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ديرمافوريا
في روايته ( درمافوريا ) ، لا يبتعد كريج كليفنجر كثيراً عن عالم المخدرات الذي قدمه في كتابه الأول . ديرمافوريا لفظة مخلقة تحمل معنى الحالة النفسية التي يخلقها الجلد .
هنا نقابل ( إريك اشوورث ) الكيميائي العبقري شبه المجنون ، الذي لا يمكن الإستغناء عنه في سوق المخدرات لأنه إبتكر مخدراً فعالاً إسمه ( الجلد ) أو ( اللمسة ) أو ( المهد ) .
تبدأ القصة بهذا الكيميائي فاقد الذاكرة بعد حريق أطاح بمختبره ويبدو أنه فقد معلوماته الكيميائية ، لكن أحداً لا يصدق هذا أو يجازف بتصديقه .
رجال الشرطة يحاصرونه بأسئلتهم ، والمحامي ينصحه بالصمت ، ورجال شبكة المخدرات يلاحقونه .
لكنه يملك بصيصاً واحداً من عالمه القديم : إسم فتاة تدعى ديزريه وعن طريق هذا البصيص يحاول إسترجاع القطاع الذي احترق في ذاكرته .
معظم الرواية هلوسة تتداخل مع الواقع بشكل محير وأستاذي ، بحيث أنك لا تعرف أبداً أين تبدأ الحقيقة وأين تنتهي ، ومن حين لآخر ينزلق وننزلق معه إلى جنون البارانويا الكامل .
هنا نقابل ( إريك اشوورث ) الكيميائي العبقري شبه المجنون ، الذي لا يمكن الإستغناء عنه في سوق المخدرات لأنه إبتكر مخدراً فعالاً إسمه ( الجلد ) أو ( اللمسة ) أو ( المهد ) .
تبدأ القصة بهذا الكيميائي فاقد الذاكرة بعد حريق أطاح بمختبره ويبدو أنه فقد معلوماته الكيميائية ، لكن أحداً لا يصدق هذا أو يجازف بتصديقه .
رجال الشرطة يحاصرونه بأسئلتهم ، والمحامي ينصحه بالصمت ، ورجال شبكة المخدرات يلاحقونه .
لكنه يملك بصيصاً واحداً من عالمه القديم : إسم فتاة تدعى ديزريه وعن طريق هذا البصيص يحاول إسترجاع القطاع الذي احترق في ذاكرته .
معظم الرواية هلوسة تتداخل مع الواقع بشكل محير وأستاذي ، بحيث أنك لا تعرف أبداً أين تبدأ الحقيقة وأين تنتهي ، ومن حين لآخر ينزلق وننزلق معه إلى جنون البارانويا الكامل .
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
108 people are currently reading
4766 people want to read
About the author
Craig Clevenger
16 books934 followersAuthor of books frequently borrowed but seldom returned.
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November 28, 2020
•• ديرمافوريا: هي الحالة النفسية التي يخلقها الجلد وهي أن تطلب المزيد، وهنا المقصود بالجلد هو اسم المخدر ..
"كل شيء في الكون هو كل شيء آخر. الإنسان قاتل وقرد وصرصور وسمكة زينة وحوت.. والشيطان ليس سوى ملاك أراد المزيد."
•ترجمة د. أحمد خالد توفيق كفت ووفت في تبسيط مثل هذه الرواية .. فلا تتوقع بدون الحواشي أن تصل لما يقصده كريج كليفنجر من هذه المصطلحات والكلمات والملابسات التي اخترعها في روايته .. يروي لنا إريك أشوورث وهو فاقد للذاكرة هلوساته الغريبة، وخوفه من التنصت وملاحقة رجال الشبكة له..
_ تخرج من الكتاب بنصيحة لا بأس بها وهي ...
•احذر من الديدان الشريطية فإنها ستخرب بيتك!
•إريك نسي كل شيء في ثوان معدودة ولا يربطه بالماضي سوى خيط واهٍ هو حبيبته "ديزريه"
"الأمر يشبه أن تقع في الحب كل ليلة ويتحطم قلبك كل صباح. للأبد مثل برومثيوس.. فقط ننسى كم أن ذاكرتنا غير دقيقة. الاحتفاظ بذاكرة طيبة معناه تدمير قدر عظيم من الماضي."
••ذكراها سترتب له أوراقه ليتذكر إن كان هو إريك أشوورث الكيميائي صاحب المخدر الفريد الذي لم يعرف السوق الأمريكي مثله من قبل أم أن هذا هو اختلاق من عقله وهل ذكرى والده حقيقية أم لا؟..
الجلد.. المهد.. اللمسة.. دي
•يصعب أن تجد من يجيد الكتابة بهذا العمق عن رجل فاقد للذاكرة وواقع تحت تأثير جرعة زائدة _بالأحرى هي كمية هائلة_ من المخدر الذي اخترعه ..
•الكتاب غير تقليدي وممتع بالدرجة الأولى ومقارنة بما كتب في هذا النوع بقلم كتّاب آخرين فالمقارنة في صالح كليفنجر.
"كل شيء في الكون هو كل شيء آخر. الإنسان قاتل وقرد وصرصور وسمكة زينة وحوت.. والشيطان ليس سوى ملاك أراد المزيد."
•ترجمة د. أحمد خالد توفيق كفت ووفت في تبسيط مثل هذه الرواية .. فلا تتوقع بدون الحواشي أن تصل لما يقصده كريج كليفنجر من هذه المصطلحات والكلمات والملابسات التي اخترعها في روايته .. يروي لنا إريك أشوورث وهو فاقد للذاكرة هلوساته الغريبة، وخوفه من التنصت وملاحقة رجال الشبكة له..
_ تخرج من الكتاب بنصيحة لا بأس بها وهي ...
•احذر من الديدان الشريطية فإنها ستخرب بيتك!
•إريك نسي كل شيء في ثوان معدودة ولا يربطه بالماضي سوى خيط واهٍ هو حبيبته "ديزريه"
"الأمر يشبه أن تقع في الحب كل ليلة ويتحطم قلبك كل صباح. للأبد مثل برومثيوس.. فقط ننسى كم أن ذاكرتنا غير دقيقة. الاحتفاظ بذاكرة طيبة معناه تدمير قدر عظيم من الماضي."
••ذكراها سترتب له أوراقه ليتذكر إن كان هو إريك أشوورث الكيميائي صاحب المخدر الفريد الذي لم يعرف السوق الأمريكي مثله من قبل أم أن هذا هو اختلاق من عقله وهل ذكرى والده حقيقية أم لا؟..
الجلد.. المهد.. اللمسة.. دي
•يصعب أن تجد من يجيد الكتابة بهذا العمق عن رجل فاقد للذاكرة وواقع تحت تأثير جرعة زائدة _بالأحرى هي كمية هائلة_ من المخدر الذي اخترعه ..
•الكتاب غير تقليدي وممتع بالدرجة الأولى ومقارنة بما كتب في هذا النوع بقلم كتّاب آخرين فالمقارنة في صالح كليفنجر.
