Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Serpent's Tail (1994), 196 pages
Description
Malcolm is a classic innocent, led from one protective personality to another in the search for his missing father. He becomes involved in a series of poignant and wildly comic adventures as he is taken under the wing of an astrologer, an undertaker, a jazz queen and other eccentric characters.
User reviews
LibraryThing member TomChicago
Gore Vidal calls Purdy a true "American genius", so that was a good enough recommendation to pick up this dog-eared paperback bought years ago for a quarter. Purdy packs a punch, and as far as a happy ending...?
LibraryThing member TheoClarke
Gloriously funny, slightly surreal narrative about an innocent unusual boy who meets a series of credibly outrageous characters in a search for his missing father.
LibraryThing member presto
Malcolm, about fifteen years of age, has spent every day for the last year sitting on the bench in front of his plush hotel, where he has a suite, waiting for his father to return, but now his money is in danger of running out. One day Mr Cox approaches him, and offers help; he provides Malcolm
The story follows Malcolm through his various encounters has he builds his new circle of friends, and as the various new friends interact with each other and vie for Malcolm's attention, often with very funny, near farcical results.
Malcolm the boy is a strange creation, supposedly well traveled with his father before his disappearance, he is socially well adjusted but rather naive and apparently more or less uneducated, leading to the assumption by some that he is a little dump. He is described often as beautiful and all who encounter him desire him in one way or another.
Malcolm the book is an unusual and at times bizarre account, at times hilarious, at times touching; the outcome almost inevitable
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with a series of address and people to meet who might help him and get him away from his bench. This leads Malcolm to come into contact with among others a retired undertaker, and midget, talented but unrecognised artist who refuses to believe he is a midget, a less talented artist with a passion for music, an extremely wealthy and influential couple, a tattooist and a world famous singer.The story follows Malcolm through his various encounters has he builds his new circle of friends, and as the various new friends interact with each other and vie for Malcolm's attention, often with very funny, near farcical results.
Malcolm the boy is a strange creation, supposedly well traveled with his father before his disappearance, he is socially well adjusted but rather naive and apparently more or less uneducated, leading to the assumption by some that he is a little dump. He is described often as beautiful and all who encounter him desire him in one way or another.
Malcolm the book is an unusual and at times bizarre account, at times hilarious, at times touching; the outcome almost inevitable
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LibraryThing member kylekatz
This 1959 novel was extemely weird. The cover blurbs portray it as so shocking and outre at the time, but it was way too tame for me. There was hardly any overt homosexuality in it, nor really any overt sexuality of any kind. There were a bunch of weird artists and musicians and the plot seemed to
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kind of wimp out on making any kind of conclusion by having the main character die. Still, it was so weird that I couldn't stop reading it to see what would happen, although if I had known that there would be so little gayness, and so little resolution/satisfaction, perhaps I would have. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — Fiction — 1960)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1959, Farrar, Straus and Cudaly, New York
ISBN
1852423684 / 9781852423681