Perv--a Love Story

The dichotomy between the simple young-adult style prose in this work and the hilariously depraved content made for a remarkable and truly unique literary experience. Every time I began to think that the novel was bordering on being too light-hearted for my tastes, the characters' extraordinary experiences brought me back to the gritty reality of the tale. Life's most formative adolescent experiences are retold in Perv through the eyes of someone who experienced them in the most unfortunate of ways.

I agree that this book should be compared to "Catcher in the Rye", but not for the reasons that everybody thinks. Like "Catcher in the Rye", it is the story of a young boy trapped in a world of insanity. But mainly, I agree with this notion because Jerry Stahl is the first person since J.D. Salinger to effectively compress extremely complicated emotions and situations into one-liners. His writing is compelling, provocative, heart-felt and just plain beautiful. I LOVE this book. On a personal level, I can identify with certain aspects of it and as an apiring writer, I can admire the superior diction. Just a warning: If you are squemish or conservative, you will not enjoy this book. It is very (refreshingly) blunt and sometimes (delightfully) horrifying. If you like experimental and honest writing, you NEED to own this book. I can only hope that Mr. Stahl does not emulate Salinger by becoming a recluse because I eagerly anticipate his next release.

Jerry Stahl captures real life so vividly that not for onesecond are you distanced even an iota from the events of the book. Itis an intensely painful and deeply rewarding read and life-altering in effect. If all books were this immediate we might have a better world where people could actually touch each other in a larger and more comforting way.

I picked up PERMANENT MIDNIGHT on a whim and loved it so much I gave copies out as Xmas presents that year. It's so hard NOT to fall in love with Jerry Stahl's smart & twisted voice. I love PERV just as much - think I'd follow Jerry anywhere. Definitely one of those great books you read so fast because you can't put it down, and then, when you're done, you're depressed because it's over.

A small masterpiece in the coming of age genre, in the tradition of Bellow, Updike and most of all Roth. After a few pages of Perv, most other contemporary fiction feels flimsy, repressed and cold-hearted.