# Reading > Write a Book Review >  On "Hogg", by Samuel R. Delany

## TheChilly

For those who have heard of author Samuel R. Delany, you probably have been familiar with his science-fiction works, mainly "Dhlargen" (which I will pretty much end up picking up this weekend to give it a shot) or "Babel-17". I was surprised to find out that he was African-American (I'm Nigerian myself, so, YAY!), and I was also surprised that he is not only a very well-known and renowned figure in not only the Science Fiction world of authors, but also literature as a whole (Yes, he is also a literary critic).

Having heard that the author wrote "Hogg" in 1969 and struggled for a very long time to get the work published (in which it eventually did, in 1995 by Black Ice Books), I decided to pick up the book from my local library a few months ago as a means of curiosity... and maybe as a good introduction to his work as well. Yes, the book is full of very objectionable content (which I will discuss in the next paragraph), but when the dust cleared and I got to the book's end... I was exhausted, and at some point, I was just like, "This is obviously and strictly 'shock value' material."

Now, to support my statement on the objectionable content and the 'shock' value of it all... note that "Hogg" is DEFINITELY not for the faint of heart. In every page, you will find unsettling scenes of graphic violence, child molestation, eating of various different human substances (including feces), graphic and horrific sexual content... you name it, "Hogg" has it. According to the back cover, the book apparently is "distasteful, raw, and upsetting; it also treats some of the sexual taboos that Americans do not want addressed in either art or politics," according to John O. Brien of the Dalkey Archive Press.

Yes, "Hogg" is distasteful and upsetting, but at the same time, the shocking content loses steam near halfway into the book and ends up not working for a few major reasons, one of them being the fact that there is a shocking/violent sequence per page. If someone isn't getting killed, then someone (or a group of people) is either getting molested or raped or sodomized... and there is way too much of it to the point where it no longer becomes shocking but a chore to read (especially on the first paragraph on page 1, which I am not comfortable putting down due to sensitive literary ears and the means to respect those ears, especially on this forum). Another area where "Hogg" falters is the fact that there is basically no one worth caring about... not even its titular protagonist, neither was there any sort of effective backstory to make me feel any sort of sympathy for the characters and neither was there even a reason to care for the unnamed narrator only known to the characters as "cocksucker", without any speaking lines except for one word at the end ("Nothin'."). What really made me want to put the work down is the fact that there was nothing worth learning from the story neither was there anything worth experiencing or taking interest in... instead, the reader is stuck to a chair for a good 210+ pages having to watch boring 'brutal' rape/murder scene after boring 'brutal' rape-murder scene, which is basically how I felt about the 9-minute rape scene in the 2002 French film titled "Irreversible" (After 4-5 minutes in, I basically thought to myself, "Okay... we get it, can you wrap it up now?).

For anyone wanting to read anything from this author, do so, but do yourself a favor and skip this work... because I basically saw nothing from it except an obvious piece of 'shock value' trash. (I will still pick up "Dhalgren", though). 

Comments and disagreeing viewpoints are welcome. 

-- Chilly

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## Armel P

It's very difficult to defend it and I don't think I'm going to try. But I did find it interesting in a way. I don't think it's a bad book because I don't go into it thinking that shock value precludes any literary significance. I don't think it's a brilliant book but it's not a bad one either. The alternative universe-like feel of it as well as it's interest in playing with the perspective from which one views the events and the characters gives it value, in my opinion. I don't regret reading it at all. I don't know to how many of my acquaintences I would recommend it , though. They might terminate the friendship.  :Smile: 

I will add however that everytime I sat down to read the book it took about a page before I wanted to take a shower and clean myself. It is pretty digusting.

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## TheChilly

Great input and perspective, good sir. 

I will give credit for the concept of setting the story into the perspective of an acquaintance of a vile character, who just so happens to be as vile as the character himself. I just mainly threw my hands up in the air at its character presentation and development... it seemed like they were just bad for the sake of being bad. Just my opinion and perspective.

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## Armel P

No, there was no strong character development. But it seems to me that was probably part of the intention. The flatness is maybe because they were all anti-stereotypes fused with sterotypes. Stereotyping the machoism that was/is responsible for homophobia and turning it in on itself. I could be wrong but it seems like a novel dealing with gay anger, at least in part.

While reading it I couldn't help but think, "Now HERE is an unfilmable book."

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## Nicolasa77

Thank you very much! I'll give it a try.

Cheers




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## Armel P

> Thank you very much! I'll give it a try.
> 
> Cheers


Good luck and enjoy.

If anyone sees you reading it and asks you what it's about, just try to change the subject.  :Biggrin:

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## MTC13

Then again, you could skip Hogg altogether. Some of my favorite Delaney books are: Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, Nova, Dhalgren, and the Neveryon series.

I agree that Hogg is a thoroughly intentional book. Delaney's a brilliant man, so if it's vile, flat, undeveloped, unsexy, boring, latent, and unfilmable, I think Delaney wrote it that way.

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## Armel P

> Then again, you could skip Hogg altogether.


That depends. I mean Delaney is, for the most part, a genre writer. I'm sure his sci-fi writing is good but someone may be more open to something like Hogg, which is not really genre fiction, than they would be to his sci-fi novels.

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## TheChilly

> Then again, you could skip Hogg altogether. Some of my favorite Delaney books are: Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand, Nova, Dhalgren, and the Neveryon series.
> 
> I agree that Hogg is a thoroughly intentional book. Delaney's a brilliant man, so if it's vile, flat, undeveloped, unsexy, boring, latent, and unfilmable, I think Delaney wrote it that way.


A good point. I am looking into giving Dhlargen a shot, though. I haven't really read much Sci-Fi in my time (except the Halo trilogy and "Shadow of the Hedgmon" by Orson Scott Card, as some examples), but I really want to look more into the genre.

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