Lazy, by Peter Sotos

[jute gyte]

Like last time, I just wrote this brief review for another site and figured the Books forum could use it too.

Lazy by Peter Sotos

My second experience with Sotos, after Index (and his musical output, I guess). Like that book, this deals mainly with the obsessive detailing of child porn/rape/murder, degrading homosexual cruising, and similarly degrading meetings with crack-addicted prostitutes (if you aren't familiar with Sotos, this bio might be helpful). There's no clear plot or progression in the text: after changing the subject to cruising, he will without warning leap into a description of a photo of Myra Hindley (who he spends a lot of time musing on). Additionally, the book's structure is unique: the left pages consist of quotes regarding child rape and porn garnered mostly from Chicago newspapers, while the right pages contain his text, which is occasionally a comment on the quoted material but just as often is totally unrelated.
The most interesting sections of the book are those in which Sotos critically examines himself. He's definitely torn about his obsessions, and seems disgusted with a lot of his actions, which are destructive, self- and otherwise, in the extreme. This, I think, is what makes his work interesting: he is stunningly, brutally honest at all times. I never get the sense that Sotos is attempting to shock or be 'transgressive'. He is both fueled by and disgusted with his sexual obsessions, and is attempting again and again to work through it on the page. There's a kind of noble aspect to his sincerity that it's hard not to appreciate. That being said, his work is not something I turn to often, but I would recommend it if this review interested you.