Rating: 
Summary: unique
Review: Brite has a really good plotline, even if it's a bit unbelievable at times. The detailing is done really well and the ending is refreshingly unexpected, avoiding every cliche thet seems to be hitting paperback thrillers lately. Her characters and their motivation is truly believable, as you find yourself sympathizing with the lovers when they go out looking for meals and can't find sutible prey. If you are going for graphic, this is the book for you. The scenes of dismemberment are so exact they'll bring tears to an anatomists, or even a butchers eyes. It was a little to much in places for me, and several people I lent the book to put it down within the first few chapters.
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Summary: Brite homophobic?
Review: ..."Exquisite Corpse" WAS extremely graphic and stomach-turning, I can't add much to what everyone else said about it...but it is still Poppy and therefore still unforgettable and impossible to put down. It can horrify even the most jaded horror fan (as proven by my friend who begged to borrow it and couldn't even finish it, because she thought it was too disturbing.)
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Summary: Worth Your Time
Review: Indeed, this is a book that makes Koontz & King look like wusses in comparison.....however, you'll recognize truths that you maybe haven't thought about before. Definitely not for the squeamish....I look forward to reading more of Ms. Brite's works!
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Summary: Wondering...
Review: This seems kind of weird...but if anyone here listens to Nirvana...and has heard the song 'Drain You' and you listen/know the lyrics...it freaked me out how like the book the song was. its weird. if anyone agrees...i dont know...its a good book though...you just have to read it with an open mind and not get too freaked out..... 'one baby to another said im lucky to have met you...i dont care what you think unless it is about me...i traveled through a tube to end up in your infecton...chew meat for you pass it back and forth...in a passionate kiss...from my mouth to yours cuz i like you....'---'Drain you', Nirvana
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Summary: Heaven is a place in Poppy...
Review: This was the first Poppy Z. Brite book I read, and I fell instantly in love with her unique voice in a void of mundane writers. Each character from the exquisite Tran to the tortured Andrew became a part of my life, secret friends that I could drop in on when I felt like it and would always leave feeling wonderful. Brite's descriptive tale puts you in the middle of the French Quarter, smelling the salty air and hearing the tin of human tragic joys. Of course, I felt like Tran could have been given more of a chance, but then, how would you have fallen for Luke? All in all, one of my top ten books of all time. I recommend this to followers of Anne Rice, Robert McCammon, Neil Gaiman, Tori Amos, and Danny Elfman. If that's you, then there's a siren from N'Awlins that's just waiting to take your hand and lead you into heaven....
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Summary: Disturbing, Unforgettable Prose Not for Everyone
Review: Poppy Z. Brite's standing as a premier modern horror writer is justified, from her ability to convey endless detail in surprisingly few words to the originality of her characters and stories. Horror writers are not known for believing certain subjects forbidden, but Brite breaks taboos in every new work, often discovering topics not yet explored by her compatriots. But none of Brite's works is as groundbreaking as _Exquisite Corpse_.Despite using New Orleans as the primary backdrop of the novel, an almost cliché theme for Brite, it is Brite's pinprick descriptions of the city which make it almost as powerful a character in the story as the protagonists. The plot is fantastic, seamlessly intertwining elements of horror and romance, bordering on the surreal while remaining very grounded and real. Characters' desires and motives are well fleshed out and create compelling sub-conflicts. The shifting between first-person and third-person narration comes off surprisingly well, with little disturbance to the story's flow. The only problem with the novel is a surplus of setup and dearth of denouement, but this is a trifle. However, as the most graphic and horrific of Brite's novels, it is not for everyone. Even for those conversant with King and Rice, _Exquisite Corpse_ may be excessive. Brite's descriptive abilities work against her in that sense, bringing you closer to knowing what it's like to see someone burned alive by bleach, or vivisected, than you may be comfortable with. For those who can stomach such scenes, however, Brite's writing makes them unforgettable. Brite newcomers are advised to start with something more palatable, like her short story collections. But for those accustomed to Poppy's prose, _Exquisite Corpse_ is Brite at her nastiest, most severe. Whether or not that is a good thing is up to the reader to decide.
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Summary: Caution: Highly Recommended
Review: I cannot for the life of me understand why I love this book. Homosexual serial killers? Not really my cup of tea. However, Exquisite Corpse was fantastic! I have never read anything quite like it before. It challenged my narrow world view, consumed my mind as I read it, and afterwards it left me in a stunned stupor. The book is immensely readable, Brite has a real talent for the nuts and bolts of language. She can hold the reader in the palm of her hand, and then squeeze, leaving them gasping for breath, but begging for more. As much as I love this book, I know it isn't for everyone. After I finished it, I recommended it to all my friends and family. I found that approximately two out of three people, that I persuaded to pick it up, either liked or loved the book. The third person in general was disgusted. The beauty of Exquisite Corpse though, is that within a very short period of time, you will know if you are that third person.
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Summary: Grotesquely Compelling
Review: Of all the Poppy Z. Brite books I have read, Exquisite Corpse was the most unnerving and horrific. Yet I could not put it down. Brite takes you into the mind of Dahmeresque characters, their ultimate prey and friends. While reading about their daily life you forget just how different from the norm they are until Brite's raw, graphic imagery leaps out at you. As usual Brite's style is well written, engaging and emotive. This is a must read for Brite fans - if they have the guts.
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Summary: Freeway Accident
Review: Poppy Z. Brite when compared to Anne Rice and Stephen King on the back of my copy of Exquisite Corpse drew to my mind comparisons between Nosferatu and Count Chocula. Ms. Brite has a never satiated thirst for pushing the envelope in horror that Rice and King, with their particular market, could never venture into. I certainly do not mean this derogatorily, but Poppy Z. Brite IS the seedy underbelly of horror today. I cannot lie though, I found this book enthralling, easy to read and, at times, hard to stomach(no pun intended). to me it fit perfectly into the freeway accident motif, hard to watch, still harder to turn away. It's definitely one of those books that will bang around in your head long after you've given it away, thrown it away, or done whatever it takes to try and forget it.
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Summary: Disgusting book
Review: I read Lost Souls.. and *tried* to read this book. It made me feel sick, and couldn't finish it to save my life. The detail it went into about murder is disturbing. I discourage anyone from reading it as it is pretty nasty, vile book.
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