April 10, 2020
Avevo questo libro in lista da diversi anni, ma ci ho messo un po' a recuperarne una copia. E' un peccato quando mi rendo conto che il potenziale di certi libri rimanga nascosto agli occhi del grande pubblico. E sopratutto mi fa girare i coglioni quando non lo trovo. Il prossimo è Cuori Sgozzati di Katherine Dunn e so gia che sarà ancora più difficile recuperarlo.
Che cazzo.
Vi faccio una domanda un po' scomoda adesso. Se siete in questo posto e state leggendo qui significa che avete la mentalità più aperta rispetto al classico italian guy che si emoziona solo quando qualcuno fa gol. Per cui fate pure le vostre facce strane ma non me ne volete mentre vi chiedo "L'avete mai provato un acido?"
Io sì, e anche se è stato di recente, non ho ben capito che cosa ci fosse dentro. Sono sempre stato bravo con i numeri, ma in scienze no. A differenza di Magritte, per me una pastiglia è soltanto una pastiglia.
Quando provi un acido è un casino, inizi a vedere cose che non ci sono. Apri il contenitore della tua testa che tiene a bada i pensieri come un domatore che tiene la tigre al suo posto. I pensieri belli, la tua cotta del liceo, ma anche gli altri. Quelli cupi a spaventosi che ti opprimono come i giorni in quarantena chiuso in un appartamento senza balcone.
Non lo auguro a nessuno.
Apri il contenitore e non sai quello che può succedere. Preghi che il trip prenda la piega giusta, per svagarti un po'. Altrimenti son cazzi amari e ci rimani sotto per bho, tutta la vita.
Nel caso della tigre invece è più facile farsi un'idea dell'esito dei giochi una volta aperta la gabbia. Con gli acidi, no.
Il protagonista di questa storia si sveglia e vede delle cose che non ci sono. Una realtà diversa. E scopriamo in fretta perché.
I suoi ricordi sono sfocati e ovattati a tal punto che ha perso la memoria a breve termine. Non si ricorda un cazzo. Seguendo quindi un indizio lasciatogli dalla sua versione sobria, decide di scoprire che cosa stava combinando con la sua vita mentre ancora sta in preda ai deliri delle sostanze stupefacenti che ha assunto di recente. Si trova di fronte ad una realta sfocata tutta da interpretare. E noi con lui.
Durante il corso della storia, il protagonista prende coscienza di essere un chimico che lavora per un gruppo di individui per produrre delle pastiglie dalla qualità sopraffina. Ma è tutto confuso e complesso e ci viene raccontato attraverso una lente non lucida. Per farvi capire la sensazione, vi basti pensare ad un crossover tra Pi il teorema del delirio, Memento e una componente della trama tratta da Breaking Bad. Se poi l'effetto degli acidi inizia a svanire e la realtà si definisce con il passare dei capitoli, nella parte finale ci ritroveremo insieme al protagonista a fare i conti con quello che è il modo in cui davvero è andata la storia. Tipo adesso che stiamo chiusi in casa e vorrei prendere il muro a testate un colpo dopo l'altro per realizzare che non posso farci niente e mi tocca accettare come stanno le cose.
Ora.
Non sono riuscito a staccare gli occhi di dosso da questo libro durante la lettura. Ho apprezzato il primo libro dell'autore: Il manuale del Contorsionista (anche quello, buona fortuna se riuscite a trovarlo) ma questo è un gradino sopra. Un delirio raccontato in modo magistrale che ti catapulta nel retro della mente del protagonista. Big plauso a Palahniuk che ha consigliato al grande pubblico questo libro (la copertina recita una citazione dell'autore di Fight Club che dice "Giuro su dio, questo è il libro migliore che io abbia letto negli ultimi 10 anni) e che ha permesso ai semplici sfigati come me di godere l'esperienza narrativa.
Un viaggio che ti catapulta nella storia. Una lettura che ti fa sentire come il protagonista. Che ti fa sentire il protagonista. Un'esperienza che è paragonabile solo ad una sostanza stupefacente dagli effetti devastanti che ti entra in circolo dopo averla mandata giu.
E' questo il mio unico acido provato nella vita, e con la testa che mi ritrovo sarà anche l'unico.
Non drogatevi, che con l'ansia e la paranoia di questo periodo finite per trasformare certe esperienze in un incubo. Leggete invece questo libro e consigliatelo a chi pensate possa apprezzarlo, dando visibilità ad un autore che ha fatto un lavoro di fino.
Perché se lo merita.
E se ne trovate di altri simili, make sure you gimme a call.
Che cazzo.
Vi faccio una domanda un po' scomoda adesso. Se siete in questo posto e state leggendo qui significa che avete la mentalità più aperta rispetto al classico italian guy che si emoziona solo quando qualcuno fa gol. Per cui fate pure le vostre facce strane ma non me ne volete mentre vi chiedo "L'avete mai provato un acido?"
Io sì, e anche se è stato di recente, non ho ben capito che cosa ci fosse dentro. Sono sempre stato bravo con i numeri, ma in scienze no. A differenza di Magritte, per me una pastiglia è soltanto una pastiglia.
Quando provi un acido è un casino, inizi a vedere cose che non ci sono. Apri il contenitore della tua testa che tiene a bada i pensieri come un domatore che tiene la tigre al suo posto. I pensieri belli, la tua cotta del liceo, ma anche gli altri. Quelli cupi a spaventosi che ti opprimono come i giorni in quarantena chiuso in un appartamento senza balcone.
Non lo auguro a nessuno.
Apri il contenitore e non sai quello che può succedere. Preghi che il trip prenda la piega giusta, per svagarti un po'. Altrimenti son cazzi amari e ci rimani sotto per bho, tutta la vita.
Nel caso della tigre invece è più facile farsi un'idea dell'esito dei giochi una volta aperta la gabbia. Con gli acidi, no.
Il protagonista di questa storia si sveglia e vede delle cose che non ci sono. Una realtà diversa. E scopriamo in fretta perché.
I suoi ricordi sono sfocati e ovattati a tal punto che ha perso la memoria a breve termine. Non si ricorda un cazzo. Seguendo quindi un indizio lasciatogli dalla sua versione sobria, decide di scoprire che cosa stava combinando con la sua vita mentre ancora sta in preda ai deliri delle sostanze stupefacenti che ha assunto di recente. Si trova di fronte ad una realta sfocata tutta da interpretare. E noi con lui.
Durante il corso della storia, il protagonista prende coscienza di essere un chimico che lavora per un gruppo di individui per produrre delle pastiglie dalla qualità sopraffina. Ma è tutto confuso e complesso e ci viene raccontato attraverso una lente non lucida. Per farvi capire la sensazione, vi basti pensare ad un crossover tra Pi il teorema del delirio, Memento e una componente della trama tratta da Breaking Bad. Se poi l'effetto degli acidi inizia a svanire e la realtà si definisce con il passare dei capitoli, nella parte finale ci ritroveremo insieme al protagonista a fare i conti con quello che è il modo in cui davvero è andata la storia. Tipo adesso che stiamo chiusi in casa e vorrei prendere il muro a testate un colpo dopo l'altro per realizzare che non posso farci niente e mi tocca accettare come stanno le cose.
Ora.
