sequence of events as if he were detached from the whole ordeal. The story's purpose is almost a warning to young kids who buy into myths spread around circles of immature boys.   

Nights and Money

I have a different edition of Nights at the Circus, so forgive the fact that our page numbers won't align.

In Nights at the Circus, I quite enjoy the scenes where Fevvers behaves like a slob although she constantly describes herself as being some angelic winged goddess. When Walser is interviewing Fevvers in her dressing room and they take a sandwich break, Fevvers' eating habit is described as being messy and somewhat savage-like. She "tucked in" the sandwich "with relish, a vigorous mastication of large teeth, a smacking of plump lips smeared with grease"(59). Fevvers had just narrated her time as the only virgin in a brothel, where she was an innocent figure in the foyer; she illustrates herself as such a dainty woman, but she belches and wipes her greasy mouth on her satin sleeve. This contrast of civility with unsophisticated behavior is similar to the antics of John Self. He can carry himself in a business lunch or at a meeting with one of his actors, yet his true self is incredibly obscene and inappropriate. He's sloppy and unclean, yet this true nature is more or less hidden when he is conducting business.

An instance where there is a combination of femininity and reality vs. artifice can be found in the passage where Fevvers is at the Royal College of Surgeons. Walser recalls how she spent three hours "entertaining" the surgeons, "without so much as unbuttoning her bodice". Fevvers is speaking about her own reality, yet there is no way of knowing whether her reality is true because she never provides indisputable evidence. When she shows Walser the scar at the bottom of her foot, there is no way of knowing where that scar actually came from. She speaks with such confidence that no one questions her actual knowledge of the subject. Carter writes that the professors did not want to be "rude" in "questioning the extent of her personal knowledge". The fact that Carter used the word "rude", to me, shows the professors' sense of manners when it comes to dealing with women (67). If the person who claimed to be a bird was part man, it is likely that these professors would grill him for actual evidence of his claims. Since Fevvers is an attractive, and relatively large, woman, no one wants to upset a lady by refuting her arguments. She also posses the charm and eloquence of a master of persuasion. She has a way of speaking matter-of-factly and with such enthusiasm, which makes it difficult for someone to put a word in edgewise. 

bbc

Just discovered that the BBC made a movie adaptation of Money. I can't find the full film (it's split into two episodes) but I've found some snippets. It's super 80's and super corny. Also the guys from Mad Men and Shaun of the Dead are in it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ890GSNB5Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaKLMS20YTk&feature=relmfu