Soul of a Whore and Purvis
Two Plays in Verse
By Denis Johnson
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Paperback, 9780374277963, 240pp.)
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Categories: American
 |     |
Two plays—hilarious and searing in equal measure—by one of our most essential and original authors
In his poetry, short stories, novels, and plays, Denis Johnson has explored the story of America—especially of the West, land of self-made men and self-perpetuating myths—with a searing honesty and genuine sympathy. These two plays, written in verse both hypnotic and clear, confirm his position as one of our great verbal stylists, and a literary conscience for our times.
In Soul of A Whore, a lively cast of characters—faith healers, pimps, strippers, actual demons—converge, with unexpected hilarity, as Bess Cassandra awaits execution for the murder of her infant daughter. Purvis’s seven reverse-chronological scenes catalog the fall and rise of Melvin Purvis, the G-man who brought down John Dillinger and Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd. Johnson takes us from Washington’s backrooms to a Midwestern cornfield, dramatizing the seductive allure of power and our own human capacity for both pettiness and grace.
In these furiously entertaining, occasionally terrifying works, Johnson chronicles and questions America’s myths, heroes, and everyday realities with verve and elegance, revealing himself once again to be at the height of his linguistic and insightful powers.Denis Johnson is the author of six novels, three collections of poetry, and one book of reportage. Between 2000 and 2010, during his stint as playwright in residence for the Campo Santo Theatre Company at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, he wrote six productions for the stage, all premiered by Campo Santo. His novel Tree of Smoke was the 2007 winner of the National Book Award.
“Johnson has found a new speed, or a new style, for his age-old theme of hell, and it's a good, rare thing to watch a modern poet write so well for the stage.” —Michael Scott Moore, SF Weekly
 |
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Knopf |
 |
The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |
 |
The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes Knopf |
 |
Death Comes to Pemberley PD James Knopf |
