Malcolm (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: James Purdy
- First Published: 1959
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Surrealism
- Time of Work: Mid-twentieth century
- Setting: An unidentified American city
- 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
Characters Discussed
Malcolm, a fifteen-year-old who sits for months on a bench in front of a palatial hotel. When Mr. Cox finds Malcolm and suggests that the lad visit some addresses he knows, Malcolm makes the visits and hopes at times to find a new home, because his father has disappeared. Malcolm begins a journal and includes the conversations he hears at the addresses. Malcolm’s misunderstandings of many of the words he hears in the depraved society to which Mr. Cox introduces him provide much of the humor in the surrealistic novel. Malcolm eventually marries an older...
[The entire page is 778 words long]
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