Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Total Emasculation of the White Man by David Valentine Bernard

From the author of the "powerful, fable-like work" ("Publishers Weekly") "Intimate Relations with Strangers "comes a sci-fi mystery--and a very dark comedy--about several (mostly white) men who are systematically driven insane by a series of bizarre events. One of the men wakes up in the woods one day with amnesia and is confronted by a dominatrix who tells him they are on a mission from God. She takes him to Atlanta, where he comes upon an unapologetically racist and sexist book called "The Total Emasculation of the White Man--"which sets him off on an even stranger quest. Another man, a college mathematics professor turned stay-at-home dad, finds himself losing his mind when his son's demonic teddy bear comes to life. Other men see even stranger horrors, but all these seemingly unconnected stories are part of a grand scheme that is either the work of a mischievous god or something even weirder. 

Blending elements of fantasy, mystery, science fiction and comedy, "The Total Emasculation of the White Man "is a provocative exploration of gender and race relations in America today.



Get ready to suspend disbelief and sit back and enjoy a wild ride of a story. The author does not start out gently but throws the reader right into the midst of craziness. I can’t even begin to explain the plot as you have to read it to believe it. 

You’re left trying to understand exactly  1) what type of story it is and 2) what is going on with the characters. These include a hillbilly with memory erasing champagne, leather clad Cassiopeia, stay at home dad Rasmussen, Roadkill Maniac, Granny Stanko with the stripper shoes, pimp Big Slug, white rapper mogul Don Cole, and many more crazy characters. 

This is definitely not a story that you will be able to ‘guess’ where it’s going due to its improbability. It’s not until the moment that the author explains it that you can make sense of the story. Don’t let this discourage you as it’s definitely an interesting read.        


*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Roberta

No comments:

Post a Comment

The old grey donkey, Eeyore stood by himself in a thistly corner of the Forest, his front feet well apart, his head on one side, and thought about things. Sometimes he thought sadly to himself, "Why?" and sometimes he thought, "Wherefore?" and sometimes he thought, "Inasmuch as which?" and sometimes he didn't quite know what he was thinking about.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to leave a comment. It's appreciated.