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4th out of 63 books
—
12 voters
The Consumer
by
Michael Gira
This weird-press offering is both deliriously repulsive and very well-crafted. It's a collection of short pieces -- sort of like stories, but more like wild fantasies -- that take surrealistic organ distortions, drug-infused hallucinatory sexual nightmares and grotesque organic urban-machinery delusions, to whole new levels of "Whoa! Can't believe I'm actually eating lunch...more
Paperback, 233 pages
Published
December 12th 1996
by 2.13.61 Publications
(first published August 1995)
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598)
Dec 26, 2007
Mer
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
SWANS fans, Angels of Light fans, pessimists, nihilists
Shelves:
spookylicious,
brutal
Darkity dark, dark, dark.
Dark like Goya's "Dog Buried In Sand" is dark. Dark like J.G. Ballard's "Atrocity Exhibition" or David Lynch's "Eraserhead". Dark like the place Nietzsche's mind went to while he watched that horse being flogged.
If you can find a copy of this long out-of-print collection of grotesques and you think you can handle a semi-permanent case of the creeping willies, by all means, read it! Preferably in a well lit room in the middle of the day.
Dark like Goya's "Dog Buried In Sand" is dark. Dark like J.G. Ballard's "Atrocity Exhibition" or David Lynch's "Eraserhead". Dark like the place Nietzsche's mind went to while he watched that horse being flogged.
If you can find a copy of this long out-of-print collection of grotesques and you think you can handle a semi-permanent case of the creeping willies, by all means, read it! Preferably in a well lit room in the middle of the day.
May 14, 2007
Addie Cole
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who can appreciate feeling the urge to wince here and there.
Shelves:
favorites
Michael Gira from Swans and Angels of Light with his collection of short grotesqueries. If you are of the faint of heart you are bound to mutter phrases like "why, I never" and give up after the first story (if you even make it that far). One of my very favorites.
4 likes
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Best to be honest and say I read this because I'm a Swans fan. And the thing is, yeah, Gira can't really write - I think the way he's disowned the book and writes it off entirely as juvenalia is a little much, but yeah the actual content isn't by any stretch good writing. It is a really good look into how he translates the Swans aesthetic into a different medium, and the writing does have the atmosphere of violence and negativity that's so intense in the band's work. So really this is for Swans/...more
Oct 07, 2007
Jeanne
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who want to expose themselves to the fucked up inner workings of the mind
People love this book or hate it.
I love it because it's in-your-face. It's repugnant, it's vile. It's honest. And because it can evoke such strong emotions in people, I think it deserves a strong rating.
Also, about half way through the book you can tell when the author switched from coke to smack. Good times.
I love it because it's in-your-face. It's repugnant, it's vile. It's honest. And because it can evoke such strong emotions in people, I think it deserves a strong rating.
Also, about half way through the book you can tell when the author switched from coke to smack. Good times.
Transgressive short fiction. Every story has a disgusting aspect (to name a few from the first 3 stories: incest, gangrenous limbs, sewage, animal cruelty, child rape), which wouldn't be a problem except the writing lacks restraint or pacing. There are mixed metaphors, multiple-simile sentences, and general overwrought-ness in every paragraph. The actual images and similes are often intriguing, but the reader never has any space in which to contemplate them before another tirade about oozing pes...more
To be honest, it was a little TOO much - at times I felt physically sick, and you should know that I'm not too much of a "faint-of-heart"-type person. Still, this book, as ugly as it is, is - at the same time - strangely, painfully fascinating. It's cruel, it's merciless, it's detestable, it's immaculate - like a cold blade that's gonna rip you open. Gets a bit repetitive at times, though... But such pieces as "Empathy", "The Coward (II)", "The Orgy", "If I Were Him" or "You" will definitely giv...more
A homicidal-suicidal sexual book. A book on blood lust. The sickest thoughts and fantasies come to life. Everything is sick and demented and yet everything turns you on and it gets to a point where you get sick to your stomach mostly because you don't even recognize yourself anymore.
It exposes our weaknesses and therefore our essence. It gets you out of yourself and you break in your self and other selves, forcely, and you rape their minds and get to know the real them and you climax and throw...more
It exposes our weaknesses and therefore our essence. It gets you out of yourself and you break in your self and other selves, forcely, and you rape their minds and get to know the real them and you climax and throw...more
3 likes
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Some of the best modern poetry and short fiction. Another person here stated it perfectly: it's the swans in a different medium. However, we differ in the opinion that its not 'good writing' by any stretch. This is writing in a raw form which stands up well outside the music. It draws out emotion and begs you to read on. How's that not successful writing? Wish he had produced more of this work during this phase in his life.
A collection of short stories that examine the dark side of humanity, this book is not for the squeamish or easily offended. The author's writing style is fluid and beautiful, serving to intensify the images of violence, rape and incest he carefully constructs. He spins possession and fear in an erotic and horrifying manner, and you find yourself empathizing with the twisted side of humanity, as you are a meth head crawling into the corpse of a horse that you have just disemboweled, for safety.
