The surrealistic adventures of protagonist Jeremy Acidophilis, a fact checker with a kind of Asperger's way of perceiving the world, feels like a twisted sex dream—the kind of dream where you know you're all the people: a child who is not remotely childlike but behaves and sounds like an oversexed woman; a man with good intentions who, although he is appalled by the child, does the worst thing a man can do; an overbearing, sexually inappropriate, omnipresent punishing mother, etc. This is the kind dream we never want to recount to anyone because it will reflect badly on us, yet at the same time, it's an iconic dream of doing everything no sane human is supposed to do—every crazy impulse we control, repress, or deny. This is a naked-in-public dream.(Caveat: If you can't, don't want to, or don't naturally go to this dream place within, you will likely be turned off by this book. However, if you're intrigued by going to dreamland within, read on.)In order to attempt to explain my own work and find copasetic readers, I've often (including in my Goodreads bio) told the story of radio host Jonathan Schwartz's anecdote about Stephen Sondheim: after Sondheim sold 25,000 copies of a book, someone asked him how he felt about it. "It's always the same 25,000," replied Sondheim despairingly. Schwartz believes that the reason for the radically divergent (negative/positive) responses to Sondheim's work is that he exposes everything we wish most to hide or deny about ourselves. And for many people, this is variously enraging, boring, disgusting, or it just doesn't make any sense to them. Seeing the same work, others feel grateful. Perhaps they are in awe, freed from constraints they didn't even know they had. "That's in me!" we gasp; and whether horrified or amused, we laugh, moan, rock, and have some kind of catharsis because we have been energetically poked, prodded, and maybe even pierced. Filipacchi writes with this kind of energy and effect. We all have our own wonderful reasons for reading. Sometimes we just want to be entertained. We want a good story, a laugh, a diversion. We have plenty of other places in our lives to do work on ourselves and plenty of options for discomfort. If you're feeling this way, stay away from Filipacchi's work! However if you need and value transformation more than you do comfort and you like having such experiences from reading, for goodness sake, read Filipacchi's books; I would start with the most recent, The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty because it is the most artistically mature.Nude Men is the third of Filipacchi's books that I have read in very quick succession/obsession; it is the first book that she wrote (published in 1993 when she was only twenty-six!). What's mesmerizing to me is that what is often a pretty horrifying dream is conveyed with an almost transcendental delight. She writes with energy that has the power to mess with you, and for me, receiving that kind of energy is a great gift.
3 1/2 stars... Initially read this years ago but decided to re-visit it. It is an uncomfortable subject (11 yr old seductress) on one hand, but on the other it carries us with it's strangeness. Filipacchi certainly plays with the reader, and is never predictable. Handling the untouchable subject using humor is what makes the novel clever. When Jeremy is approached to pose nude in the name of art by the beautiful Lady Henrietta, this 'unremarkable' man is seduced by her 11 year old daughter. To prevent her son from crossing the line, his mother interfere's by using hired strangers to make him feel shame about 'molestation' through seemingly random encounters. What a fun idea! The death scene is loaded, with 'male nudity' at it's core. It is a smart novel to be sure, there were just times I felt uninterested. I adore her writing, it just isn't my favorite Filipacchi novel, though I certainly 'got it'. It raises questions about sexuality most people don't want to visit. For most readers, particularly females, it's just too hard to overlook the fact Sara is a child, magnetic or not. As readers, we can dissect what the author was doing here, poking at morals, challenging reactions- but it's more than just a novel in the vein of Lolita (in some ways I hate mentioning Lolita at all). There are other things being said about people as a whole through other eccentric characters. It certainly begs to be read. I liked it.
What do You think about Nude Men (1994)?
This novel savages so many sacred cows that it is bound to get on some people's nerves. Black comedy is always tricky, but Filipachi seemed determined to make it as tough on herself as possible by choosing the most difficult of subject matter. The plot also veers dangerously from one subject to the next, in a way that could have made it seem unfocused but ultimately added up to something satisfying. Though it has some rough patches (her two later novels are more polished overall) exhilarating is the only word I can use to describe this book.
—Christopher Roberts
absürt olayla dolu bir kitap. güzel ressama çıplak poz vermeye razı olan kahramanımız kendini karmaşık durumlar içinde buluyor: ressamın erken gelişmiş kızının ona aşık olması, ne dans ne sihirbazlık içeren danslı sihirbazlık gösterisiyle üne kavuşan aşığı, oğlunun yanlışlarını yüzüne vurmak için adam kiralayıp senaryolar yazan annesi vs vs. bir solukta okunacak, çokça güldürecek bir kitap. tabii 11 yaşındaki kız ile ilişkisinin komik gösterilmeye çalışılsa da rahatsız edici olduğunu gizlemeyeceğim. notum 3.5
—Ludmilla
I am not quite sure what to say about this book, except I absolutely loved it.Jeremy leads a pretty mundane life as a fact checker/filer at a local celebrity magazine. He has a messy apartment, a cat he converses with and a girlfriend he barely tolerates. His life takes an exciting turn when he is approached by a beautiful woman, Lady Henrietta, who asks if he would pose for her nude. He accepts. He’s completely infatuated with the stunning artist and long after the painting is done, he continues to come around hoping to gain a more intimate relationship. But life has other plans for him and he finds himself charmed by and attracted to her 11 year old daughter, Sara.I admit when I read the descriptions of the story and other reviews and found out about the sexual relationship between a grown man and an 11 year old girl I was completely turned off. The word “ew” came to mind, repeatedly. But this tale is so much more than a perverted older man having sex with an 11 year old; it’s actually a very small part of the story. I was shocked to find out I didn’t find it to be as perverse as I thought it was going to be. What helps to erase the “ew” factor is that Sara is no ordinary 11 year old. She has been raised by a free thinking and perhaps too open Mother who encourages her daughter to say, and do whatever she thinks and feels. Sara is a combination of old lady and little girl trapped in a woman’s body. She is a bundle of contradictions that both attract and repel. SHE comes on to Jeremy, repeatedly, determinedly, and he puts up a good fight for as long as he can.The relationships between Jeremy, the women in his life (including his cat) and his subconscious are brilliantly written. This tale is crazy, hilarious, daring, politically incorrect, tragic, ironic, but most of all tremendous. Every character in this story has a remarkable way of cutting through the BS and just being real and true to themselves. A more colorful cast of characters you will never find. Its brutal honesty isn’t always pleasant, but I think that’s what makes it so great. I laughed, I cried, I didn’t want to set it down and I didn’t want it to end.Cherise Everhard, March 2009
—Cherise
