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Victims
Fiction. VICTIMS is a novel about the final days of a religious cult, The Overcomers, a small group of lost souls guided by the teachings of a charismatic leader, Martin Jones. Based on extensive research into the rhetoric of religious cults, VICTIMS is a novel of ideas. Twenty-three year-old author Travis Jeppesen uses an episodic narrative, an elegantly direct style and a quirky, sympathetic group of characters to ponder a question raised by Jones' teachings: If friendship and love are just systems to instill comfort in our lives, are all human interactions acts of manipulation? "VICTIMS may be the most exciting first novel I've read in a decade or more. This is a brilliant, haunting, and strangest of all, very funny novel"-Dennis Cooper, author of Frisk.
190 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Travis Jeppesen
26 books103 followersTravis Jeppesen is the author of Settlers Landing, Victims, Wolf at the Door, The Suiciders, All Fall, 16 Sculptures, and See You Again in Pyongyang, among other books.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 6, 2016
Something of an ambitious garble. It promises much, has a certain sense of vision, but the actual execution left me somewhat cold. The nexus point of the plot, the moment that the threads seem to be reaching backwards and forwards to meet in, is the self-immolation of a cult, believing they must transcend their physical forms in the mode of Heaven's Gate. But it's clear that this is where we're headed from the opening (from the back cover, even), and the revelation of the incident itself is merely an ironic flourish. Around this moment are arranged:
-a pregnant teen runaway, in the early pages the most empathetic character in the book, drawing me in, but quickly lost to the reader in cult rhetoric and questionable decisions
-her son, years later an absolute blank of a cult escapee, who now spends his life staring at cows
-a writer without readers, whose latest book may be the one you're holding, and who admires those submerged in brain damage
-a guy who really likes juice, particularly strawberry kiwi
The problem, to me, is that these people are all so difficult to relate to that it's hard to find any guidepost when Jeppesen starts to slide into the metaphysical. (The guy who likes juice, despite his character being largely reduced to that detail and a sense of confusion, is by far the easiest to identify with). There are some deeply strange sequences here, but existing alone, without any real attachment point that would give them their full weight. The characters are largely so empty, that when a minor player reappears late in the novel to reflect on his drug-fueled small town ennui, I was so starved for recognizable human behavior that I was ready to latch onto him even though I knew he was a girlfriend-abandoning jerk. I usually wouldn't even think that I was so hung up on empathetic characters, but in a text with so many disparate parts, it can help to have a guide you can care about.
I grabbed this from the Strand dollar racks, made curious when I saw it was on Dennis Cooper's sub-imprint of Akashic Books. Cooper called it one of the most exciting first novels he'd read in a decade, and there is a definitely interest here, despite my reservations. The ambitious scope, the metaphysical strangeness creeping in and overwhelming the ostensible narrative in the mid-section. And Jeppesen's gone on to publish a number of books since this one, most recently for Chris Kraus's Semiotext(e). So while we didn't click this time, I may well be back.
-a pregnant teen runaway, in the early pages the most empathetic character in the book, drawing me in, but quickly lost to the reader in cult rhetoric and questionable decisions
-her son, years later an absolute blank of a cult escapee, who now spends his life staring at cows
-a writer without readers, whose latest book may be the one you're holding, and who admires those submerged in brain damage
-a guy who really likes juice, particularly strawberry kiwi
The problem, to me, is that these people are all so difficult to relate to that it's hard to find any guidepost when Jeppesen starts to slide into the metaphysical. (The guy who likes juice, despite his character being largely reduced to that detail and a sense of confusion, is by far the easiest to identify with). There are some deeply strange sequences here, but existing alone, without any real attachment point that would give them their full weight. The characters are largely so empty, that when a minor player reappears late in the novel to reflect on his drug-fueled small town ennui, I was so starved for recognizable human behavior that I was ready to latch onto him even though I knew he was a girlfriend-abandoning jerk. I usually wouldn't even think that I was so hung up on empathetic characters, but in a text with so many disparate parts, it can help to have a guide you can care about.
I grabbed this from the Strand dollar racks, made curious when I saw it was on Dennis Cooper's sub-imprint of Akashic Books. Cooper called it one of the most exciting first novels he'd read in a decade, and there is a definitely interest here, despite my reservations. The ambitious scope, the metaphysical strangeness creeping in and overwhelming the ostensible narrative in the mid-section. And Jeppesen's gone on to publish a number of books since this one, most recently for Chris Kraus's Semiotext(e). So while we didn't click this time, I may well be back.
December 17, 2017
This is a really good book. Very immersive. Great characters. And dear lord it is strange and messed up and even very sweet at times. This book messed with my mind in a very satisfying way.
January 13, 2015
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
I saw in its introduction that Travis Jeppesen's Victims was actually first published in 2003, with our friends at ITNA only picking it up a decade later for the purposes of reprinting it; and that makes sense, in that this is one of those books tailor-made for a cultish fandom, and as weird as it is I can definitely wee how it might end up picking up small but steady sales for years on end, justifying its reprinting in the first place. And make no mistake, this is a weird book -- the simultaneous story of a Jerry Springer burnout and how it is that she falls in with an apocalyptic cult, as well as the story of her teenage son several decades later as he runs away from said cult, these two tales are told at once throughout the manuscript, back and forth and chapter by chapter. As such, then, the book reads just fine, with the kind of densely poetic approach to its traditional narrative that makes such similarly transgressive authors as Kathy Acker or Dennis Cooper so revered too; although I'll admit that the book works a lot better during its first half while it still has plenty of three-act plot to get through, devolving as it progresses into a much less interesting series of gimmicky prose-poem chapters and pointless digressions. Still, though, for what it's aiming to achieve, Victims is in fact quite successful at it, and it comes recommended perhaps not to a general audience but certainly to those who are naturally intrigued by its premise.
