Dra- (New American Fiction) - Softcover

Levine, Stacey

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1557132887 ISBN 13: 9781557132888

Publisher: Sun & Moon Press, 2000

Synopsis

Dra-, Levine's first long fictional work, takes the reader into the comic, yet dystopic world of the title character, who inhabits a drab and dreary world of utter dread. The work begins with her visit to an employment agency which punishes the terrified woman for being unable to chose between potential jobs, culminating in a terrible vision of rage and torture which the all-controlling Administrator proclaims is merely a self-tyranny. Levine's new work explores, through a Kafka-like world, how the meek and sane are made mad in a society that demands choices that only lead to less and less individual choice and control. Levine's characters may have difficulty functioning in the so-called "normal" world, but in her exploration of that world we recognize that the terror they feel is justified as we witness, with increasing horror, the insanity of the world we ourselves inhabit.

About this title

Review:

Dra-, the incompletely named anti-heroine of this brilliant novel, is trying to get a job. She isn't sure what kind of job, or where, or what its purpose is, she only knows she must find one. Dra- wanders through the bleak, labyrinthine corridors of some great unnamed workplace getting unsolicited advice, which sounds more like seduction or therapy than career counseling, from characters with names such as Manager and Administrator and Nurse. The quirkiness and clarity of Stacey Levine's language, the comedy and darkness of her vision, mark her as a worthy heir of Jane Bowles.

About the Author:

Author of My Horse and Other Stories, for which she won the PEN-West Award for fiction, and Frances Johnson.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sun & Moon Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1557132887
• ISBN 13: 9781557132888
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 170