The consumer

I've been looking forward to this book for perhaps too long. So it goes that my expectations for it were elaborate conjecture. I thought a lot of the '90s material was lacking. Most of the older material is Gira putting himself in the shoes of serial killers. As with anything SWANS related, it is an acquired taste. I have so much more respect for Jarboe after reading this. I wouldn't consider the subject matters shocking, maybe because it seems more like a longing to understand what is happening within the twisted caverns of the mind.

So I give up on this one. I got through about 1/4 of it. I love the Swans and have nothing against writing about repulsive things, but this just isn't very good. Beyond the subject matter (you know, incest, sadomasochism, fecal obsession, etc), the writing is just so overdone. I really wanted to like it but just couldn't.