The Book of Frank

by Simon Black

Book Overview

A homeless nihilist falls for a star of the East Village art scene and makes use of his talent for self-destruction to win her. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1880909286
• ISBN13: 9781880909287
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Baskerville Publishers
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

A "different" book to say the least...

... will become a favorite...the type of book I find myself picking up used copies of so I can pass them along. Also check out Black's other, equally strange novel "Me and Kev".

one of the holy books

i don't understand the sniping evident in the above 'editorial reviews' (way to be impartial, there, guys). the characters here portrayed aren't well-rounded, the guy from kirkus says. well, of COURSE they aren't well-rounded. that's the whole point. these people (and i've known people just like them, far too many people, in fact) are portrayed in didactic terms because that's how many of the ones i've met live their lives- everything is a struggle and a sacrifice for art, lookie here, i've made a sculpture out of my own feces, isn't this design great? look at the typography, it's stellar! don't you think frank black the one from the pixies is really into dadaesque poetry because he smells like he is to me- i've heard all of these things. and i've only been to art college. god only knows what actually gets bandied about when these performance artists get together and throw ideas around. i'm a firm believer in the concept of everything deserving a voice, no matter how banal or seemingly ridiculous, but i don't believe that something is art just because it's presented as such (witness jeff koons, for example). and so of course these people are silhouettes. of course this book snipes. how can you not? rational discussion of the cons of sitting naked in a tub of macaroni to protest the war in kosovo gets you nowhere, dismissed as a cynic or soulless and 'well you wouldn't understand anyway'. is this discussion open-ended? only if you've never had one. frank's decision is to crucify himself for art, ostensibly, but what i get from it at root is that he's pushed himself as far as one can go in order to refute the artistic drivel that swirls around him. how much farther can you go, not only to make a statement of purpose but one also of denial, than being nailed to a cross in public? here it is, you fools, do something with it. the only thing that keeps this book from eternal classic status is the curiously toothless ending. however, the book of frank is indeed a holy book. it nourishes and sustains. get it however you can. i've read mine five times. and sometimes, i've got to admit, crucifying myself seems not so outlandish, when i'm forced to listen to somebody, yet again, detailing the 'artistic struggle' and 'how much i care, i'm a pumpkin!' and 'lo, i am an orange and why must you prod me?'

this book is a unnerving,addictive work of brilliance.

the book of frank is a work that should be on everyone's must read list. frank is the epitome of the classic alienated, existential "everyman". i strongly recommend that this book become required reading for the masses.