This is probably the grossest book I have ever read
(and that is saying something). What sets it above
other books that depict similar subject matter
is the quality of the writing. The style is gratuitous,
but mature and disciplined. Gira shows no remorse
in these stories; you get a raw look at the
most rotten and hopeless examples of humanity
and there is no silver lining. Fucking awesome.
(and that is saying something). What sets it above
other books that depict similar subject matter
is the quality of the writing. The style is gratuitous,
but mature and disciplined. Gira shows no remorse
in these stories; you get a raw look at the
most rotten and hopeless examples of humanity
and there is no silver lining. Fucking awesome.
Was a long time ago, but I remember this more as a work of art than a book. I was transfixed by each page, reading it wherever I went, walking to college or sat at home I had this book with me. I have never read anything else that was written in the way this book is, the words sculpted such amazing images in my head, painted vivid canvases on my mind.
The Consumer does not pander, it doesn't soften you up to make the grit hit harder, it doesn't like you. It can be seen as having one note, but if you're a fan of Gira's music, you know how powerful one note can be. This book delivers a pain and sickness that sinks deep. It is also beautiful.
I'm caught in the middle here. This was potentially one of the most well written, revolting and haunting books my eyes have taken in. The linguistic tools were excellent and every paragraph was written in a way that touched my brain with a dirty, dirty finger...leaving smudge marks.
It's uneven--the second section of the book is comprised of writings that seem more tentative and sketch-like--but the first section contains some of the best transgressive short fiction I've ever read. Get it bound in the skin of an ex-lover and keep it in a shrine by the bed.
This book offers a lurid peak into sections of the human consciousness (and condition) that I've ever been able to enjoy. Full of dream-like imagery and harrowing depictions, this book is not for everyone... but those it is for will never be the same after reading.
I haven't read this in years, but the images from it are haunting and frightening, and not in a "scary monsters" way, but in a "oh crap the world is filled with real horrors that live inside of us" kind of way. Definitely something to read bits of at a time.
My ex gave me this book to borrow, since I love weird stuff. As much as I enjoy a good gross out, some of this was a bit too much. But I do recommend it for people like me who love horror and really effed up, disturbing stuff.
Apr 06, 2011
Angela Alcorn
marked it as to-read
Apparently this is one WEIRD book.
I read this.about ten years ago... it's one of the most fucked up books I think I have ever read. Not for the faint of heart.
Not for the faint hearted or squeamish.
Perverse, hallucinogenic, disgusting, a peek into hell.
Like a bad trip or series of nightmares.
The first half of the book consists of shorts from around 1994 and are much better formed pieces. The second half are earlier writings and sometimes seem a little repetitive and on occasion more immature, written to shock alone.
Perverse, hallucinogenic, disgusting, a peek into hell.
Like a bad trip or series of nightmares.
The first half of the book consists of shorts from around 1994 and are much better formed pieces. The second half are earlier writings and sometimes seem a little repetitive and on occasion more immature, written to shock alone.
I read this at 18. I re-read it 10 years later and was more disturbed by it the second time.
I hope no one was reading this over my shoulder... actually yes, I do.
2 likes
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Bleak and piss stained and guilty.
revolting, but somehow interesting...
Creepy.
Best way to describe this book. It contains a bunch of off the wall short stories... things that there shouldn't be stories about.: the love affair between a homeless bag lady who doesn't shower and a homeless dwarf... Another one about a guy who rents a room above a porn movie booth place for 3 months, buys enough heroin for 3 months, and locks himself in the room, in a bid to kill himself with said drugs. He doesn't eat for weeks and shits in the corner.
Sick stuff. Really well written...more
Best way to describe this book. It contains a bunch of off the wall short stories... things that there shouldn't be stories about.: the love affair between a homeless bag lady who doesn't shower and a homeless dwarf... Another one about a guy who rents a room above a porn movie booth place for 3 months, buys enough heroin for 3 months, and locks himself in the room, in a bid to kill himself with said drugs. He doesn't eat for weeks and shits in the corner.
Sick stuff. Really well written...more
Not reccommended.
Nightmarish.
genius.
Wow.
One of my favorite books of all time! Easily my top 3.
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| Out of print | 2 | 8 | Apr 23, 2013 08:45am |
Michael Rolfe Gira (born February 19, 1954)is an American musician, author, and artist. He is the main force behind the New York City musical group Swans and fronts Angels of Light. He is also the founder of Young God Records.
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“When my sister was released from the mental hospital, she came to live with me in the tilting and crumbling one-bedroom house I'd bought with the small amount of money I inherited when our parents died. She arrived one afternoon unannounced in a taxi. She must have known instinctively that I'd take her in. I don't know how or why they released her. Probably due to overcrowding, and they had her scratch her name on a form then pushed her out the door. Or maybe she just slipped away when no one was looking (who'd notice in a place like that?)--she never did tell me and I didn't ask her. I was so happy to have her with me again that the last thing I wanted to do was break the spell by letting reality intrude. Ever since they'd dragged her away weeping with laughter and reaching out for me with our parents' blood still coating her hands with shiny red gloves, I'd felt amputated, like they'd pulled her kicking and screaming and insane out of my guts.”
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Nov 19, 2009 11:06am