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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Books "John Malkovitch" on A.M. Homes' May We Be Forgiven

Posted by Alison Hallett on Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 10:44 AM

Electric Literature just published a "celebrity book review" of A.M. Homes' great new novel, a parody piece written in the voice of John Malkovitch:

"I read an uncorrected proof of A.M. Homes’s May We Be Forgiven this summer while vacationing with my family in the South of France. Avignon is a peculiar place to digest a suburban gothic tale set in Westchester, but as a simulacra of the spiritual emptiness that plagues the literate of America, is not Westchester always with us?"

I'm fairly impressed with the fact that the piece maintains its ridiculous voice throughout, while also sneaking in a thoughtful critique of the book.

"Oftentimes, I find myself ruminating in my favorite velvet wingback on the nature of the 21st century American malaise. " [Don't we all, John. Don't we all.] "To be certain, many problems come from processed food―sliced bread, marshmallows and so forth―but at the heart of sadness lies the misconception that we must love our family. Birth! Birth, conception, in all its random violence―you emerge beneath track lighting, your temple crushed by tongs, a pair of bloodied pliers separates you from the organs that conceived you, and from this violence, love?"

It's good stuff.

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