Non sono riuscito a staccare gli occhi di dosso da questo libro durante la lettura. Ho apprezzato il primo libro dell'autore: Il manuale del Contorsionista (anche quello, buona fortuna se riuscite a trovarlo) ma questo è un gradino sopra. Un delirio raccontato in modo magistrale che ti catapulta nel retro della mente del protagonista. Big plauso a Palahniuk che ha consigliato al grande pubblico questo libro (la copertina recita una citazione dell'autore di Fight Club che dice "Giuro su dio, questo è il libro migliore che io abbia letto negli ultimi 10 anni) e che ha permesso ai semplici sfigati come me di godere l'esperienza narrativa.
Un viaggio che ti catapulta nella storia. Una lettura che ti fa sentire come il protagonista. Che ti fa sentire il protagonista. Un'esperienza che è paragonabile solo ad una sostanza stupefacente dagli effetti devastanti che ti entra in circolo dopo averla mandata giu.
E' questo il mio unico acido provato nella vita, e con la testa che mi ritrovo sarà anche l'unico.
Non drogatevi, che con l'ansia e la paranoia di questo periodo finite per trasformare certe esperienze in un incubo. Leggete invece questo libro e consigliatelo a chi pensate possa apprezzarlo, dando visibilità ad un autore che ha fatto un lavoro di fino.
Perché se lo merita.
E se ne trovate di altri simili, make sure you gimme a call.
December 31, 2013
I love this man's writing. The words so poetic and the story unfolds like a bad dream, and you get the workings of a man who suffers from amnesia and is starting to get his memory back in chunks, but you can't be certain if any of those flashes are true. Very abstract, like Memento meets Breaking Bad.
August 21, 2007
Read this book twice now. Clevenger has, with two slim books, become my favorite author, most enjoyable, creative, researched. No negatives, this book'll knock you on your ass.
February 28, 2012
I was going to start this review by comparing Clevenger's writing to that of Chuck Palahniuk and Will Christopher Baer. He's got the pace and acerbic plot-mind of one and the visceral, dizzying prose of the other. Then I flipped to the acknowledgements, and there, on the second paragraph, Clevenger thanks them both. "Well, no wonder," I thought. Fans of either (or both) Palahniuk and Baer are bound to love "Dermaphoria."
Clevenger starts with a classic (and almost trite) premise: a man wakes up in a hospital, and the only thing he knows is one name -- Desiree. The man (Eric Ashworth) -- sought after by info-hungry cops, antsy attorneys, and dispassionate mobsters -- attempts to piece together his life, bit by bit, around that one name, using both old-fashioned persistence and a new street drug. The substance, called Skin, synthesizes the sense of touch, using it to extract reality-rich remembrances from an ever-expanding history ("Having more memory is just a way of distorting a greater amount of the past," says one character). The only problem? Skin comes with some pretty serious side effects. And, furthermore, who's to say that the results are 100% accurate?
One part mystery, one part noir, and every bit of it a puzzle of firey, arresting prose, "Dermaphoria" is a great book. Ashworth's disorientation is made all the more palpable by Clevenger's crackling writing. Some might find the descriptions over-written, but I'd say he hasn't written enough. This 214 page novel is a quick read, ending faster than it takes a firefly to blink. Clevenger's descriptions are hefty and mobile, apt and stunning, and everything is slathered with import (even the names themselves, Ashworth and Desiree and others, are totems for a larger point). This book is about more than just drug overdoses and regrets, and like his contemporaries (even more so than Palahniuk, I'd say), Clevenger refuses to dilute his tale with bromides or easy outs.
However, even if you don't have the inclination to dig beneath the topsoil of Clevenger's mesmerizing world, you can still enjoy the lusciously dirty surface. It's a tale that is rewarding on multiple levels, superficial or subliminal, and although the ending is chaotic and heart-breaking (Clevenger's male protagonists never seem to catch a break), it also proves there's a real heart there to be broken. Dark, smart, gritty, and spare, "Dermaphoria" gets under the skin and stays there. You should read it, and then read it again.
In case you forgot anything.
Clevenger starts with a classic (and almost trite) premise: a man wakes up in a hospital, and the only thing he knows is one name -- Desiree. The man (Eric Ashworth) -- sought after by info-hungry cops, antsy attorneys, and dispassionate mobsters -- attempts to piece together his life, bit by bit, around that one name, using both old-fashioned persistence and a new street drug. The substance, called Skin, synthesizes the sense of touch, using it to extract reality-rich remembrances from an ever-expanding history ("Having more memory is just a way of distorting a greater amount of the past," says one character). The only problem? Skin comes with some pretty serious side effects. And, furthermore, who's to say that the results are 100% accurate?
One part mystery, one part noir, and every bit of it a puzzle of firey, arresting prose, "Dermaphoria" is a great book. Ashworth's disorientation is made all the more palpable by Clevenger's crackling writing. Some might find the descriptions over-written, but I'd say he hasn't written enough. This 214 page novel is a quick read, ending faster than it takes a firefly to blink. Clevenger's descriptions are hefty and mobile, apt and stunning, and everything is slathered with import (even the names themselves, Ashworth and Desiree and others, are totems for a larger point). This book is about more than just drug overdoses and regrets, and like his contemporaries (even more so than Palahniuk, I'd say), Clevenger refuses to dilute his tale with bromides or easy outs.
However, even if you don't have the inclination to dig beneath the topsoil of Clevenger's mesmerizing world, you can still enjoy the lusciously dirty surface. It's a tale that is rewarding on multiple levels, superficial or subliminal, and although the ending is chaotic and heart-breaking (Clevenger's male protagonists never seem to catch a break), it also proves there's a real heart there to be broken. Dark, smart, gritty, and spare, "Dermaphoria" gets under the skin and stays there. You should read it, and then read it again.
In case you forgot anything.
April 9, 2012
"رواية مجنونة ،، تشبه الرواية الأخرى التي ترجمها أحمد خالد توفيق " نادي القتال
والواضح أنه اختار لنفسه أن يترجم الروايات النفسية المعقدة ،، والتي تصعب ترجمتها
الرواية خليط من هلوسة تحت تأثير المخدرات وجنون البارانويا وضباب الذاكرة المفقودة
الرواية صعبة في بدايتها ،، أنا ضعت بين هلاوس (إريك) وجنونه
وأكثر من مرة فكرت أن أتوقف عن القراءة
ولكني ثقتي في أحمد خالد توفيق وأنه لن يقدم شيئاً سيئاً جعلتني أكملها
ومع قرب النهاية بدأت الخطوط تتضح
وكأن المؤلف دمجني وبطل الرواية في كيان واحد ،، أعرف ما يعرفه وأتذكر معه ما كان يجهله
هذه التقنية هي سبب إنبهاري بالرواية
ولولا نهايتها التي لم احبها لكنت اعطيتها الخمس نجوم
أعجبت بصورة الغلاف جداً
والواضح أنه اختار لنفسه أن يترجم الروايات النفسية المعقدة ،، والتي تصعب ترجمتها
الرواية خليط من هلوسة تحت تأثير المخدرات وجنون البارانويا وضباب الذاكرة المفقودة
الرواية صعبة في بدايتها ،، أنا ضعت بين هلاوس (إريك) وجنونه
وأكثر من مرة فكرت أن أتوقف عن القراءة
ولكني ثقتي في أحمد خالد توفيق وأنه لن يقدم شيئاً سيئاً جعلتني أكملها
ومع قرب النهاية بدأت الخطوط تتضح
وكأن المؤلف دمجني وبطل الرواية في كيان واحد ،، أعرف ما يعرفه وأتذكر معه ما كان يجهله
هذه التقنية هي سبب إنبهاري بالرواية
ولولا نهايتها التي لم احبها لكنت اعطيتها الخمس نجوم
أعجبت بصورة الغلاف جداً
August 28, 2007
(The much longer full review can be found at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:].)
