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Dermaphoria Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,243 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Bailed out of jail and holed up in a low-rent motel, amnesiac Eric Ashworth has only the memory of a woman’s name: Desiree. With steadily increasing doses of a strange new hallucinogen, Ashworth finds that the drug allows him to reassemble his past in broken fragments. But as he begins to lose touch with the present, his distinction between truth and fantasy begins to crumble, creating a world where divisions between love and loss, violence and tenderness, and fact and fiction are less discernible than they ought to be.
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"A little tough to read at times, but I soon figured out why. I've certainly felt like that a few times in my life. Great read, great story, and once again excellent story telling - makes a character that you shouldn't like and brings you to his side."
— Geoff (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Reminiscent of William Gibson’s work, but Clevenger has his own attitude and a film-noirish literary style that is unique.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“Clevenger’s trademark voice and pace are as good as ever, but the settings are his greatest triumph.”
— Santa Barbara Independent -
“Dermaphoria advances Clevenger’s dark art, powerfully evoking the paranoia of a man attempting to reconstruct his life.”
— San Francisco magazine -
“Cleverly obtuse…Offers a full ration of contemporary grit for those who prefer their noir with a high intelligence quotient.”
— Texas Monthly -
“A sometimes brilliant, heavily stylized novel whose psychedelic prose and labyrinthine story line will enthrall.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Whip-crack visuals and cinematic editing…It’s Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream by way of latter-day Cormac McCarthy.”
— Book Standard -
“Gloriously shifty puzzle-fiction whose resolution is much less important than the kaleidoscopic journey towards it.”
— Kirkus Reviews
Dermaphoria Listener Reviews
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" This one was quite incomprehensible, mostly due to Clevenger's style, which hinges upon surreal prose as well as heavy use of metaphor and simile. When compared to his first novel, "The Contortionist's Handbook," this one suffers the horrible fate of falling into the Sophomore Slump category. "
— Austin, 2/19/2014 -
" The spelling errors, so invisible to spellcheck software, suggest that no human involved in the production of this book ever bothered to read it... "
— Gary, 1/31/2014 -
" Not as good as contortionist handbook but sort of the same lost, confused, amnesiatic, possibly on drugs, main charactor. I felt at times the author was trying way too hard to create a beautiful line that it ended up sounding pretentious. Like chewing up light bulbs and firefly's to recreate the feeling of heartbreak in his mouth. "
— Erin, 1/15/2014 -
" The narrator is a fascinating individual and Clevenger really does a great job transporting us into his hallucinogenic world. "
— Jamie, 1/14/2014 -
" Craig does an amazing job capturing the mind of drug riddle man trying to piece his life back together. "
— Josh, 1/3/2014 -
" Loved it. The noir-esque prose and the mind-trippy premise go excellently together, bathing you in rich imagery while simultaneously making you wonder whether what is described really happened or is the warped memory of an acid trip. "
— Luke, 12/9/2013 -
" Amazing. Quite different than "Contortionist". Dreamy and Surreal. Loved it. "
— Brandon, 12/8/2013 -
" Kinda hard to follow with all the psychedelic/surreal prose and the jump cuts from out of nowhere, but it gets five stars anyway for being written in an amazingly beautiful and dark style and being gripping. "
— Robert, 11/26/2013 -
" A wonderful read, though a bit high-concept and muddy at points. However, the prose is always brilliant and that narrative consistently raw and believable. Clevenger is a great talent and needs to write MORE. "
— Robert, 11/13/2013 -
" Chemist designs a new wildly popular street drug that makes your skin feel really good or something, then he has to win back his girlfriend and not go to jail or get killed by his bosses and stuff. "Hallucinogenic" writing that is not as good as his first novel, "The Contortionist's Handbook." "
— Patrick, 9/3/2013 -
" style style style! great form and great vocabulary, sucks you in. even if you don't take a THING from the plot, you will want to drive through this book head on. "
— Steven, 6/20/2013 -
" Absolutely outstanding book, and far superior to A Contortionist's Handbook. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this genre, whatever this genre is. "
— Hank, 3/24/2013 -
" Not bad, but loved The Cortionist's Handbook a lot more. "
— David, 12/31/2012 -
" I LIKE THE STORY,BUT I WILL HAVE TO READ IT AGAIN IN ORDER IT A RATING. I FEEL LIKE I DIDN'T THE BOOK PROPER ATTENTION THAT A STRONG READER SHOULD. "
— Tashia, 11/23/2012 -
" I would have given it 5 stars but I found it confusing in some spots. The book is hard to explain without giving too much away but it was fun to read and I enjoyed the twists and turns leading to a surprising end. "
— Roseanne, 5/2/2012 -
" ok i guess, but did feature a dog named Otto. Have to love any dogs named Otto. "
— linnea, 11/27/2011 -
" His second book, such rich sensations, a powerful, riveting story, and the questioning of reality abounds. A fantastic read. "
— Richard, 6/4/2011 -
" like a chuck Palahniuk novel but not as good. "
— Catherine, 4/8/2011 -
" This book had a bit too much "I'm trying to be Fight Club" vibe about it for me. It was a decent read, but nothing I'd rave about. "
— Emily, 2/26/2011 -
" Again, Craig Clevenger is incredible. The man is the yardstick by which transgressional fiction writers should measure themselves. "
— Neospooky, 11/28/2010 -
" Like Palahniuk meets Phillip K. Dick. Mixed feelings. "
— Elena, 10/21/2010 -
" This is one of those strange reads where I really didn't like the main character at all but had to keep reading to see if what I thought had happened, had happened. It's not everyone's kind of book, but it was surely worth reading. "
— Tlnorz, 5/9/2010 -
" His second book, such rich sensations, a powerful, riveting story, and the questioning of reality abounds. A fantastic read. "
— Richard, 2/24/2010 -
" Beautiful. Such beautiful writing. That's all I can say. "
— devin, 2/19/2009 -
" like a chuck Palahniuk novel but not as good. "
— Catherine, 11/21/2008
About Craig Clevenger
Craig Clevenger was born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Southern California, where he studied English at California State University, Long Beach. He currently lives in San Francisco. Dermaphoria is Clevenger’s second novel, following 2003’s word-of-mouth phenomenon The Contortionist’s Handbook.