Real: The Letters of Mina Harker and Sam D'Allesandro

Real contains letters between Dodie Bellamy (Mina Harker) and Sam D'Allesandro; a story that was taped by Sam before he died in 1988; and a long very emotional, heartbreaking letter by Dodie that concerns the subject of death. Being a fan of Sam D'Allesandro's writing ever since he wrote "Zombie Pit", I was so thankful to discover this wonderful little book , recommended by a kind literary friend, S. I started this book in the afternoon and didn't stop till I was finished in the early evening. The letters between Sam and Mina are fascinating to read, whether they are true or not. It was nice to learn Sam's real name. A lot of Sam's experiences I could relate to from my own life during the same time period. There's a lot of writing on sex and death, especially AIDS. There's a wonderful preface included by another great writer of that time period, Robert Gluck. Dodie has been credited with creating this new narrative style, making the novel more real, and her correspondents could thus present the fictional part of themselves, their personalities. If you want a wonderful literary book to read, be sure and secure a copy of this book. I just wish Sam was around to bring us more joy from his writing. We miss him like so many other writers we have lost to AIDS. What more can I say!