The Moors

by Ben Marcus

The Moors is the story of a man, Thomas, whose understanding of reality leaves him at the prospect of encountering an attractive colleague while refilling his coffee at work; more so of the contents of his mind over the course of those feet from his desk, and the ensuing minutes. Along the way, shadows loom and bend, backs are turned, walls seem to move, and the passage of time is marked by the sounds of living objects colliding just beyond the sight of those who are listening. A breathtaking and claustrophilic story by Ben Marcus, written at a terrifyingly close point of view.

72 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2010

About the author

Seemingly the most conspicuous aspect of Ben Marcus' work, to date, is its expansion on one of the most primary concerns of the original Surrealist authors -- perhaps most typified by Benjamin Péret, husband of the acclaimed painter Remedios Varo -- this being a very deep interest in the psychological service and implication of symbols and the manners by which those symbols can be maneuvered and rejuxtaposed in order to provoke new ideas or new points of view -- in other words, the creation of, in a sense, conscious dreams.

While Marcus' writing plays similarly with the meanings of words by either stripping them of their intended meaning or juxtaposing them with other words in critical ways, it also abandons the 'experimental' nature of so much of the Surrealists' writing for stories that describe human psychology and the human condition through a means that has in later years become notably more subjective and sensory in nature than that used in the broad range of fiction, both 'conventional' and 'nonconventional'.

The surreal nature of Marcus' work derives in part from the fact that it comprises sentences that are exact in their structure and syntax, but whose words, though familiar, appear to have abandoned their ordinary meanings; they can be read as experiments in the ways in which language and syntax themselves work to create structures of meaning. Common themes that emerge are family, the Midwest, science, mathematics, and religion, although their treatment in Marcus's writing lends to new interpretations and conceptualizations of those concepts.

Marcus was born in Chicago. He attended New York University (NYU) and Brown University, and currently teaches writing at Columbia University where he was recently promoted to head of the writing MFA program. He is the son of Jane Marcus, a noted feminist critic and Virginia Woolf scholar. He is married to novelist Heidi Julavits.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a short story that greg loved. he bought it and told me to read it because he said it was the first ben marcus he could really get behind.

i shrug.

it is okay.

we will have to remain on different sides of the field for this one, but at least it was shorter than gravity's rainbow, which i also read because he told me to...

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful little book, smaller than a CD case. A long story that first appeared in Tin House -- could see why Harper's probably passed on this. Generously, it reads like the ghost of Beckett possessed Nicholson Baker and commanded him to create a surrealish nowheresville office story. But I didn't really sense real life or real experience or real psychic charge churning and squirming behind the pretty scrim of, uh, super-mannered language. I tend not to buy stated/suggested pain/sadness when the delivery mechanism seems so precious/literary -- that sort of "emotionality" feels tacked on to address pre-perceived readerly concerns with authorial coldness/intellectuality. If it's gonna be icy, make it monumentally glacial, or at least slippery -- don't leave false little wet spots here and there. Had a tough time making it through these 67 pages but generally I respect the author's experiments and love the publisher's work, thus: a generous three stars.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my review for Leaving the Sea, I called this story a weird mix of Nicholson Baker and Evelyn Waugh. But of course, it still hums with an unmistakeable Ben Marcus propulsion. This is one of my favorite short stories ever.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little gem of a book (a short story actually). Lovely

[Brent Legault · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is good, of course. It's fucking Ben Marcus, so, yeah, it's good. But let me tell you, this Madras Press is doing wondrous things and should be sought out and bought out. I don't mean bought out by a larger company. I mean bought out in that everyone should buy their books until they are all gone.

Just a suggestion.

[Rand]

I never read The Moors;
I never read the words,
Yet know I how the leather hooks
And what a pillow pee.

I never spoke with Marcus,
Nor visited in nyc.
Yet pared am I of that graf,
As if the pings were riven.

[walter mackey · Rating 2 out of 5]

felt like the book was too long but really enjoyed the last few pages. i don't know, the book was just 'okay' really. felt like it was the longest 67 pages i've ever read, to be honest.