sotos

[tiny_tove]

timeless should have a thread of its own.

[HongKongGoolagong]

He also mentions this guy who he references a few times, a friend of his who went to jail and who had "great access" (Selfish, Little) and I think I figured out who that guy was, David Vaksdal, from Chicago reports at the time and from clippings in Kept.

Are you sure about that? Remember Sotos is a masterful liar and distorter of facts. Part of the fun in trying to understand all his references comes from the click of recognition when you realise what or who he's really writing about, and how he's overdramatised things for comic effect - an example would be his insinuation in Show Adult that a silly Meg McCarville art film was some kind of highly underground illegal porn, or how his insults directed at Philip Best's choice in women in Selfish Little initially seem as if he's describing some kind of grooming ring he was into. Seems like many of his readers end up heavily disguised in the books too! It's similar to the tabloid reporting that inspires him in some ways.

[RyanWreck]

Are you sure about that?

Yea, actually I found that the guy I mentioned was into girls, and the person I am thinking of in Sotos' book is all about boys.

Remember Sotos is a masterful liar and distorter of facts. Part of the fun in trying to understand all his references comes from the click of recognition when you realise what or who he's really writing about, and how he's overdramatised things for comic effect

I agree. Although I don't know how much he really dramatizes. Do you personally think there is a good amount of "fiction" in his books?

or how his insults directed at Philip Best's choice in women in Selfish Little initially seem as if he's describing some kind of grooming ring he was into.

I don't remember this. What chapter and part was it in?

Going back through his books I think I am going to start off with "Show Adult". It's been a little while since I read that but I remember liking it.

Do you like "Predicate" at all? I know that a lot of other people dislike it and I don't understand why. It's one of my personal favorites, probably top 3 actually. Then you have ''Lordotics" which a lot of people dislike and I would have to agree, it is my least favorite of all. I'm going to read it again, though, hopefully pick something, anything, up from it since I didn't at all the first time around. Too much repetition in that one.

[HongKongGoolagong]

Certainly over-dramatisation and distortion in the books, which blurs into fiction and draws attention to how narrative is created or focalized, to tricks of memory and perception, to tricks of language.

Page 71 of Void Books edition of "the 191 page stupid little toxic alibi" for the refernce you asked about: "my boorish friend" etc. There's also a reference to "a thin bore wasting my time" talking about pick-up techniques in Comfort & Critique or Predicate, can't remember which - that's WB. And a long and malevolent section in Show Adult again on PB - "Great, so you lost some weight" etc. In their obnoxiousness, intrusion into private lives and general 'smear campaign' aesthetic they are very similar to tabloid journalism. I'm no better for drawing attention to the passages here. All readers implicated.

I like Predicate fine. Lordotics I really couldn't understand what he was doing or going for, maybe it will make sense eventually.

[RyanWreck]

"Yea, actually I found that the guy I mentioned was into girls, and the person I am thinking of in Sotos' book is all about boys. "

Is the Chicago guy he talks about the one with a huge cock? I remember Sotos writing that the guy warned him about someone else who was eventually arrested. Same big cock guy had a basement where Sotos had watched films, met one or more of the boys the guy was molesting... Seems like it was first written about in Parasite then same text was used in one of the Void-published books? I remember hoping there would be more about the guy getting arrested. I think I even tried to search for someone in Chicago, arrested for molesting son, whatever but unless the article referred to his huge cock, how would I know?

That's the same guy I am talking about, yes. Yea he mentioned him in Parasite then again in Selfish, Little and Predicate, then again in "The Perfect Jason Swift" where he talks about a collage that the guy made with boys who murdered other children.

[RyanWreck]

And a long and malevolent section in Show Adult again on PB - "Great, so you lost some weight" etc. In their obnoxiousness, intrusion into private lives and general 'smear campaign' aesthetic they are very similar to tabloid journalism. I'm no better for drawing attention to the passages here. All readers implicated.

Ah yea I found the spot in Show Adult that you were talking about. Re-reading through Show Adult and I'm starting to realize why it would be one of your favorite Sotos books. The first time I read it I was "meh", now, at the 3rd reading, I'm starting to really pick up on some things I didn't see before. The same thing happened with Lazy and it is my favorite out of the 3 Index, Lazy and Tick releases (I know most people would not agree with me there). What did you think about Lazy? I looked at the version creation put out in "Public: Collected..." and didn't like it because the format didn't run the same way as the old book with newspaper clippings on opposing pages and the occasional italic texts added beneath those clippings, it's all jumbled together and ugly.

[algiz]

A little bit off topic but new for me:

http://www.creationbooksfraud.com/index.html

What's going on here?

[RyanWreck]

A little bit off topic but new for me:

http://www.creationbooksfraud.com/index.html

What's going on here?

Someone had already posted and discussed that link earlier in this thread (check page 11).

[ironfistofthesun]

http://youtu.be/Iwst5iQuF1M

[Mme Deficit]

He did tell me after that reading that he'd been drinking since about 3 PM. Not so much "sad" as not 100% sober.

[HongKongGoolagong]

He did tell me after that reading that he'd been drinking since about 3 PM. Not so much "sad" as not 100% sober.

He's coherent, articulate and funny in the clip, which shows his drinking skills clearly mastered over many years. The grotesque descriptions of alcohol-related messy bowel movements in his books is a topic that you just don't get from any other living writer, reminds me of something from Celine or an 18th century picaresque writer.

[Mme Deficit]

Indeed. I actually wouldn't have known he'd been drinking so heavily if I hadn't been told.

He's also a fantastic person to get drunk with, as one might imagine. The last couple of times I drank with him in NYC, we spent half the time talking about various murderers.

[Mme Deficit]

I guess 3PM is not so early if you are such a champion alcoholic, haha. I read some stupid Pitchfork Media article with him that made me want to hear him rant about music and such. Also his thoughts/stories about drug use must be REALLY fucking funny.

Oh, I've heard him tell a few booze-and-drug stories . . . He has quite a bit to say on the subject of literature as well.

Random fact: I'm actually visible in the audience in that video posted above. So are two or three of my friends. This whole "world" is pretty small.

[RyanWreck]

I guess 3PM is not so early if you are such a champion alcoholic, haha. I read some stupid Pitchfork Media article with him that made me want to hear him rant about music and such. Also his thoughts/stories about drug use must be REALLY fucking funny.

Oh, I've heard him tell a few booze-and-drug stories . . . He has quite a bit to say on the subject of literature as well.

Random fact: I'm actually visible in the audience in that video posted above. So are two or three of my friends. This whole "world" is pretty small.

You're not the jackass that says "post-modern" are you?

Also his thoughts/stories about drug use must be REALLY fucking funny.

He doesn't talk much about it, at least not as much as all his other subjects. And when he does he mainly talks about Alcohol, Poppers/Amyl and Meth. He has some fairly funny and somewhat gross stories about fluids dripping out of his asshole and onto his chair and in his pants because of "alcohol and bar drugs" and HIV med's. A couple of stories about smoking meth in an arcade room, dangerous hustler drug dealers, etc.

[Mme Deficit]

Random fact: I'm actually visible in the audience in that video posted above. So are two or three of my friends. This whole "world" is pretty small.

You're not the jackass that says "post-modern" are you?

I'm the girl in the red leather jacket smirking whenever anyone in the audience tries to bring up theory.