Erasure
- Downloads：2389
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-01-17 14:21:52
- Update Date：2025-09-15
- Status：finish
- Author：Percival Everett
- ISBN：B0CQ42T5JT
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Samantha
，
I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed this。
Anatoly Molotkov
，
A most moving and inventive novel that operates on several levels and makes one feel and think at the same time。 A superbly original commentary on race and literature in America。
Peggy
，
I enjoyed this book and wanted to read it before seeing the film American Fiction -- a recent release。 I always like to contrast the book with the film and see what was let go and what was altered to make the movie。Haven't see the movie yet， but the book was good -- I enjoyed it even though I got lost on many of the mythology references。 I enjoyed this book and wanted to read it before seeing the film American Fiction -- a recent release。 I always like to contrast the book with the film and see what was let go and what was altered to make the movie。Haven't see the movie yet， but the book was good -- I enjoyed it even though I got lost on many of the mythology references。 。。。more
Tibby （she/her）
，
Monk is an academic， a post modern writer and philosopher who both embraces the absurdity of that world and also enjoys it。 He's from a middle class Black family that lives in Washington D。C。 and he's alway felt different from his parents and siblings and they've all noticed he's different too， more intellectual。 The book follows him upon a return to D。C。 for a pretentious conference through the next year or so as his mother's health declines due to dementia。 His sister， a women's health doctor Monk is an academic， a post modern writer and philosopher who both embraces the absurdity of that world and also enjoys it。 He's from a middle class Black family that lives in Washington D。C。 and he's alway felt different from his parents and siblings and they've all noticed he's different too， more intellectual。 The book follows him upon a return to D。C。 for a pretentious conference through the next year or so as his mother's health declines due to dementia。 His sister， a women's health doctor who performs abortions is murdered in her clinic， and his plastic surgeon brother comes out of the closet。 Their father has died nearly a decade earlier and Monk comes upon some letters that reveal his father had an affair with a white nurse during the Korean War and had another child。 Half way through the book Monk， sort of desperate for cash， writes a god awful novel full of Black stereotypes。 In some ways he's making fun of the things that get published by Black authors， but he's also sort of looking to make some money since his mother's money is running out and she needs to be moved into a care facility。 Of course the book is WILDLY popular and the final few chapters are Monk grappling with that and the decision on whether or not to reveal himself as the author （he's written it under a pseudonym）。 It's interesting to see the little Easter eggs pop up in his novel that come from his life and how he's twisted them to fit stereotypes。 But also there's a lot going on in this novel。 Mostly it's very clever and very depressing。 The plot of the racism in publishing and book sales is familiar and sad。 The decline of his mother and how their family is coming apart at the seams is sad。 I enjoyed how smart the book was for it's send up of publishing and academic pretension， but it also reminded me why I tend to read fluffy romance novels for my fiction fix。 The world is hard enough， and I personally don't want to escape into that in my reading。 。。。more
Jaclyn Hillis
，
“The hard， gritty truth of the matter is that I hardly ever think about race。 Those times when I did think about it a lot I did so because of my guilt for not thinking about it。 I don’t believe in race。 I believe there are people who will shoot me or hang me or cheat me and try to stop me because they do believe in race， because of my brown skin， curly hair， wide nose and slave ancestors。 But that’s just the way it is。”The MC， Thelonious "Monk" Ellison， is a professor of English literature， and “The hard， gritty truth of the matter is that I hardly ever think about race。 Those times when I did think about it a lot I did so because of my guilt for not thinking about it。 I don’t believe in race。 I believe there are people who will shoot me or hang me or cheat me and try to stop me because they do believe in race， because of my brown skin， curly hair， wide nose and slave ancestors。 But that’s just the way it is。”The MC， Thelonious "Monk" Ellison， is a professor of English literature， and he is in a rut with his writing。 His writing is not "black enough" even though his books can be found in the African American Studies section at Borders。 Monk is confronted with the success of a novel called ‘We's Lives In Da Ghetto’， by Black writer Juanita Mae Jenkins; so he quickly composes a satirical response to it， titled ‘My Pafology。’ The novel is published in its entirety within ERASURE。 Satire is hard for me; I feel like I’m not smart enough to understand it even though I’m being smacked in the face with it。 For this book in particular， I don’t yet have enough knowledge about the books in which he is referencing。 All I know is， ‘My Pafology’ was painful to endure， but I think that’s the point。 。。。more