Okay, I confess: that of all the different types of underground artists out there, I have a particular affinity for the weird quiet ones on the edge of every scene, who frequently engage in cutting-edge experiments just for the sake of engaging in them. For example, when I was involved with the performance-poetry community of the 1990s, I tended to spend a lot of time with the people who would drag weird abstract "musical instruments" on stage with them; who would slip the cadences of formal poetry into their work and then not tell anyone, just to see if anyone would notice anyway. And even better, of course, when that artist is quirkily attractive, always jittery in a way that could be innocent or guilty (depending on what substances they've ingested earlier in the evening, I suppose), a literal walking example of what many of us think when we hear the phrase "Life In The Big City."
I just got done with a new book by such an artist, in fact, the profoundly dense and sometimes outright perplexing dermaphoria by San Franciscan Craig Clevenger, whose first novel The Contortionist's Handbook became an accidental sleeper hit in 2003. It is a book along the same vein as Memento, Me and Kev, The Prestige and others, where a dark tale is told in a puzzling manner, slowly releasing bits and pieces of information until the entire story is finally revealed by the end; and this is a type of book I love, to be honest, for the same reason I love hyperfiction and the like, although acknowledge as well that it's not everyone's cup of tea. And similarly, Clevenger wields a personal writing style here that is deliberately over-the-top self-conscious, deliberately showy and obtuse; and again, you're either going to like it like I did, or detest it and have it get in the way of you enjoying the novel whatsoever. That's the whole point of being wildly experimental, after all; to throw off the shackles of popularity, to know in advance that the project will appeal to only a slim amount of people, but that they'll be profoundly moved by it instead of a zillion people shrugging their shoulders and going, "Meh."
Much like Memento (and several other high-profile stories that have come out this year)...
Okay, I confess: that of all the different types of underground artists out there, I have a particular affinity for the weird quiet ones on the edge of every scene, who frequently engage in cutting-edge experiments just for the sake of engaging in them. For example, when I was involved with the performance-poetry community of the 1990s, I tended to spend a lot of time with the people who would drag weird abstract "musical instruments" on stage with them; who would slip the cadences of formal poetry into their work and then not tell anyone, just to see if anyone would notice anyway. And even better, of course, when that artist is quirkily attractive, always jittery in a way that could be innocent or guilty (depending on what substances they've ingested earlier in the evening, I suppose), a literal walking example of what many of us think when we hear the phrase "Life In The Big City."
I just got done with a new book by such an artist, in fact, the profoundly dense and sometimes outright perplexing dermaphoria by San Franciscan Craig Clevenger, whose first novel The Contortionist's Handbook became an accidental sleeper hit in 2003. It is a book along the same vein as Memento, Me and Kev, The Prestige and others, where a dark tale is told in a puzzling manner, slowly releasing bits and pieces of information until the entire story is finally revealed by the end; and this is a type of book I love, to be honest, for the same reason I love hyperfiction and the like, although acknowledge as well that it's not everyone's cup of tea. And similarly, Clevenger wields a personal writing style here that is deliberately over-the-top self-conscious, deliberately showy and obtuse; and again, you're either going to like it like I did, or detest it and have it get in the way of you enjoying the novel whatsoever. That's the whole point of being wildly experimental, after all; to throw off the shackles of popularity, to know in advance that the project will appeal to only a slim amount of people, but that they'll be profoundly moved by it instead of a zillion people shrugging their shoulders and going, "Meh."
Much like Memento (and several other high-profile stories that have come out this year)...
April 30, 2015
سلسلة أفلام الغراب ..
صور المانجا التي تُظهر جثة في احد الشوارع الخلفية ..
أغاني الهافي ميتل وجون بون جوفي حين يقوم بطلاء أظافره باللون الاسود ..
فيلم قبيح نسيت اسمه لصديقة جستن بيبر الاولى التي نسيت اسمها كذلك ..
هل تعرف تلك الأجواء ؟!
هذه هي الأجواء القبيحة لقصة (ديمافوريا) عالم المخدرات والحماقات على انها تأسرك لمعرفة ما الذي حدث ولماذا وكيف ..
يبدو بأن جميع القصص والأفلام التي تبدأ بشخص فاقد للذاكرة ويجد نفسه في مكان ما سواء كانت قصة دان براون الاخيرة او هذه او مسلسل المصري الجديد الذي أيضاً لا اذكر اسمه تجد ذات النجاح..
ربما لانها تخاطب حلما لدى جميع البشر الذين يرغبون بان يصحوا ذات يوم ليجدوا أنفسهم في مكان وزمان اخر ..
أجمل ما في الرواية كان شخصية ذلك العالم الكيميائي العبقري والمجنون في ذات الوقت .. من منا لا يحتفظ بشيء من ود لشخصية شرشبيل !!!
الرواية جميلة وتستحق وكما عودتكم انا لا اترك التعليق على الترجمه في رواية مترجمه .. لاني ارى ان مراجعة الترجمه جزء أصيل من مراجعة الرواية .. اذا بدأت بالتعليق على الأغلفة ذات يوم فذكروني بأنني بدأت أبالغ ..
الترجمة ممتازة جداً وسلسة وأجمل ما فيها هي مقدمة تنقذ القاريء من الوقوع في فخ فانتازيا الفهم وتقرب له العديد من المفاهيم ..
كما كان المترجم رائعا بوضع شروح لبعض الأمور والمصطلحات الغربية التي تستخدم ضمن إطار ما في الهامش وبالطبع بالترجمة التي تبتعد عن التحذلق وهي باختصار ترجمة لكي تقرا كانك مشاهد عربي لفيلم اجنبي هذا ما نريده ..
أربعة نجوم وفي القلب رغبة اخرى !
صور المانجا التي تُظهر جثة في احد الشوارع الخلفية ..
أغاني الهافي ميتل وجون بون جوفي حين يقوم بطلاء أظافره باللون الاسود ..
فيلم قبيح نسيت اسمه لصديقة جستن بيبر الاولى التي نسيت اسمها كذلك ..
هل تعرف تلك الأجواء ؟!
هذه هي الأجواء القبيحة لقصة (ديمافوريا) عالم المخدرات والحماقات على انها تأسرك لمعرفة ما الذي حدث ولماذا وكيف ..
يبدو بأن جميع القصص والأفلام التي تبدأ بشخص فاقد للذاكرة ويجد نفسه في مكان ما سواء كانت قصة دان براون الاخيرة او هذه او مسلسل المصري الجديد الذي أيضاً لا اذكر اسمه تجد ذات النجاح..
ربما لانها تخاطب حلما لدى جميع البشر الذين يرغبون بان يصحوا ذات يوم ليجدوا أنفسهم في مكان وزمان اخر ..
