Comfort and Critique

by Peter Sotos

In this unsettling new book, cult author Peter Sotos recounts the abduction and murder of 8-year-old Sarah Payne, a crime that stunned England and spawned an aftermath of reactionary outcry and violent protest. Through news bites and tabloid clippings reassembled in reverse chronology, Sotos examines the media apotheosis of Payne's parents in the wake of her disappearance, scrutinizes the hidden motives of reporters and citizens driven to hysterical excess by grief, vengeance, and opportunism, and illumines the insatiable lusts that govern the actions of sexual predators. Punctuated by philosophical overtures and self-deprecating quips, Comfort and Critique is a brutal meditation on fantasy and desire set against a backdrop of media banter and illicit back room activity in bars and underground sex clubs. Supplemented by over 100 photos, this volume is possibly Sotos' most revealing and multi-faceted work yet.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 20, 2005

About the author

Peter Sotos (born April 17, 1960) is a Chicago-born writer who has contributed an unprecedented examination of the peculiar motivations of sadistic sexual criminals. His works are often cited as conveying an uncanny understanding of myriad aspects of pornography. Most of his writings have focused on sexually violent pornography, particularly of that involving children. His writings are also considered by many to be social criticism often commenting on the hypocritical way media handles these issues.

In 1984, while attending The Art Institute of Chicago, Sotos began producing a self-published newsletter or "fanzine" named Pure, notable as the first zine dedicated to serial killer lore. Much of the text and pictures in Pure were photocopied images from major newspapers and other print media. Sotos also used a photocopy from a magazine of child pornography as the cover of issue#2 of Pure. In 1986 this cover led to his arrest and charges of obscenity and possession of child pornography. The charges of obscenity were dropped, but Sotos eventually pled guilty to the possession charge and received a suspended sentence. Sotos was the first person in the United States ever to be charged for owning child pornography.

Sotos' writings explore sadistic and pedophilic sexual impulses in their many, often hidden, guises. Often using first person narratives, his prose takes on the point of view of the sexual predator. Despite his early legal troubles, and the seemingly fatal stigma of falsely being labeled a pedophile, Sotos continues to garner support for his ideas and literary output.

He was until 2003 a seminal member of the industrial noise band Whitehouse.

Reviews

[D Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

begins as easily one of his weakest works - similar to his dumb Pure mag shit (the worst!), but picks up halfway through and then concludes with some fascinating collage work. an earnest and surprisingly heart-on-sleeve sincere (at least once sotos drops the edgy facade bullshit - unbelievable, i know) piece from a guy i barely understand looking at how the media handles cases in which the unthinkable happens to the most vulnerable among us, specifically examining the power of images and mourning. marks maybe the biggest departure from his early work, when you realize this book is maybe a piece of harm reduction literature? not sure not sure.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shorter and less brutal than Proxy. The riots over Sarah Payne's murder reminded me of the current obsession in the U.S. with "grooming". Good stuff if you can handle extreme "transgression" in literature

[kevin]

race gender pedophilia and hate-sex ... what more could a guy want from a limited edition signed by the author?

[Shira Lev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book and I'm pretty damn sure it's still going to be gnawing at my bones years from now. Perhaps forever.

[Rene]

As far as i can tell his best work after the (brilliant) afterword(s!) to Gates of Janus.

Impossible to deny where he stands on these issues but also impossible for me to know what he's like as a person.

And since the latter does impact the validity of the former: no rating.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps I was more engaged by the visual content at the end of the paperback edition. However the periodical snippets interlaced with the fictional narrative is mesmerizing.