''Exquisite Corpse'' is a

horror novel Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defi ...

by American writer

Poppy Z. Brite William Joseph Martin (born May 25, 1967), formerly Poppy Z. Brite, is an American author. He initially achieved fame in the Gothic fiction, gothic horror genre of literature in the early 1990s by publishing a string of successful novels and shor ...

. The protagonist of the story is Andrew Compton, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

convicted homosexual

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

cannibal Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecology, ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well ...

and

necrophiliac Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...

. Brite has described it as "a necrophilic, cannibalistic, serial killer love story that explores the seamy politics of victimhood and disease."Poppy Z. Brite, "The Poetry of Violence" in Karl French (ed) ''Screen Violence'', London: Bloomsbury, 1996, 62-70.

Plot summary

The novel unfolds in alternating chapters from the points of view of the four main characters. Andrew Compton, a convicted

(based on serial killer

Dennis Nilsen Dennis Andrew Nilsen (23 November 1945 – 12 May 2018) was a Scottish serial killer and Necrophilia, necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983. Convicted at the Old Bailey of six counts of murder and two ...

), escapes his UK prison cell in a self-induced

cataleptic Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek , , "seizing, grasping") is a neurological condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain. Signs and symptoms Sympt ...

trance. Mistaken for dead by the authorities, he makes his way to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

French Quarter The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...

to start a new life. Seeking new victims, he instead meets Jay Byrne (based on

Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (; May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal or the Milwaukee Monster, was an American serial killer and sex offender who killed and dismemberment, dismembered seventeen men and boys b ...

), a wealthy recluse who is also a serial killer, as well as a

. The two at first intend to victimize one another, but upon realizing their similar proclivities, instead begin a torrid affair based on sex and murder. After learning that he is

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

-positive, writer Lucas Ransom reacts by rejecting all his former friends and breaking up with his teenage lover Tran. Increasingly embittered by his illness, Lucas vents his frustration through his alternate persona " Lush Rimbaud", host of a

pirate radio Pirate radio is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license, whether an invalid license or no license at all. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are rec ...

program (in a pirate station with the

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assi ...

"WHIV") where Lucas rails at society's denial of gay men and the AIDS epidemic (coincidentally, the callsign would be used in real life for a licensed station in New Orleans that chose the call letters specifically to remove stigma about HIV/AIDS but with no other relation to Brite's novel). Soon even this outlet isn't enough, and Lucas, sensing that death is approaching, becomes fixated on reconciling with Tran. Meanwhile, Tran is driven from his home after his parents learn that he is gay. Tran, who previously had a casual acquaintance with Jay, takes refuge at Jay's home, where the two have a brief sexual encounter. Jay finds himself emotionally drawn to the beautiful, vulnerable Tran but refuses to pursue him any further because he cannot conceive of a relationship that does not end in death. When Jay introduces Tran to Andrew, Andrew becomes obsessed with the idea of murdering and eating him. Jay, though reluctant, agrees to Andrew's plan, in part to rid himself of the temptation of falling in love with Tran. The two kidnap Tran and begin to slowly torture him to death. Lucas realizes that Tran has fallen into Andrew and Jay's deadly hands, and the goal becomes not reuniting with Tran, but rescuing him. Arriving too late to save him, Lucas murders Jay and confronts Andrew. Recognizing that Lucas is already on the verge of death, Andrew refuses to kill him, instead offering him several means to commit suicide. Lucas realizes that his life, no matter how short, is still of value to him and flees, telling no one what he has seen. After partially consuming Jay in a final act of love, Andrew leaves New Orleans to continue his murderous career, while Lucas, returning home, vows to spend his remaining time writing a novel to try to make sense of what he has witnessed.

Publication history

In 1991, Brite signed a contract to write three novels for

Delacorte Books Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, the first two being ''Lost Souls'' and''

Drawing Blood ''Drawing Blood'' is a 1993 horror novel by American writer Poppy Z. Brite. Something of a haunted house tale, the novel was originally titled ''Birdland'' but the publisher retitled it to make a thin connection to Brite's first novel, '' Lost S ...

'', with ''Exquisite Corpse'' set to be the third. In early 1995, Brite turned in the finished manuscript of ''Exquisite Corpse'' and was informed that Delacorte would be unable to publish the novel due to its violent content. Soon afterwards, Brite received word that

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

, then the author's UK publisher, had also declined the novel. The work bounced from publisher to publisher, who praised the novel's writing but ultimately rejected it, calling its subject matter "too nihilistic, too extreme, a bloodbath without justification". The book was eventually purchased by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

in the US and

Orion Publishing Group Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

in the UK.

References

{{Poppy Z. Brite 1996 American novels Novels by Poppy Z. Brite American horror novels Novels about cannibalism Novels about necrophilia Novels about gay topics Novels about serial killers Novels set in London Novels set in New Orleans American LGBTQ novels 1990s LGBTQ novels Touchstone Books books LGBTQ-related horror literature Orion Books books Splatterpunk novels

Plot summary

Publication history

See also

References