أجمل ما في الرواية كان شخصية ذلك العالم الكيميائي العبقري والمجنون في ذات الوقت .. من منا لا يحتفظ بشيء من ود لشخصية شرشبيل !!!
الرواية جميلة وتستحق وكما عودتكم انا لا اترك التعليق على الترجمه في رواية مترجمه .. لاني ارى ان مراجعة الترجمه جزء أصيل من مراجعة الرواية .. اذا بدأت بالتعليق على الأغلفة ذات يوم فذكروني بأنني بدأت أبالغ ..
الترجمة ممتازة جداً وسلسة وأجمل ما فيها هي مقدمة تنقذ القاريء من الوقوع في فخ فانتازيا الفهم وتقرب له العديد من المفاهيم ..
كما كان المترجم رائعا بوضع شروح لبعض الأمور والمصطلحات الغربية التي تستخدم ضمن إطار ما في الهامش وبالطبع بالترجمة التي تبتعد عن التحذلق وهي باختصار ترجمة لكي تقرا كانك مشاهد عربي لفيلم اجنبي هذا ما نريده ..
أربعة نجوم وفي القلب رغبة اخرى !
July 12, 2017
His second book, such rich sensations, a powerful, riveting story, and the questioning of reality abounds. A fantastic read.
September 14, 2010
ترجمة ممتازة لقصة مملة.
November 15, 2020
قريتها من فترة طويلة كان أغلبها مجموعة من الهلاوس والتخاريف ومزج بين الواقع والخيال وفي اغلب فقرات الرواية مش حتعرف تفرق اذا كان الاحداث دي بتحصل بجد ولا لأ
July 3, 2012
Good book overall. Hard to follow the fractured "psychedelic" narrative structure at times, though the author makes a heroic attempt to experiment with the very structure of how a story can be told. Clevenger skillfully captures the splintered paranoia of the psychedelic experience. The plot could be described as one long "bad trip" as seen through the eyes of the book's antihero/protagonist Eric; a nightmarish dreamscape rife with legions of insectoid spies working for "them", nefarious silent black helicopters, the death of the ego and the unique horror that comes from the blurring of reality, fantasy and nightmare. Peppered between the fantastical elements of psychedelia is the story of an ingenious young chemist (Eric) who has been hired by professional criminals as the brains behind an illicit recreational pharmaceutical manufacturing operation (LSD, MDMA, Methamphetamine and a new drug called "Touch" from which the title of the book is derived). Think "Breaking Bad" told from a mind-bending kaleidoscopic perspective. There is also a twisted love story sub-plot. Tough to read at times, but, overall, a good second effort by Clevenger.
July 22, 2013
It's been a while since a book has left me speechless at the end. The author reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk (mostly known for fight club) The story follows Eric a chemist who makes some awesome drugs but apparently can't remember a whole lot cause his lab blew up mysteriously and he's desperately trying to figure out what happened, while some unscrupulous people are trying to get the formula from his already damaged head. Throw in there he's in major trouble with the law and he's trying to find a woman named Desiree for some reason, and he's just about had the worst week ever. Course as you read the story starts to unfold and you wonder what's real and what isn't, you feel bad for Eric cause he's just trying to figure out what's going on, and the end will just leave you speechless.
October 30, 2008
The sentence level writing and descriptions are definitely the highlight of this book, especially the (many) sections about insects. I enjoyed the mysterious beginning though somewhere around the middle the paranoia of the narrator began to get a bit irritating but the book does build to something worth revealing.
January 7, 2011
لا بأس بها شريطة أن تقرأها دون ان تقطع قراءتك لفترة طويلة..
بدأتها ثم تركتها لثلاثة أسابيع أو شهر تقريبا قبل أن أعود إليها، مما جعلني أنسى الأحداث، المبعثرة أصلا، فلا استطيع استجماع الأفكار المفككة أو الشخصيات ، على قلتها..
الفصل الأخير يجمع كل القطع الناقصة ويصل إلى مرحلة التنوير.
لو قرأتها متتابعة ربما اعجبتك اكثر مما أعجبتني.
بدأتها ثم تركتها لثلاثة أسابيع أو شهر تقريبا قبل أن أعود إليها، مما جعلني أنسى الأحداث، المبعثرة أصلا، فلا استطيع استجماع الأفكار المفككة أو الشخصيات ، على قلتها..
الفصل الأخير يجمع كل القطع الناقصة ويصل إلى مرحلة التنوير.
لو قرأتها متتابعة ربما اعجبتك اكثر مما أعجبتني.
December 8, 2014
To describe Dermaphoria in the simplest, pop culture references, the story is like Walter White from Breaking Bad starring in a sequel of Memento.
Now that that’s over…
About a year ago, I decided my fiancé and I needed to be better versed on each other’s favorites. I wanted to see, eat, watch and most of all read what she loved. I made her a list of all the great experiences of my life, from the post-modern section of the DIA to Scarlett Thomas’ bewitching novel The End of Mr. Y. Then I relentlessly questioned her until I compiled a list of all her favorites. At the top of that list was The Contortionist’s Handbook, the debut novel of Craig Clevenger. The Handbook is the story of John Vincent, a master of forgery, whose migraine headaches and bad habits have locked him into a vicious circle of illegality. Clevenger’s ever-unique narrators grasp you from the first page and don’t let you go until they’re finished.
Dermaphoria opens with Eric Ashworth waking up in a hospital, his body is badly burned and his mind has no memory of how it got that way. He has the United States judicial system and the errand boys of a drug kingpin after him for answers. In order to spare himself a prison sentence or worse he has to find a way to remember his past. Ironically, it is the very drug that took Eric’s memory that helps him to bring it back.
“Write What You Know.”
Everyone’s heard that troubling phrase of non-wisdom. It makes the most inventive writers think of themselves with the most bland, paranoid thoughts. I don’t know enough! All I know is how to be a twenty something, unemployed Detroiter that likes girls and plays roller derby. Those are all the things that I know! The problems of “write what you know” stuck with me until my junior year of college when my playwriting teacher answered them saying, HELL NO! Write what you believe, learn what you know.
Running with this, one of the reasons Clevenger’s stories are so intriguing is the intricate level of research he completes for each. It gives him the ability to create the meticulously detailed thoughts of his characters. When you read a Craig Clevenger novel, you learn something about the skills of the narrator. In the Handbook, Vincent describes a practical passion for forgery, culminated from years using slight of hand. In Dermaphoria, Eric Ashworth is a chemist that invents a new drug that synthesizes the sensation of human touch and Clevenger displays knowledge of chemistry/pharmacology. The audience is pulled through the stories by the unique voice and knowledge of each narrator.
Revision of Re-Visions
The book has received lots of negative feedback for its readability. Or rather, its lack of. Dermaphoria literally puts you in the mind of an amnesiac drug addict. With each dose of Derma, he remembers pairs of invisible hands and with his withdrawal comes an avalanche of tactile reality and paranoia. When Eric questions what is real, you realize that you don’t know for yourself what it real. You experience his hallucinations, his paranoia, his flashbacks. Clevenger is sitting next to you the whole time, experiencing it all with you. The only difference is that he’s been here before. He’s been living in this world for years. In an interview for chuckpalaniuk.net, Clevenger describes his writing and revision for the novel. “I didn't write a complete draft and then re-write a series of drafts one after the next. Every chapter existed as a separate document up until a couple of weeks before I strung them all together for the press galley (Cite!.)” Every structure in the book has been designed to throw the audience into chaos from words to paragraphs to chapters. The key is to find the beauty in the chaos. (I am a great lover of chaos.)
