Are You Loathsome Tonight?

Rating:
Summary: If you liked "Wormwood"...
Review: ...you'd probably appreciate this one. Poppy sticks with a formula (erotic horror/thriller fiction starring young gay men) that s/he knows how to work well. Possibly hir greatest moment is "Monday Night Special", in this fan's opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Style over substance is sometimes a good thing.
Review: Poppy Z. Brite, Are You Loathsome Tonight? (Gauntlet, 1998)

I've read some of Poppy Z. Brite's novels over the course of the last ten years, but have somehow not read any of her short stories until now. Perhaps, judging by the reviews, this wasn't the best place to start. If so, I can't wait to get to the other collections I have lined up.

Most fans (and professional reviewers) seem to consider this one a weaker piece of output. While some of the criticisms are justified (not knowing some of the characters are from previous novels, for example, may confuse), they don't take away from the writing in general. And it's the quality of the writing in this collection that makes it worth reading. It's rather like Caitlin R. Kiernan's From Weird and Distant Shores; the subject matter may not be what the more plot-centric fans were hoping for, but the style is unmistakable, and wonderful. Probably the best book I've read in the past three weeks (and that's not as left-handed a compliment as it sounds, since that encompasses some twelve books). ****

Rating:
Summary: Not As Strong as her Novels, but a good collection
Review: Though Brite's stories are not quite as impressive as her novels (Lost Souls, Drawing Blood, Exquisite Corpse, The Crow: The Lazurus Heart), they are still beautiful little gems that are worth reading. This collection was a bit weaker than her first--Wormwood, a.k.a. Swamp Foetus--but it still has some good strong stories. "Arise" and "Saved" are the finest examles in the book. Some of the worst stories are "Vermis Veritas," "America," and "Are You Loathesome Tonight?" If you are a true fan of Poppy, you won't want to miss this collection, but if you have yet to read her or are not a die-hard fan, I might have to recommend you pass on this one.