New Pulp Press
Pub date: April 4th, 2009
Today I read The Disassembled Man by Nate Flexer and I feel like I ate an acid-shroom combo while running a high fever. Yes, this book is that fucked up and twisted and I absolutely loved it. It left me feeling dirty. And apparently this Flexer cat is a high school teacher. I hope he teaches English but that’s beside the point. I have a vision of a man in a sweltering hot classroom listening to some teenage moron prattle on about some mundane shit while scratching out notes for this book. I would love to sit down with Flexer and have a conversation because the book fucked with me that much.
The story is told to us by Frankie Avicious, a true piece of shit. He works in a slaughterhouse (these scenes evoke a true hell on earth) where his job is to cut the jugulars of cows on their way down an assembly line. Frankie is married to the daughter of the plant’s owner; he’s a very rich man yet lives in a trailer park. His wife will never be mistaken for beautiful or even… whatever, she is an ugly one. Frankie drinks a little too much and has an obsessive love for a local stripper. One night after an ugly day at the plant, a few too many drinks, an argument with the wife, among other indignities, Frankie gets a late night visit from an old friend named Jack who is carrying a suitcase full of broken watches for sale. The next thing you know Frankie embarks on a killing spree while seeking his destiny.
This book is truly unpredictable. Whenever you think you have a finger on its pulse, it drops out only to pop up someplace else you never would have guessed. If a book were a human body, this one is straight out of a circus freak show. This is the dog faced pinhead red headed stepchild of crime novels. I loved it. It reads like a fever dream or a descent into insanity or journey to hell. Maybe little pieces of all of those things.
I really want to tell you all more about this book but that would just ruin it for you. You all need to take this journey. Plus I don’t think you would believe me. I wish I could find something negative to say about it but I really can’t. I am truly fucking impressed. It truly needs to be read to be believed. This book is not for everyone. Take me serious when I say that. Many of you won’t be able to finish it. Hell, most people won’t be able to get through the first 25 pages. I dare you all to try.
Dave