When asked about his work for his third novel Clevenger references a short story available on his website titled, The Fade. He explains that his next novel will be an expansion of this story.
********
My book club chose this as our November novel but there were no discussion questions available! Came up with these to guide discussion. Thought they might be helpful for other book clubs!
Possible Discussion Questions-
1. Eric wakes up with no memory of his life. As the story progresses, the audience learns only what Eric’s mind chooses to remember. How does this challenge your reading? As you read, how are your own opinions colored by this fact?
2a. Clevenger uses many different motifs to propel his story. Which motifs did you find throughout the book? Which of these do you think works best in the story.
2b. Discuss the significance of fire and it’s many occurrences throughout the novel.
3. Throughout the narrative the name Desiree is associated with many different situations. Discuss the many different references. Who or what do you believe is the true Desiree.
4. Discuss Eric’s understanding of God. Is Eric attempting to “play God” in his creation of Derma or is he finding a way to become closer to God by altering he mental states of its participants.
5. In an interview with Chuck Palanuk.net Clevenger talks about the use of bugs in the novel, “The early versions of the story had Eric recalling part of his youth spent with Pentecostal snake handlers, so there was as much narrative devoted to reptile imagery as there was to bugs, but I cut those sections out. They weren't important to the story, so they had to go.”
Discuss the many ways bugs are used in the story, why are these sections so important to the narrative?
6. “I didn't write a complete draft and then re-write a series of drafts one after the next. Every chapter existed as a separate document up until a couple of weeks before I strung them all together for the press galley.”
How does this writing style complement the narrative? How does it harm the narrative? If you re-ordered the chapters in the novel, would the overall story still make sense?
Now that that’s over…
About a year ago, I decided my fiancé and I needed to be better versed on each other’s favorites. I wanted to see, eat, watch and most of all read what she loved. I made her a list of all the great experiences of my life, from the post-modern section of the DIA to Scarlett Thomas’ bewitching novel The End of Mr. Y. Then I relentlessly questioned her until I compiled a list of all her favorites. At the top of that list was The Contortionist’s Handbook, the debut novel of Craig Clevenger. The Handbook is the story of John Vincent, a master of forgery, whose migraine headaches and bad habits have locked him into a vicious circle of illegality. Clevenger’s ever-unique narrators grasp you from the first page and don’t let you go until they’re finished.
Dermaphoria opens with Eric Ashworth waking up in a hospital, his body is badly burned and his mind has no memory of how it got that way. He has the United States judicial system and the errand boys of a drug kingpin after him for answers. In order to spare himself a prison sentence or worse he has to find a way to remember his past. Ironically, it is the very drug that took Eric’s memory that helps him to bring it back.
“Write What You Know.”
Everyone’s heard that troubling phrase of non-wisdom. It makes the most inventive writers think of themselves with the most bland, paranoid thoughts. I don’t know enough! All I know is how to be a twenty something, unemployed Detroiter that likes girls and plays roller derby. Those are all the things that I know! The problems of “write what you know” stuck with me until my junior year of college when my playwriting teacher answered them saying, HELL NO! Write what you believe, learn what you know.
Running with this, one of the reasons Clevenger’s stories are so intriguing is the intricate level of research he completes for each. It gives him the ability to create the meticulously detailed thoughts of his characters. When you read a Craig Clevenger novel, you learn something about the skills of the narrator. In the Handbook, Vincent describes a practical passion for forgery, culminated from years using slight of hand. In Dermaphoria, Eric Ashworth is a chemist that invents a new drug that synthesizes the sensation of human touch and Clevenger displays knowledge of chemistry/pharmacology. The audience is pulled through the stories by the unique voice and knowledge of each narrator.
Revision of Re-Visions
The book has received lots of negative feedback for its readability. Or rather, its lack of. Dermaphoria literally puts you in the mind of an amnesiac drug addict. With each dose of Derma, he remembers pairs of invisible hands and with his withdrawal comes an avalanche of tactile reality and paranoia. When Eric questions what is real, you realize that you don’t know for yourself what it real. You experience his hallucinations, his paranoia, his flashbacks. Clevenger is sitting next to you the whole time, experiencing it all with you. The only difference is that he’s been here before. He’s been living in this world for years. In an interview for chuckpalaniuk.net, Clevenger describes his writing and revision for the novel. “I didn't write a complete draft and then re-write a series of drafts one after the next. Every chapter existed as a separate document up until a couple of weeks before I strung them all together for the press galley (Cite!.)” Every structure in the book has been designed to throw the audience into chaos from words to paragraphs to chapters. The key is to find the beauty in the chaos. (I am a great lover of chaos.)
When asked about his work for his third novel Clevenger references a short story available on his website titled, The Fade. He explains that his next novel will be an expansion of this story.
********
My book club chose this as our November novel but there were no discussion questions available! Came up with these to guide discussion. Thought they might be helpful for other book clubs!
Possible Discussion Questions-
1. Eric wakes up with no memory of his life. As the story progresses, the audience learns only what Eric’s mind chooses to remember. How does this challenge your reading? As you read, how are your own opinions colored by this fact?
2a. Clevenger uses many different motifs to propel his story. Which motifs did you find throughout the book? Which of these do you think works best in the story.
2b. Discuss the significance of fire and it’s many occurrences throughout the novel.
3. Throughout the narrative the name Desiree is associated with many different situations. Discuss the many different references. Who or what do you believe is the true Desiree.
4. Discuss Eric’s understanding of God. Is Eric attempting to “play God” in his creation of Derma or is he finding a way to become closer to God by altering he mental states of its participants.
5. In an interview with Chuck Palanuk.net Clevenger talks about the use of bugs in the novel, “The early versions of the story had Eric recalling part of his youth spent with Pentecostal snake handlers, so there was as much narrative devoted to reptile imagery as there was to bugs, but I cut those sections out. They weren't important to the story, so they had to go.”
Discuss the many ways bugs are used in the story, why are these sections so important to the narrative?
6. “I didn't write a complete draft and then re-write a series of drafts one after the next. Every chapter existed as a separate document up until a couple of weeks before I strung them all together for the press galley.”
How does this writing style complement the narrative? How does it harm the narrative? If you re-ordered the chapters in the novel, would the overall story still make sense?
July 23, 2013
Just finished reading this book about 20 minutes ago. I have read Craig Clevenger's first novel, "The Contortionist's Handbook" as well and enjoyed them both. I think that "Dermaphoria" was even better than "Contortionist's..." though, which is a good thing because as a writer, you always want to be improving.
What I most enjoyed about this story were 1) the great sensitivity of the main character; 2) the brilliant & concise writing style and 3) Clevenger's mastery of metaphorical writing, which I admire greatly. He uses this style to its greatest effect & better than any writer I have read. What makes his metaphors stand out is that they are completely unique which makes their impact that much greater.