Dmitry
，
Под влиянием Барта и Деррида Телониус «Монк» Эллисон пишет сложные академичные романы， которые никто не понимает。 Коллеги недолюбливают его за резкую критику， а в семье он белая ворона， потому что слишком умный。 В гневе от резкой популярности， как он считает， дешевых романчиков про стереотипное черное гетто， Монк пишет на них пародию。 Но в литературном мире его опус становится сенсацией — его принимают за серьезное высказывание о жизни черных и расовой проблеме в Америке。Роман Эверетта — это не Под влиянием Барта и Деррида Телониус «Монк» Эллисон пишет сложные академичные романы， которые никто не понимает。 Коллеги недолюбливают его за резкую критику， а в семье он белая ворона， потому что слишком умный。 В гневе от резкой популярности， как он считает， дешевых романчиков про стереотипное черное гетто， Монк пишет на них пародию。 Но в литературном мире его опус становится сенсацией — его принимают за серьезное высказывание о жизни черных и расовой проблеме в Америке。Роман Эверетта — это не просто сатира на литературный процесс конца 1990х， как Yellowface Куанг — сатира на современный。 Да， здесь хватает юмора， и умного и черного， и прямого пародирования — есть роман в романе， написанный разговорным афроамериканским английским， полный дичайших стереотипов об «отбросах из гетто»， с провокационным названием «Fuck» （тут Эверетт поиздевался над книжкой «Push» писательницы Сапфир — такой клюквой о травме типа «Маленькой жизни»， но про бедную девушку из Гарлема）。Но большей частью Erasure — это драма об отношениях Монка с его матерью， страстной， очень живой женщиной， страдающей от Альцгемера。 Трогательная история о дисфункциональной семье， где не привыкли к словам «черный» и «умный» в одном предложении。 Отец Монка умер， сохраняя страшный секрет; сестра его работает в женской клинике， и за это ее ненавидят радикалы; брат Монка устал врать и ушел от жены， чтобы быть самим собой。 Все в этой семье страдают， а Монк мучится разочарованием: в собственном писательском пути и в способности литературной элиты и читающей публики отличить хорошую прозу от стереотипного ширпотреба。В 2023 году роман экранизирован под названием American Fiction。 。。。more
Timothy Sikes
，
Perceival Everret is just so good
Karlan
，
After reading this， I'd like to see the film， American Fiction， based on the novel。 There is a street urban novel within the book written by the main character who usually writes highly intellectual novels。 Unfortunately， this bad book takes up too much space， but one can skim through to its end。 I chuckled several times during the satirical story of the professor and unread novelist。 Highly original， Everett is an entertaining writer。 After reading this， I'd like to see the film， American Fiction， based on the novel。 There is a street urban novel within the book written by the main character who usually writes highly intellectual novels。 Unfortunately， this bad book takes up too much space， but one can skim through to its end。 I chuckled several times during the satirical story of the professor and unread novelist。 Highly original， Everett is an entertaining writer。 。。。more
Deandra
，
It’s a wow。 It’s smart and funny and you also cannot look away。
Kevin
，
This 2001 novel's sharp commentary on identity in the literary world and its embarrassing pander parties is some of the best writing you'll find on the subject。 Percival Everett's brilliant mind is under-appreciated and the ironic storyline is surely coming from some of his own personal experience （not as widely known as he should be， Erasure was Everett's 12th novel and he now has 24 to his name）。 The novel inside the novel （My Pafology by Stagg R。 Leigh） is fairly excruciating but hilarious as This 2001 novel's sharp commentary on identity in the literary world and its embarrassing pander parties is some of the best writing you'll find on the subject。 Percival Everett's brilliant mind is under-appreciated and the ironic storyline is surely coming from some of his own personal experience （not as widely known as he should be， Erasure was Everett's 12th novel and he now has 24 to his name）。 The novel inside the novel （My Pafology by Stagg R。 Leigh） is fairly excruciating but hilarious as a parody。 The wild success of it gives it real writer， Monk Ellison， a needed infusion of money but it also causes him much personal distress （and some sneaky masquerading）。 He tells his mother toward the end of the book， "I promised myself once that I would not compromise my art。"I did find some of the subplots around Monk's family to be a little dragging， but overall this was great。I'm excited to see the movie version （American Fiction） soon。 。。。more
Stuart Gordon
，
