Zombie00

Zombie00 is a touching story that explores the dark recesses of human desire and offers a glimpse into how we connect. Meet "Zombie," a strange and remarkable young man, growing up in Truckstown, Pennsylvania. His earliest childhood memories of visiting the "Sacred Voodoo Chamber" in the nearby Scranton Art Museum leave him in thrall and help spark in him a process of "zombification" that will last a lifetime. Fear and worship become his guiding forces as he stumbles through life wondering if there are more of his kind or if he is alone. After a series of petty crimes, committed at the behest of his first master, Zombie is given a tiny inheritance and a one-way bus ticket to New York City. He embarks on a weird, surprisingly funny and ultimately poignant odyssey where he meets those who will be responsible for his destin

From Publishers Weekly

Zombies, as we all know, are made, not born. But in Gooch's (City Poet) weirdly blas? tale of sadomasochism and bondage, the unnamed narrator appears to possess zombie qualities from a very young age. On a visit to a museum in Scranton, Pa., with his parents, he is mesmerized by grainy, gray anthropological photographs of pain and abasement on display in the voodoo room. Soon afterwards, Mark, a sadistic 15-year-old, christens the younger boy "Zombie" and makes him his willing personal slave. Zombie performs simple tasks like sharpening pencils, but he is also sent on dangerous assignments that result in beatings by older bullies. The ensuing tale is Zombie's search for the "most colorful master." In high school Zombie is put to work by a hood named Mitch and his girlfriend, Paulette, who start a small crime wave. Eventually, Zombie gets caught vandalizing a funeral home and is kicked out of the house by his dad. Making his way to New York City, he discovers the subculture of s&m clubs, where he meets Sir Edward, M.D. Sir Edward is a drug dealer and a very willing sadist, as is his nephew, an aspiring wrestler with the improbable moniker Wseal64735. But Sir Edward goes too far one night, and Zombie moves on to a bodybuilding public access cable performer named Control Freak. Control Freak is not the "most colorful master," either, but he does give Zombie a one-way ticket to Haiti, where Zombie finally gets lucky. Gooch takes his hero's search for perfect zombiehood seriously. Sexually adventurous readers might find themselves genuinely sympathetic to Zombie's quest, and at times even amused by his search for the perfect balance between fear and worship. However, this far-from-the-mainstream saga is not for the faint of heart. (Aug.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The blurb on the cover of Gooch's third novel, following Golden Age of Promiscuity, promises "a unique story that dares to explore the dark recesses of human desire." But Zombie00 actually explores little that hasn't been examined before and better by such writers as Anne Rice in the "Sleeping Beauty" trilogy and Exit to Eden. As a child, the narrator becomes interested in the symbols of voodoo and the creation of zombies. He identifies with beings whose only purpose is to serve others without question or will of their own. As he sinks further into his "zombie" personality, he allows himself to be used and abused by his "masters," whose motives are unknown. The focus is on Zombie's journeyDand Zombie drifts. And drifts some more. Since the memories of the narrator are rather clouded, much is left unexplained, and, in the end, it is difficult to decipher what the main point is. Gooch's writing talents come through but not enough to balance the inconsistencies in plot and time line and the lack of character development. Not recommended.DT.R. Salvadori, Margaret E. Heggan Free P.L., Hurffville, NJ Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Brad Gooch is the author of the acclaimed biography of Frank O'Hara, City Poet, as well as Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography, along with other nonfiction and three novels. The recipient of National Endowment for the Humanities and Guggenheim fellowships, he earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University and is Professor of English at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He lives in New York City.

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