I found the story to be interesting as well, although a little bit confusing. But that is to be somewhat expected with stories that blur the line between reality and the imagination. By the book's end, I felt that I understood correctly what had occurred, but maybe not. And maybe that is part of the mastery of this story.
I am greatly looking forward to the film version of this book, which is currently in production. It will be very interesting to see how many of the books ideas & visuals-whether real or imagined- are played out onscreen.
What I most enjoyed about this story were 1) the great sensitivity of the main character; 2) the brilliant & concise writing style and 3) Clevenger's mastery of metaphorical writing, which I admire greatly. He uses this style to its greatest effect & better than any writer I have read. What makes his metaphors stand out is that they are completely unique which makes their impact that much greater.
I found the story to be interesting as well, although a little bit confusing. But that is to be somewhat expected with stories that blur the line between reality and the imagination. By the book's end, I felt that I understood correctly what had occurred, but maybe not. And maybe that is part of the mastery of this story.
I am greatly looking forward to the film version of this book, which is currently in production. It will be very interesting to see how many of the books ideas & visuals-whether real or imagined- are played out onscreen.
July 31, 2013
Do you like Breaking Bad?
If yes, then read this book, as it is more or less a whole season of breaking bad that was never filmed. Perhaps intentionally perhaps unintentionally. Despite it being a clear parallel there are certain paragraphs in this book that make you smarter for reading them, they make you more interesting, they are instantly copy and highlighted and you hope to say something similar at some point in your life.
There are moments in this okay story where the writing is so pure it makes me believe he held onto the thought for years and built and entire story around it. And I can't help but sit back and think.
God.
Damn.
You.
Because they are perfect, and they are the way lines are supposed to be delivered. And I'm jealous and I'm a better writer for having read those paragraphs from this book.
The story itself is good, but if I had to read another 200 pages just for those little gold nuggets, for me to pick them up, dust them off and then show them shining and new to the uninitiated, I would read those 200 pages with the same anticipation I have for water slides and cheesecake.
If yes, then read this book, as it is more or less a whole season of breaking bad that was never filmed. Perhaps intentionally perhaps unintentionally. Despite it being a clear parallel there are certain paragraphs in this book that make you smarter for reading them, they make you more interesting, they are instantly copy and highlighted and you hope to say something similar at some point in your life.
There are moments in this okay story where the writing is so pure it makes me believe he held onto the thought for years and built and entire story around it. And I can't help but sit back and think.
God.
Damn.
You.
Because they are perfect, and they are the way lines are supposed to be delivered. And I'm jealous and I'm a better writer for having read those paragraphs from this book.
The story itself is good, but if I had to read another 200 pages just for those little gold nuggets, for me to pick them up, dust them off and then show them shining and new to the uninitiated, I would read those 200 pages with the same anticipation I have for water slides and cheesecake.
August 23, 2018
If you want to be disorientated and smitten by good prose then you have to read this. I guess it's a crime novel but not in any formulaic way. I love the interior workings of the main characters mind when swamped by psychotropic drugs and amnesia (poor Eric) and the threat of the character Toe Tag. Think of this book as a pacy magic carpet ride that deals with the black underbelly of society and just go with it. Interesting style of writing that pulls you right under. This author is one I'll follow now, top class.
February 1, 2016
Ok, where do i start? Well, this story feels upside down. The writing is crazy like the main character. It feels like a movie more than a novel, the scenes are described vividly. The craziness in the novel comes from Eric the main character, who starts the story with memory loss, and in trial for creating drugs. He seemed to be a very good chemist for his drugs left the city needing more. His memory loss came from being brain dead for eight minutes after overdosing which rendered him in the state we met him. Unable to tell what's real and what's not. The story is a mix between paranoid hallucinations, some real events and false/correct flashbacks. Eric's life is a mess between the police led by detective Anslinger who wants to put him in jail, his lawyer who knew more about him than he did, the gang members wanting their money and drugs, the pains of his condition, and his search for his lost love Desiree. The love story between Eric and her was amazing. The way he spoke of her, describing and telling her how much he loved her was so sweet. The way he called for her was so sweet that I heard it in my mind every time he said her name "Desiree."
Most of the story I was unable to know what is happening :D which was great. This added a new sense of mystery and made me think about every line written. I did get lost a lot though. And some plot twists felt like a blow to the head, my head actually hurt :D The novel ended with more question than its start for me and made me want to read it again. The missing star for the unanswered question that will haunt me for the rest of life.
Most of the story I was unable to know what is happening :D which was great. This added a new sense of mystery and made me think about every line written. I did get lost a lot though. And some plot twists felt like a blow to the head, my head actually hurt :D The novel ended with more question than its start for me and made me want to read it again. The missing star for the unanswered question that will haunt me for the rest of life.
December 8, 2009
I love this book, it is from a great new author. The main character is under the influence of a new experimental drug that he has been developing. From what I can tell it is a mash up of meth and acid, so his thoughts are pretty intense and most of the story through passages like this one:
"After my heart has bloomed to the size of the universe and all the love from the big bang to the last whisper has been cycloning through my chest for what feels like days on end, the world is one giant prison when the storm dies, at last. The galaxies shrink back to the lump of muscle behind my ribs, the sniper's target just to the left of my spine. The sleepless night and following day weigh down like a leaden gray forever. It feels like dying.
I thought I missed you, Desiree. I had no idea how much."
It's a really good story and it is told in a very unique way. His first novel "The Contortionist's Handbook" is also very good. Check him out if you get the chance. If you don't have the time to work him in to your busy reading schedules, he has some great short stories up on his website as well, though I feel like the novels best represent him.
www.craigclevenger.com
enjoy!
"After my heart has bloomed to the size of the universe and all the love from the big bang to the last whisper has been cycloning through my chest for what feels like days on end, the world is one giant prison when the storm dies, at last. The galaxies shrink back to the lump of muscle behind my ribs, the sniper's target just to the left of my spine. The sleepless night and following day weigh down like a leaden gray forever. It feels like dying.
I thought I missed you, Desiree. I had no idea how much."
It's a really good story and it is told in a very unique way. His first novel "The Contortionist's Handbook" is also very good. Check him out if you get the chance. If you don't have the time to work him in to your busy reading schedules, he has some great short stories up on his website as well, though I feel like the novels best represent him.
www.craigclevenger.com
enjoy!
February 14, 2015
I'd probably give it a 4.5 if I could. But I can't, so a 4 will have to do. The way it is told--structure, language--is what makes this book, as much as any elements of characterization or plotting, I think. The whole amnesia thing may be something of a cliche, but in this case it made sense, considering the circumstances; and it also allowed for a neat story-within-story structure (and I must admit, I love that kind of thing), episodes of the narrator's recent past interspersed with his present as he tries to recover his memories and piece together from them the events leading up to his current predicament. The revelation which comes to him with the final fragment of memory is a pretty great twist, though it doesn't exactly come out of the blue--but throughout this book, past and present intersect, so that everything seems to come full circle, in a way, at the very end--the ending is what nearly pushed this book to 5 stars, I think. A good read--short and sweet. (Which was nice, as I've been slogging through a whole mess of wonderful but lengthy books for quite some time now--it feels so great to finish a book within a day or two of starting it, rather than weeks or months!)