At times laugh-out loud funny and at times as curiously opaque as it's central character -- ermm， it's real central character -- this novel on which the film American Fiction is based is mostly a joy。And quite probably one unlike any other satire 。you've ever read。 First， there is a book within the book。 Second， there is a secondary theme of watching a parent grow demented， which is pretty much unrelated to the main theme。And then there are the scattered excerpts （perhaps？） from the central char At times laugh-out loud funny and at times as curiously opaque as it's central character -- ermm， it's real central character -- this novel on which the film American Fiction is based is mostly a joy。And quite probably one unlike any other satire 。you've ever read。 First， there is a book within the book。 Second， there is a secondary theme of watching a parent grow demented， which is pretty much unrelated to the main theme。And then there are the scattered excerpts （perhaps？） from the central character's other writings 。。。 or drafts。。。or highly literate musings （which you will be forced to research）。And it all takes place on what used to be my home turfs， DC and Annapolis， more accurately portrayed than in any other novel similarly set。I loved this book。 。。。more
Lance Cahill
，
What starts as an act of defiance against present literary sensibilities spirals out of control into a force that ultimately results in the metaphorical erasure of the main protagonist。 A great work。
Dylan McDermott
，
Excellent story filled with gripping characters and events。 I really enjoyed this book。
gabe18violin
，
One of the most inventive and subversive books I’ve read in the last year。
Kristin
，
I really enjoyed this book。 I was expecting a satire of the publishing industry， which it was and that part was great， but it was a compelling family drama as well。 Not all of the asides with philosopher /artist jokes landed with me bc I wasn’t familiar with all the references but otherwise I was very invested in the story。
Helena Brantley
，
Brilliant。 I loved the film， the book had even more to say。
Nez
，
I’ll perhaps find the words to describe the particularly odd taste this book left for me。 It felt like eating chocolate cake and bitter melon all at once。 At times， difficult to put down and other times dragging。 I questioned the main character’s decisions at many turns。 And sometimes we’d come to a point of agreement。 Ultimately， I want to read more of Everett， but I know I’ll have to be in a particular mood。 I’ll need to steel myself somehow。
Carol Buchter
，
It is always a joy to spend some time with Percival Everett and always a pleasure to discover a compelling reason to read another one of his gems RIGHT NOW。 Today’s excuse was the desire to read the book before seeing the movie， American Fiction， on which it is based。 The author is so damn clever。 Every damn time。 If you have yet to read any of his consistently delightful novels， do it now。 You will be a better person for it。
Rasheem Johnson
，
Scathing and well written satire。
Romi Peters
，
Egads！ I thought this was so smart。 Everett can tackle any genre successfully - he is one of my absolute favorite writers。 The fact that this was published in 2001 is so impressive - I imagine at the time this was ground breaking。 I do feel I’ve read other satires in more recent years that cover similar topics that made this one feel less fresh。 As far as satire goes， I do prefer his newer novel “The Trees” - but both are extremely well worth reading， and are different。 I loved the book within a Egads！ I thought this was so smart。 Everett can tackle any genre successfully - he is one of my absolute favorite writers。 The fact that this was published in 2001 is so impressive - I imagine at the time this was ground breaking。 I do feel I’ve read other satires in more recent years that cover similar topics that made this one feel less fresh。 As far as satire goes， I do prefer his newer novel “The Trees” - but both are extremely well worth reading， and are different。 I loved the book within a book structure。 Sometimes I wasn’t sure where he was going with the side plot/family drama and that part of the story felt a little unfinished for me。Can’t wait to see American Fiction and compare！！ 。。。more
Joyce
，
I picked up Erasure for the kinds of goodies I found in The Trees and Dr。 No: comedy spiked with surrealist anarchy。 Erasure is so much more--a truly great novel--and I can't wait to read it again。 I picked up Erasure for the kinds of goodies I found in The Trees and Dr。 No: comedy spiked with surrealist anarchy。 Erasure is so much more--a truly great novel--and I can't wait to read it again。 。。。more
Joshua Taj Bozeman
，
