The American Express

by Gregory Corso

Beat poet Corso's only novel. Inspired by his days in Europe, anxiously waiting for royalty checks and advances that were slow to appear, this freewheeling and farcical tale is the account of a birth in AmEx, and what came of it. With illustrations by the author. First published 1961 as No. 85 in the Traveller's Companion Series. First American publication.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Novels

196 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1961

About the author

Gregory Nunzio Corso was an American poet, youngest of the inner circle of Beat Generation writers.

Reviews

[James Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gregory, baby, it is a bad idea for a poet to write a novel, particularly if he is strung out on the pharmaceuticals in gay Paris and writing to a deadline for a publisher who just wants another BEAT novel to put on his list. And what did Giordis do with all that money? Spunked it on blackbird pate and Latin dancers, that's what he did, didn't he? Corso, you were being played here, and the novel is a mess. The first edition Olympia Press copy is a beautiful collectors item, but that is all it is, man, you are better than this, and any motherfucker who reads BOMB knows it.

[Mat · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the most bizarre 'novels' I have ever read. I really had no idea what this story was about when I read it. I've heard two things about this novel; one before I read the book and one after I read the book. Before I read the book, I heard that Corso decided to write it as he was waiting (rather impatiently) to hear news of whether some of his poetry was going to get published or not. I also believe that this might have been around the time that he was shooting heroin, which may or may not explain some of the bizarre 'picaresque' quality to the novel (Corso and Burroughs seemed to have been pretty close buds so maybe there is a heroin connection there too).
What I heard some time after I had finished and put down the novel, and this really becomes quite a fascinating exercise of guesswork, was that each of the characters in the novel refers to a different member of the Beat generation whom Corso directly knew. So there is a Ginsberg (Ginsy), Burroughs, Kerouac and many more in there somewhere, that's for sure. Figuring out which one is which is a bit of a challenge.
I immensely enjoyed reading Corso's poetry last Christmas and this year I hope Santa brings me his 'autobiography' (Accidental Autobiography) which hopefully may shed more light on to this very mysterious and largely overlooked novel.
If you like inexplicable surreal novels, then this is right up your alley.

[Andy Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little story that is very bizarre, but overall a joy to read.

[Domenico Francesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unico romanzo di Gregory Corso e non nascondo che sia stato un libro molto difficile da seguire per quanto divertente e affascinante. I personaggi e le situazioni sono assolutamente surreali e cartoneschi (in linea perfetta con le illustrazioni). Non ha una vera e propria trama e anzi, spesso diventa quasi incomprensibile capire cosa stia avvenendo in quella particolare situazione e cosa facciano i protagonisti, qualche volta ho avuto persino dubbi su cosa fosse realmente l'American Express dato che molte cose sembrano cambiare con nonchalance da una riga all'altra.
Anche per questo è un'opera assolutamente intraducibile e non sorprende non sia mai uscito in Italia finora nè che in generale sia molto conosciuto fuori dagli appassionati più arditi della Beat Generation. I dialoghi talvolta però sono davvero spassosi, con quel bizzarro miscuglio di cultura letteraria, filosofia, nonsense surrealistico e teologia (non necessariamente sempre occidentale) che caratterizzava il cortometraggio Pull My Daisy di Robert Frank con Gregory Corso stesso tra i protagonisti.

[randi · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was interesting...and strange...but...uh. ive read better...his poetry is much better than this novel.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nonsensical romp with a cast of ridiculous characters. Who knew Gregory Corso'd written a novel?

[Jonas Granath · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shouldn't have been published. Crap. The worst kind of surrealistic prose