The Death of a Character

Moldenke #5

by David Ohle

The end of the road for Moldenke? The Death of a Character is cult author David Ohle's mordant meditation on the trials of the flesh, of bureaucracy, and tenderness. In the company of and old flame, and the neutrodynes Wheaton and Darleen, Moldenke retires to the marshlands, surrounded by snakes, haunted by a mysterious burial mound and harassed by a construction project that might destroy his home. Not only is Ohle's latest his most emotionally poignant, it is also a work of brilliant satire, threaded with bittersweet observations on mortality.

154 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

David Ohle is an American writer, novelist, and a lecturer at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. After receiving his M.A. from KU, he taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 1975 to 1984. In 2002 he began teaching fiction writing and screenwriting as a part-time lecturer at the University of Kansas. His short fiction has appeared in Esquire, the Transatlantic Review, Paris Review, and Harper's, among other magazines.
While it remained out of print for over thirty years, his first novel Motorman (initially published in 1972) gathered a quiet cult following, was circulated through photocopies, and went on to become an influence to a generation of American writers such as Shelley Jackson and Ben Marcus.
His subsequent novels The Age of Sinatra (2004), The Pisstown Chaos (2008) and The Old Reactor (2013) take place in the same dystopian setting as Motorman. Ohle's fiction is often described as weird, surreal and experimental. His own influences include Leonora Carrington, Philip K. Dick, Flann O'Brien, and Raymond Roussel.

Reviews

[Paul Dembina · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Ohle has done it again. Yet another unique dystopian featuring the by now decrepit character of Moldenke who is virtually at death's door the whole of the novel. Luckily he has a "neut" to look after him. These appear to be some sort of half mechanical alien species who are almost slaves to the humans. They certainly get no thanks at all for their help.

[Ben Arzate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Review

This is a book that reminded me of some of the profound losses I’ve dealt with in my life. However, it did so with an entertaining story, some hilarious comedy, and strange characters who still felt familiar. Those who’ve read David Ohle’s other books with Moldenke will likely get more out of this. However, even without that, I believe it also stands very well on its own as a satire of bureaucracy, a quirky science fiction story, and a look at getting old and one’s inevitable death.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

the beauty of its pacing; they wait, we wait. the spiritual and subtle use of entheogens and psilocybin. most of all an intimacy and grudging acceptance of the body, aging, sickness, and death. a current xenophobia transformed into a view of nationalities and states as various, perhaps natural, oppressions. the pop of a perfect or gross or grossly perfect or perfectly gross sentence, nonchalantly written. the hard-won insights into existence, the continuation/conclusion of a steady and sublime lifework. a great book! thank you david ohle!

Buy the book from Stalking Horse Press.
https://www.stalkinghorsepress.com/pr...

Interview with David Ohle by JA Tyler in Bomb magazine from 2014.
https://bombmagazine.org/articles/dav...

Gabe Hudson on The Age of Sinatra in the Village Voice, from 2004.
https://www.villagevoice.com/2004/10/...

Interview with David Ohle about William Burroughs from 2007.
http://www.lawrence.com/news/2007/jul...

More links and info at David Ohle day, presented at Dennis Cooper’s blog.
https://denniscooperblog.com/jeff-pre...

[in8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://5cense.com/21/920.htm