Out of 10: 8.4
I saw in its introduction that Travis Jeppesen's Victims was actually first published in 2003, with our friends at ITNA only picking it up a decade later for the purposes of reprinting it; and that makes sense, in that this is one of those books tailor-made for a cultish fandom, and as weird as it is I can definitely wee how it might end up picking up small but steady sales for years on end, justifying its reprinting in the first place. And make no mistake, this is a weird book -- the simultaneous story of a Jerry Springer burnout and how it is that she falls in with an apocalyptic cult, as well as the story of her teenage son several decades later as he runs away from said cult, these two tales are told at once throughout the manuscript, back and forth and chapter by chapter. As such, then, the book reads just fine, with the kind of densely poetic approach to its traditional narrative that makes such similarly transgressive authors as Kathy Acker or Dennis Cooper so revered too; although I'll admit that the book works a lot better during its first half while it still has plenty of three-act plot to get through, devolving as it progresses into a much less interesting series of gimmicky prose-poem chapters and pointless digressions. Still, though, for what it's aiming to achieve, Victims is in fact quite successful at it, and it comes recommended perhaps not to a general audience but certainly to those who are naturally intrigued by its premise.
Out of 10: 8.4
November 5, 2014
there is a cool story about no-wave noirish losers/a cult/millennarianism lurking inside this book. there's great writing and jokes and some really sharp observations about human nature. unfortunately that cool story is about 15 pages long and this book has 149 pages. the remainder of it is a writer just coughing up raw ideas, a good number of which are dumb. should have known better after the oppressively bad jacket copy "a novel with a philosophical bravura rarely seen in the work of contemporary American writers"
November 8, 2013
I thought it had a strong beginning but by the middle it started to go down hill for me. It started to become difficult to understand and I'm still not sure what exactly happens in the end.
Read
July 8, 2022There was so much potential for this to be an amazing, creepy, and deeply reflective story.. However, it just fell short for me. Strong beginning and then it felt like the end just needed more.
I may have an issue with the book because it's an ILL book and I damaged it. It is a $50 fine and I'm still pissed. I didn't even mess it up.. UGH
I may have an issue with the book because it's an ILL book and I damaged it. It is a $50 fine and I'm still pissed. I didn't even mess it up.. UGH
July 19, 2023
I think this book was supposed to be written intelligently but I just don’t understand it?? Not sure if this book is above my understanding or if I just didn’t connect with the story, but either way I didn’t enjoy it.
October 3, 2025
A difficult novel to review because while I think it was a failure it was an interesting one with enough quality and promise to ensure that I will read more by this author.
One of the problems may be that I am too old for this novel, I was too old for it when it came out in 2003 but Dennis Cooper thought it was brilliant and published it and he is older than I am (not by a great deal, but still older). So maybe it is not simply age but not living in the USA, not knowing, even back in 2003 let alone now, the type of people Jeppesen is writing about. But then I could say the same with regards to Dennis Cooper's novel 'My Loose Thread' which was published at the same time (and which I think is superb and reread shortly before reading this novel).
Overall to use Miss Stein's famous quote 'There is no there there' in this novel. It is, if not quite sturm und drang pyrotechnics, there is a great deal of teasing the reader along with a promise that is never delivered. I suppose it is a cult book, but I think it is better than that, it is a first novel which, while not as a good as I hoped left me desiring to read more by this author for whom I feel a great interest. I also find it endearingly sweet that his author's profile is still decorated with a photograph that dates from the date of this books publication or maybe even earlier. It is hard to imagine the visage of a forty+ year old and this book. But then the failure to update profile is one Jeppesen shares with Dennis Cooper.
Overall I must report that while I felt the novel was a failure I was not sorry to have bought or read the novel. For those who can get hold of a copy easily or inexpensively I say go for it.
One of the problems may be that I am too old for this novel, I was too old for it when it came out in 2003 but Dennis Cooper thought it was brilliant and published it and he is older than I am (not by a great deal, but still older). So maybe it is not simply age but not living in the USA, not knowing, even back in 2003 let alone now, the type of people Jeppesen is writing about. But then I could say the same with regards to Dennis Cooper's novel 'My Loose Thread' which was published at the same time (and which I think is superb and reread shortly before reading this novel).
Overall to use Miss Stein's famous quote 'There is no there there' in this novel. It is, if not quite sturm und drang pyrotechnics, there is a great deal of teasing the reader along with a promise that is never delivered. I suppose it is a cult book, but I think it is better than that, it is a first novel which, while not as a good as I hoped left me desiring to read more by this author for whom I feel a great interest. I also find it endearingly sweet that his author's profile is still decorated with a photograph that dates from the date of this books publication or maybe even earlier. It is hard to imagine the visage of a forty+ year old and this book. But then the failure to update profile is one Jeppesen shares with Dennis Cooper.
Overall I must report that while I felt the novel was a failure I was not sorry to have bought or read the novel. For those who can get hold of a copy easily or inexpensively I say go for it.
May 12, 2012
cult-speech...
January 27, 2014
The first 100 pages were amazing, it became a bit strained and confusing after that, but still really good. And cool to see the author is from my hometown.
July 8, 2012
I made myself a note when I finished this - one of the worst books I have ever read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews