Rating: 
Summary: Everything I expect from a Poppy Z. Brite collection
Review: "Are You Loathsome Tonight?" is a little pricey for such a small volume (185 pages) but as a big fan of Poppy Z. Brite's work I felt it was worth splurging on. Why? Because I got a quickie update on two of my favorite lovers, Trevor and Zach from "Drawing Blood" who, as she puts it, are still in "happy, disgusting, perfect love" - that short story alone was worth the cost of the book for me. Other highlights were "King of the Cats" a sweet, kinky, imaginative retelling of the fairytale "The Poor Miller's Apprentice and the Cat", "Self-Made Man" is another favorite because I can't seem to resist a good graphic zombie/cannibalistic tale, and "Saved" was another stand-out that is both violently erotic and terribly sad. If you've never read Poppy Z. Brite you might want to start out with "Drawing Blood" or "Lost Souls" before you delve into this collection.
Rating: 
Summary: A Different Take
Review: Are You Loathsome Tonight is another verdant collection of raw and oozing tales with the ever present scent of eroticism. For this collection we get a greater variety of tales from Brite's mind. I especially liked the introductions to each tale which gives better insight into Brite's writing career. Great characterization, well written plots - a good companion to Wormwood.
Rating:
Summary: A collection to be devoured without compassion
Review: Are You Loathsome Tonight? Is a remarkable collection of twelve short stories by the Queen of the Macabre Poppy Z. Brite. In Vermis Veritas paints with all the tasty details the world seen through the eyes of maggots. Arise tells the story of a rocker that who gets help for his come-back from a long forgotten friend. Saved (written together with Christa Faust) is showing the readers the danger of weapons used in bed. King of the Cats (written together with David Ferguson) is a fairy-tale about the love a simple miller's apprentice and the ruler of the Kingdom of Cats. In Self-Made Man a serial killer searches for true love that will never leave. In Pin Money an old debt is settled by the dead. America is a snapshot of a conversation between traveling lovers. Entertaining Mr. Orton shows us the reason why possessed guys are better in bed. In Monday's Special Poppy explains what would have happened if she never started to write. Vine of the Soul starts on the eve of the new millennium, the ideal time for new kicks. Mussolini and the Axeman's Jazz is an historical fantasy about the beginning of World War II. Are You Loathsome Tonight? is the perfect illustration of the downfall of a super-star. Every story of this collection breathes the true spirit of the Gothic genre of which Poppy is a true emissary. Sometimes the reader becomes engulfed by gruesome and detailed descriptions of the most inhuman acts, whereas at the same time the romance seeps slowly through the pages. It is clear that I would not recommend this collection to the faint-hearted, but lovers of Exquisite Corpse will devour this book with an unhealthy, but nevertheless satisfying, voraciousness!
Rating: 
Summary: Are you loathsome, Brite?
Review: Did you ever want to be a maggot? Did someone call you a 'filthy little worm' and you really didn't mind at all? Well then, it's your lucky day, because your biography has finally been written. You see, you yourself are the narrator of PZB's short story 'In Vermis Veritas', a monologue-interieur of one of those Darwin's favourite creepy crawlers. And even though this little biography is unauthorized by you, you will notice that halfway through you're all ready be licking your lips with pure joy and delight. Brite cooks up a delicious little tale in which a local slaughterhouse is being described as a kind of McDonald's Drive Inn for maggots. So read closely, and chew on.
Because this is only the first story in Brite's anthology. And there are more to eat. And talking about eating: Brite's prose itself is even so maggotish: it may bite you once and a while, but in your case it bites playfully and teasingly, and with an almost uncensored tongue-in-cheek.
The only real comment one can make is that the story of a man who was forced to eat raw beans until his stomach bursted ('Monday's special') and the last story ('Are you loathsome tonight?'), about the unsatisfyable urge of devouring and gorging of a certain king of rock 'n' roll, should have been put together as one narration, making the worldfamous singer explode on stage or something while the audience goes: 'O Jeez!' from Hawaii.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant short stories -- Ms. Brite is a gifted writer!
Review: Having read Liquor, I wanted to read more of Poppy Z. Brite's work. Are You Loathsome Tonight? is quite a surprise. I hadn't expected this sort of writing from Ms. Brite, but I'd been told that this work is right on her alley and that she had branched out of the gothic genre with Liquor. These short stories are a mixture of gothic, paranormal and magic realism with some adult fairy tale elements thrown in for good measure. The writing is incredible -- dark, disarming and creative. My favorite stories are "Vine of the Soul," which from what I've read is the update of a previous story, "Monday's Special," "Self-Made Man," and "King of the Cats." I marvel at how marvelously written these stories are. I have placed Poppy Z. Brite in my "must-read" list. She is a very talented, gifted writer. I cannot recommend this short-story collection enough...
Rating:
Summary: it's the COVER...
Review: I bought this because I'd read Drawing Blood, Lost Souls, Exquisite Corpse and Wormwood and I loved all of them. I like this one, too, although not as much as the others. Among my favorite stories in this book are Monday's Special and America. The way she always strays back to her previous characters (like in America) at least every once in a while appeals to me. After reading some of the other reviews, I have just one question to ask. Why is the cover of the book so important to everyone? It's the COVER...
Rating:
Summary: Are You Loathesome Tonight? "Yes..."
Review: I finally picked up Poppy Z. Brite's latest short story collection. The book cover looks so cheap it is a blasphemy to the literary gold that's inside. These stories mark a new direction for Poppy Z. Brite, with her exploring historical fiction and including people such as Elvis. Some of the stories are so short that you wonder, "Is that it?" But there are still some good points. "Vine of the Soul" features an update on Trevor and Zach from DRAWING BLOOD, and "America" is a ditty about Poppy's favorite characters, Steve and Ghost from LOST SOULS. I have to say that my favorite was "Monday's Special," in which Poppy Z. Brite has become a coroner who specializes in weird corpses. "Self Made Man" is also a standout, a horrific tale about a serial killer a la Jeffrey Dahmer whose victims' bodies come to life and eat him. We get such terrifying images of a corpse arising from a bathtub and a severed head rolling around in a refrigerator. "Entertaining Mr. Orton" is very high caliber, if a tad bit all over the place. "King of the Cats" is wonderfully offbeat and has a Grimm's Fairy Tale feel to it. There is one horrible story, and it is "Are You Loathesome Tonight." Elvis does not belong in the nightmarish landscape of Poppy Z. Brite, I'm sorry. "Are You Loathesome Tonight" is okay, but as a hardcore Poppy Z. Brite fan, I pray every night that she will write another novel.
Rating:
Summary: Are You Loathesome Tonight? "Yes..."
Review: I finally picked up Poppy Z. Brite's latest short story collection. The book cover looks so cheap it is a blasphemy to the literary gold that's inside. These stories mark a new direction for Poppy Z. Brite, with her exploring historical fiction and including people such as Elvis. Some of the stories are so short that you wonder, "Is that it?" But there are still some good points. "Vine of the Soul" features an update on Trevor and Zach from DRAWING BLOOD, and "America" is a ditty about Poppy's favorite characters, Steve and Ghost from LOST SOULS. I have to say that my favorite was "Monday's Special," in which Poppy Z. Brite has become a coroner who specializes in weird corpses. "Self Made Man" is also a standout, a horrific tale about a serial killer a la Jeffrey Dahmer whose victims' bodies come to life and eat him. We get such terrifying images of a corpse arising from a bathtub and a severed head rolling around in a refrigerator. "Entertaining Mr. Orton" is very high caliber, if a tad bit all over the place. "King of the Cats" is wonderfully offbeat and has a Grimm's Fairy Tale feel to it. There is one horrible story, and it is "Are You Loathesome Tonight." Elvis does not belong in the nightmarish landscape of Poppy Z. Brite, I'm sorry. "Are You Loathesome Tonight" is okay, but as a hardcore Poppy Z. Brite fan, I pray every night that she will write another novel.
Rating:
Summary: it's the COVER...
Review: i read several of poppy's books before this, and i enjoyed _drawing blood_ very much. this book, however, is awful. the writing is often very immature and the cover art is so poor that it is laughable. don't waste money buying a book that isn't worth the paper upon which it was printed.
Rating: 
Summary: wow, amazingly poor writing....
Review: i read several of poppy's books before this, and i enjoyed _drawing blood_ very much. this book, however, is awful. the writing is often very immature and the cover art is so poor that it is laughable. don't waste money buying a book that isn't worth the paper upon which it was printed.
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