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- From: syderange@aol.com (Syderange)
- Subject: Review of Volmann
- Date: 13 Mar 1995 22:29:26 -0500
-
- Whores for Gloria
-
- by
- William T. Volmann
-
- First Published in the U.S.
- by Pantheon Books 1992
- Published by Penguin Books 1994
-
- In the literary universe where weird is revered, Volmann is the man.
- Noted for incredibly in- depth research of his subject matter, Volmann
- really dove into the shit when he chose hookers and booze as the metier
- for his masterful novel, Whores for Gloria. For "Whores", Volmann spent
- long hours hanging out with San Francisco's finest, the working girls of
- the Tenderloin District.
-
- In "Whores", Volmann has sifted through the San Francisco gutter and
- created a collage of a novel from the wrecked humanity he found residing
- there. Ostensibly the story is about Jimmy, a Vietnam vet, who is
- searching for his lost love Gloria. Whether or not Gloria ever existed or
- is simply a figment of Jimmy's swiss cheesed memory stands as the central
- plot device around which the author staples the true heart of the novel,
- the lives of the hookers that Jimmy frequents in his drunken travails.
- Volmann's extensive research is apparent in the twisted tales these
- flatbackers tell.
-
- At the end of the novel the author has provided a glossary of terms and a
- profile of a Tenderloin pro for the reader's edification. Volmann visited
- and tarried on the other side and has written a novel that leaves the
- taste of stale beer on the palate and the smell of raw sex in the hair.
- Read it, sniff it, stroke it and take a long hot shower with a shot of
- penicillin just for luck.
-
- c. David M. Glitzer 1994
-
-