Alienated characters drift aimlessly through a bleak urban wasteland in Nugent's rather turgid first novel, whose flat, affectless tone becomes monotonous early. The narrator, Catherine, is a college dropout who works at an X-rated movie house and lives in a transient hotel. Catherine is obsessed by memories of her dead sister; likewise, the porn theater's owner, Dave, is obsessed with his former wife, whom he accidently killed. The closest thing to a friend in Catherine's life is Jerome, a self-absorbed transvestite hustler. Eventually, Dave produces his awkward, unsophisticated nephew, Danny, in the hopes that he and Catherine will somehow hit it off, rather wishful thinking considering both characters' utter inability to communicate. The extreme emotional isolation of everyone in the book makes it difficult for any sort of plot to develop, and a reader's empathy is pushed to the breaking point by such narcissistic characters. While Nugent mined very similar territory to great effect in her debut short-story collection, City of Boys, the material is not sufficient to propel this novel. (Apr.)
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Alienated characters drift aimlessly through a bleak urban wasteland in Nugent's rather turgid first novel, whose flat, affectless tone becomes monotonous early. The narrator, Catherine, is a college dropout who works at an X-rated movie house and lives in a transient hotel. Catherine is obsessed by memories of her dead sister; likewise, the porn theater's owner, Dave, is obsessed with his former wife, whom he accidently killed. The closest thing to a friend in Catherine's life is Jerome, a self-absorbed transvestite hustler. Eventually, Dave produces his awkward, unsophisticated nephew, Danny, in the hopes that he and Catherine will somehow hit it off, rather wishful thinking considering both characters' utter inability to communicate. The extreme emotional isolation of everyone in the book makes it difficult for any sort of plot to develop, and a reader's empathy is pushed to the breaking point by such narcissistic characters. While Nugent mined very similar territory to great effect in her debut short-story collection, City of Boys, the material is not sufficient to propel this novel.
Publishers Weekly - Cahners\\Publishers_Weekly
After her critically acclaimed stories in City of Boys (LJ 6/1/92), Nugent offers a very haunting first novel. Her work dwells deep in the inner psyche of the protagonist, twentysomething Catherine, whose key friends are Jerome, an anorexic drag queen; Dave, who owns a rundown porn theater that he feels portrays true art; and a cat. Catherine has led a very down-and-out life, yet ironically she seems unaware of her desperate situation. However, she's quite aware of everyone else's disconnection from society; as she states about her friend Jerome, "If I leave him now, he will be alone; he will fill his pockets with sand and walk into the waves." Weaving dark detail into her portrayal of all her characters, Nugent presents a life that is not always glamorous but is very real. A promising first novel; essential for most collections.-Vicki J. Cecil, Hartford City P.L., Ind.
College student Catherine exchanges school for life in a dingy room in a transient hotel. At night she sells tickets at a dilapidated porn theater whose owner deplores the business and refers to his screenings as "film" to upgrade the enterprise in his own eyes. Catherine's new social life occurs at the diner down the street. Cops and old men hang out there during the day; junkies, drag queens, hookers, and drunks take over at night. There she meets her only friend, Jerome, a drag queen. The two trek to Florida in a grim attempt to find hope in a world offering little. Catherine anticipates the ocean, but when they arrive, she sees "just another dirty beach." Nugent's first novel is a devastating exploration of life's seamier side. Some may find it just unremittingly bleak; others, curiously energizing.
A spooky but emotionally numb first novel about a young woman's subconscious search for self, by short-story writer Nugent (City of Boys, 1992).
The setting here hints at drama: Unsexy young Catherine, who's dropped out of a girls' religious college, is selling tickets in a run-down porno emporium owned by a supposed wife killer named Dave, in a dying northeastern city. But nothing happens: Catherine spends her long night shifts mooning over her mysteriously pale and bleak Ohio childhood and cutting out magazine pictures of pets to add color to her desperately empty life now. After work each midnight, she wanders down to the Hygenic Diner to watch the junkies and whores gather, and here she meets Jerome, a black anorexic transvestite queen whom the publisher's publicity copy characterizes as her best friend but who seems as indifferent or even hostile to her as everyone else in the book. Meanwhile, her boss Dave—who turns out to be a mild-mannered and fatherly figure who's proud to have a "college girl" working for him—fixes Catherine up with his nephew, Danny. But Catherine has other plans: She steals Danny's car, kidnaps a dying cat named Debby from another transient in her hotel, coaxes Jerome into the car, and drives to Florida, where she once visited her grandparents. End of story, except for the many grim flashbacks Catherine has of living with her handicapped and vicious younger sister, who was insanely jealous of anything Catherine ever had—which was very little—until she accidentally set herself on fire and died, while their parents continued to watch TV.
"Live girls" is what Dave's porno theater is said to need to spruce up trade; the same can be said for the novel.
"Beth Nugent's stories are engaging, haunting, and lasting."
