Malcolm (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: James Purdy
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Psychological surrealism
- Time of Work: Mid-twentieth century
- Setting: A city in the United States
- Principal Characters: Malcolm, Mr. Cox, Estel Blanc,, Kermit Raphaelson, Laureen Raphaelson, Girard Girard, Madame Girard, Jerome Brace, Eloise Brace, Melba, Gus
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Surrealist literature
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, United States or Americans, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Twentieth century, Corruption, Eccentrics or eccentricities, Dwarfs, Astrology or astrologers
- Locales: United States
The innocent can only grow up or die, and so when Malcolm—young, exquisite, and newly married—succumbs to alcoholism and sexual hyperaesthesia, the fact of his death has a familiar romantic ring. James Purdy, however, casts doubt on the coroner’s report: a dog bite may, less romantically, have killed the boy, or, on the other hand, he may never have died at all. For this is a book in which the author claims not to know the story.
Abandoning the novel’s old-time reliance on coherent detail, carefully structured to convince readers that characters and setting are...
[The entire page is 1336 words long]
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