Lost Souls
by Poppy Z. Brite
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Book Summary Information
Author: Poppy Z. BriteEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1993-09-10
ISBN: 0440212812
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Dell
Book Reviews of Lost Souls
Book Review: Gratuitous, indulgent, and wholly enjoyable to the right kind of reader. Strongly recommended
Summary: 4 Stars
Fifteen-year-old Nothing runs away from his adoptive home and falls in with three vampires, one of whom is his unwitting father. In a haze of drugs, sex, and blood drinking, Nothing is drawn closer to New Orleans and the climactic events that will reveal his past and determine his future. Lost Souls is indulgent and gratuitous to the extreme, which will either delight or disgust the reader. Personally, I loved it--and though I preferred the concept to the actual plot, I found Lost Souls visceral, darkly intriguing, and difficult to put down. It's a bit over the top and perhaps not a piece of "great" literature, but I heartily recommend it.
To be quite honest, Lost Souls feels like a combination of the self-indulgent, gratuitous content of fan fiction and the skill and editing of a published book. It is an playground of sin: lush sexuality and frequent homosexual relationships, incest, teenage sexuality, unapologetic amorality, angst, plentiful violence and blood drinking, drug use, goth kids, punk kids, rock bands, vampires, and New Orleans, all of it so gratuitous that it nearly become an art form. It's over the top and hardly subtle, yet Brite writes well. Her prose is sometimes florid, but it is evocative, visceral, and as lush as the content. She creates a cast of vivid, intriguing characters and weaves their disparate lives into a single story. Sadly, the plot veers away at the end of the book, doing a disservice to one character and straying too far from Nothing and his family--but the story is often intriguing and always competent, and it will keep the reader interested and engaged until the end.
Brite is not the most subtle or most gifted author, but she writes rich prose and a strong story. As a result, her book revels in gratuitous content rather than being dragged down by it. That may not appeal to everyone, and perhaps it prevents the book from being truly "great," but the reader who enjoys it will find Lost Souls a gleefully indulgent bit of wish fulfillment. Personally, I loved the combination of content and style, and I throughly enjoyed the book. I fell in love with the characters (especially Zillah), enjoyed the glut of blood and sex and angst, and found the prose so visceral that it triggered physical reactions. I did enjoy the premise more than the actual plot, and so I preferred the first half of the book. Nonetheless: Lost Souls is a wholly immoderate, indulgent vampire story, and my inner hedonist adored it. I recommend it to anyone attracted to the premise--pick it up and read the first couple of pages, and it will soon be apparent if this is the sort of book you'll love or hate.
Brite, Poppy Z. Books
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