October 30, 2012
أجرؤ إني أقول إنها رواية كابوسية... صعبة جدا في فهمها وأنصح أي حد يحب يقرأها يقرأ النص الأصلي بالإنجليزي... مليانة آلام.. آلام ذكريات.. وآلام حب.. وآلام فقدان ذكريات.. وآلام بارانويا... رحلة البحث عن الحقيقة وماهيتها اللي خلت البطل في النهاية ينتحر.. جنود السماء ترمز للعاصفة.. بس دي العاصفة اللي جواه... ابتلع كل أقراص الديزيريه بعد ما رتب إن الشرطة تقابل الشبكة.. لو فعلا الشبكة موجودة ، الشرطة هتشوفهم.. بس هو خلاص مش مستعد.. أوفر دوز مخدرات اجتاحته كعاصفة من ريح وفراشات نار وهتنقله لعالم ديزريه اللي تخيله حيث يقدر يتابع معاها الغروب للأبد.. ألف.. ألفين.. ثلاثة...
December 19, 2016
رواية من الادب الامريكي المعاصر .. عنوان غريب كما فككه المترجم للدلالة على عالم الرواية المخدرات وتصنيعها وتعاطيها ونتائجها .
البطل الغريب فاقد الذاكرة المطارد من الشرطة ومموليه مريدي درة انتاجه .. ألاعيب الذاكرة وهلاوس التعاطي ورحلته للماضي للتذكر وخليط من البارانويا والتسامح مع الذات وجلدها .
صعبة التناول في البداية لا يصلنا بها إلا الفضول حتى النهاية .
لمسة وروح دكتور أحمد الساخرة تظهر ممزوجة بسخرية المؤلف .
البطل الغريب فاقد الذاكرة المطارد من الشرطة ومموليه مريدي درة انتاجه .. ألاعيب الذاكرة وهلاوس التعاطي ورحلته للماضي للتذكر وخليط من البارانويا والتسامح مع الذات وجلدها .
صعبة التناول في البداية لا يصلنا بها إلا الفضول حتى النهاية .
لمسة وروح دكتور أحمد الساخرة تظهر ممزوجة بسخرية المؤلف .
July 3, 2019
I’m always astounded when an author pushes their art forward in some way whilst also writing a “ripping yarn”. That’s the holy grail, right? This is one of those.
January 26, 2009
Craig Clevenger is a brilliant writer, and I'm quite excited to read a great follow-up to "The Contortionist's Handbook". "Dermaphoria" just wasn't that "great follow-up"; a fellow reviewer remarked that this book was a classic example of "the sophomore slump", and I'd have to agree.
"Dermaphoria" doesn't break any new ground; it's almost a carbon copy of "Contortionist's..". The protagonist in this one is an intelligent chemist who creates a Wonderdrug called "Derma" and gets high on his own supply. Clevenger's gimmick for this book is to tell the story in "flashback", with the flashbacks told as the protagonist's drug-induced flashbacks. This gimmick is so over-used that after about 100 pages I found my self getting so lost in the drug-induced imagery that I began not caring what was happening or why.
"Dermaphoria" doesn't break any new ground; it's almost a carbon copy of "Contortionist's..". The protagonist in this one is an intelligent chemist who creates a Wonderdrug called "Derma" and gets high on his own supply. Clevenger's gimmick for this book is to tell the story in "flashback", with the flashbacks told as the protagonist's drug-induced flashbacks. This gimmick is so over-used that after about 100 pages I found my self getting so lost in the drug-induced imagery that I began not caring what was happening or why.
July 28, 2011
Quite a fragmented narrative, which is intentional due to the main characters memory loss, but still makes for a difficuly read at times.
The story is a little familiar, maybe even cliched, the guy who can't remember what he's done, and finds out it's worse than he thinks. Some good bits but a lot of jarring moments. Every time it gets going (and it gets in a cool groove quite often) it suddenly cuts back to some nonsensical 'drugs make you think weird thoughts' schtick.
The paranoia and bits where he's convinced there's people listening through insects in his room was a bit derivative (Dick/Burroughs kinda thing)and took up way too much of the book, although would have been a short story without it, which I guess is the problem I had with it. Needed more happening and less talking to himself.
The story is a little familiar, maybe even cliched, the guy who can't remember what he's done, and finds out it's worse than he thinks. Some good bits but a lot of jarring moments. Every time it gets going (and it gets in a cool groove quite often) it suddenly cuts back to some nonsensical 'drugs make you think weird thoughts' schtick.
The paranoia and bits where he's convinced there's people listening through insects in his room was a bit derivative (Dick/Burroughs kinda thing)and took up way too much of the book, although would have been a short story without it, which I guess is the problem I had with it. Needed more happening and less talking to himself.
February 26, 2010
Clevenger does a standout job of conveying the main character's paranoia and while there are some far out passages, I didn't get lost too much in his drug induced frenzied paragraphs.
I was paranoid myself reading the book with the various types of insects eating away at my thoughts.
I can't really pinpoint why I liked this book so much, but I did and recommend it if you liked Fight Club or any of Chuck Palahnuik’s work.
I was paranoid myself reading the book with the various types of insects eating away at my thoughts.
I can't really pinpoint why I liked this book so much, but I did and recommend it if you liked Fight Club or any of Chuck Palahnuik’s work.
April 19, 2011
الشيطان ليس سوى ملاك اراد المزيد !
هذه هي الرسالة التي يريد الكاتب ان يوصلها خلال احداث متتضاربة بين الواقع والهلوسه , بين الذكريات الحقيقية والأحلام , يغوص بك الكاتب في عالم المخدرات من مدخل مختلف , فيسرب اليك كل المشاعر والأحاسيس المتملكة في شخصية البطل , بأسلوب سلس وعميق في آن واحد
قد تكون الاحداث رتيبة بعض الشيء في بدايتها , ولكن ما ان تنتهي القصة , وتجتمع الخيوظ المبعثرة , فتتضح لك الصورة , حتى تستسعر جمال الرواية ورونقها ...
هذه هي الرسالة التي يريد الكاتب ان يوصلها خلال احداث متتضاربة بين الواقع والهلوسه , بين الذكريات الحقيقية والأحلام , يغوص بك الكاتب في عالم المخدرات من مدخل مختلف , فيسرب اليك كل المشاعر والأحاسيس المتملكة في شخصية البطل , بأسلوب سلس وعميق في آن واحد
قد تكون الاحداث رتيبة بعض الشيء في بدايتها , ولكن ما ان تنتهي القصة , وتجتمع الخيوظ المبعثرة , فتتضح لك الصورة , حتى تستسعر جمال الرواية ورونقها ...
April 24, 2012
Read it because Chuck Palahniuk said it was the best book he'd read in the last few years. He wasn't wrong. The prose is powerful and twisting, the best kind of concrete poetry. Eric is one of the most interesting unreliable narrators I've met in a while. Don't listen to most of the low-ratings reviews: the fragmentation of the narrative isn't in the way of the story--the fragmentation IS the story. Also boasts one of the best last chapters I've ever read. HIGHLY recommended.
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