I found this to be a pretty boring story overall。 I saw the trailers for AMERICAN FICTION， looked great （I have yet to see it）。。。I wanted to read the book first， so I got it from the library。 Finished it slowly over a week。 The premise， as stated on the cover， sounds interesting and funny。 A biting satire， so many have said。 Unfortunately， only a very tiny portion of the story is actually about the parody book he writes （first titled， "My Pafology，" and later changed to "Fuck" for shock value）。 I found this to be a pretty boring story overall。 I saw the trailers for AMERICAN FICTION， looked great （I have yet to see it）。。。I wanted to read the book first， so I got it from the library。 Finished it slowly over a week。 The premise， as stated on the cover， sounds interesting and funny。 A biting satire， so many have said。 Unfortunately， only a very tiny portion of the story is actually about the parody book he writes （first titled， "My Pafology，" and later changed to "Fuck" for shock value）。 This is， for the most part， a story about a black writer named Monk who writes stuffy， boring， highbrow books that no one wants to read， his mother who is suffering more and more from Alzheimers， a murdered sister， a gay brother who has come out of the closet after being married for years， and a father who committed suicide。 The parody book aspect is littered in small doses throughout， but it's mostly the dull family drama and very little satire。 Within the book is the entirety （I think？） of the parody book he writes， as he's angry with what has become of the state of black publishing。 He seems to blame race for his failure as a writer， but the author includes chunks of his writings within this book， and they are simply boring。 Race， I would guess， had very little to do with his failure at all。 A black woman becomes famous for writing truly awful books about the "black experience，" filled with missing baby daddies， ebonics throughout， moral failings， etc。 Monk is angry at the state of black publishing， so he pens a terribly written， cliche-ridden， stereotypical "black novel" in the night， sends it to his editor and publisher as a joke， gets it immediately published， wins awards for the novel， and so on。 There is， apparently， hilarious satire here， but I did not laugh once。 The biggest issue is that Monk is a very， very， very dull man。 He's just a massive dullard， and he's no fun to spend 350 pages with。 We get some backstory about him liking to fish for trout （complete with random fishing asides that often make no sense within the larger story and do nothing to tell us about the man）， and we get some old events from his childhood with his father （that also tell us very little about him）。 He remained mostly a mystery to me。 In fact， he was so boring and so poorly drawn out in any meaningful way， I just finished the book last night， and I had to google the book to recall what his name was。 As I mentioned， within this novel is the entirety of the parody novel that Monk writes。 If one could even call it a novel。 It's 10 quick chapters with seemingly no resolution， no solid plotline， mostly a bunch of stereotyped events surrounding a young black man in his 20's with 4 babies by 4 women， lazy， unwilling to work a steady job， mistreats his mother and all women in his life， and is about to rob a local grocery store when he gets enough money to buy a gun。 The problem with including the entire novel within the novel is that it's awful。 I found it impossible to buy the conceit that a publisher immediately snatched up this garbage and reviews were all positive， and awards committees were rushing to give it best book of the year trophies。 I was in my early 20's around the turn of the century， and I recall reading numerous books by various black authors filled with black characters。 Eric Jermone Dickey comes immediately to mind， and I googled him and he had dozens of books to his name over the years。 I didn't buy the idea that black authors were limited to stories filled with deadbeat dads， gang members， violence， lots of unmarried procreation， stories of the ghetto， etc。 The main logic of the book just did not work for me， and Monk offers zero evidence that his writing isn't well received because he's black。 Everett offers no evidence that black publishing circa 2000 was all doom and gloom either， and because of these facts， the satire couldn't work。I was glad it was over。 The last few chapters really kick into the parody novel stuff， but again- it's just not funny。 It's "satire" by definition， but it lacked all of the stuff that makes good satire fun to read。 Then it just ends abruptly。 I just hope the movie is better， and from the looks of it they took the parody novel aspect， ramped it up， made it funnier， and I pray made the family drama a background part of the broad story。 ===================Here are some notes I took while reading: --The book is filled with odd， confusing imaginary conversations between famous people。 Psychologists， nazis， authors， etc。 They add nothing to the story， and I was 95% confused as hell during each of these random asides。 --The book is littered with pieces of Monk's writings。 Writings that are boring， very niche， and very academic。 Writings that tell us nothing about Monk as a person or move the story forward in any way。 --The book sometimes throws in literal notes from his writings。 Why？ --The fishing stories add nothing to the character or the story。 I kept wishing they would stop popping up。 --There's a side plotline where the father has cheated on the mother in the distant past， and we get full letters from the other woman to the father。 --Flashbacks of Monk's childhood are small random events， not life-changing， life-altering events that might have contributed to who he is as a man。 They felt like filler and were dull events from a pretty standard， boring family。 --During a talk show event near the end of the book， the host of the show， gushing over "FUCK" reads entire sections from the book we already read （as we heard the entire novel）。。。why make us go through this bad book again？ --I'm supposed to believe this book was a NY Times bestseller for months in 2000？ Come on。 The state of black publishing was not this gloomy， and there's no way Everett thinks it was。 --What is the ultimate message here？ What did the family drama add to this message， if anything？ 。。。more
Kathee
，
I don’t get itMy title says it all。 The story of Monk’s family and his place in it is straightforward， realistic， we’ve all been there in one way or another。 I wasn’t offended by Fuck， but I certainly didn’t enjoy it， nor do I think anyone in the real world would。 What bothered me were the erudite comments， like sidebars， and the text of Monk’s speech。 What the hell？
Carol
，
My first 5 star review of 2024。 This is a brilliant satire of the writing world and race。 It is as poignant now， if not more than when it was first written over 20 years ago。 Wonderfully written with so much to unpack when you finish。 A definite recommend on this one。
Georgina
，
Nailed academia， literature posturing… maybe not quite as good on families。
Alaine
，
I go to the movies almost every weekend with a small group of friends。 Last week， we saw American Fiction。 The entire group loved it， and that is not always the case。 I saw in the credits that it was based on a book， and the audiobook was available to borrow immediately from the library， so I went for it。 Very different from the movie， although the core story remains the same。 I won't get into all the differences but I will say I think it is well worth doing both。 Excellent narration。 I could no I go to the movies almost every weekend with a small group of friends。 Last week， we saw American Fiction。 The entire group loved it， and that is not always the case。 I saw in the credits that it was based on a book， and the audiobook was available to borrow immediately from the library， so I went for it。 Very different from the movie， although the core story remains the same。 I won't get into all the differences but I will say I think it is well worth doing both。 Excellent narration。 I could not find fault with the narration。 It was actually perfect。 。。。more
Dot526
，
This book was quite different then I thought it would be。 I knew that a new movie （American Fiction） is based off of it， but I’ve only seen trailers。 I didn’t enjoy having the whole book within a book in the middle of the story， but I really enjoyed/was devastated by the family drama that surrounds it。 It’s extremely well written。
Ana María
，
"I never tried to set anybody free， never tried to paint the next real and true picture of the life of my people， never had any people whose picture I knew well enough to paint。 Perhaps if I had written in the time immediately following Reconstruction， I would have written to elevate the station of my fellow oppressed。 But the irony was beautiful。 I was a victim of racism by virtue of my failing to acknowledge racial difference and by failing to have my art be defined as an exercise in racial se "I never tried to set anybody free， never tried to paint the next real and true picture of the life of my people， never had any people whose picture I knew well enough to paint。 Perhaps if I had written in the time immediately following Reconstruction， I would have written to elevate the station of my fellow oppressed。 But the irony was beautiful。 I was a victim of racism by virtue of my failing to acknowledge racial difference and by failing to have my art be defined as an exercise in racial self-expression。 So， I would not be economically oppressed because of writing a book that fell in line with the very books I deemed racist。 And I would have to wear the mask of the person I was expected to be。"（The echoes of Ralph Ellison's *Invsible Man*。。。brilliant。） 。。。more
Stephen Terry
，
Sometimes an author tries to do so much that nothing comes across at all。 Everett probably does too much， yet still makes each theme potent and witty。 Only a truly great writer can do that。 Everett is a genius who delightfully uses form and structure， and I can't help but laugh at the irony that they turned the book into a movie。 I will definitely be reading another novel by him。 Sometimes an author tries to do so much that nothing comes across at all。 Everett probably does too much， yet still makes each theme potent and witty。 Only a truly great writer can do that。 Everett is a genius who delightfully uses form and structure， and I can't help but laugh at the irony that they turned the book into a movie。 I will definitely be reading another novel by him。 。。。more
Christie K
，