Fiction, Fiction Subjects

Dork of Cork

Name: Dork of Cork
Author: Chet Raymo
ISBN: 9780446670005

by Chet Raymo

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Overview

When Frank, an Irish dwarf, writes a personal memoir, he moves from dark isolation into the public eye. This luminous journey is marked by memories of his lonely childhood, secrets of his doomed young mother, and his passion for a woman who is as unreachable as the stars.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

``Begin with beauty,'' commands the opening sentence of this powerful novel, suffused with a 19th-century Romantic sensibility; its trite, although heartfelt, closing plea--``Hold me''--encapsulates the narrative's shift in focus from wide-ranging contemplation to the personal realization of love. Set in Cork, Ireland, this philosophic, imaginatively plotted tale is narrated by Frank Bois, a 43-year-old dwarf who has just completed a semi-autobiographical book. In a rambling internal dialogue he reminisces about the events his volume covers: his birth after WW II; his emotionally distant mother, who took many lovers; and his early decision to sublimate his sexuality (after a prostitute told him, ``Be gone, ye little dork'') by immersing himself in a passion for the moon and stars. Frank interrupts the chronological narrative with personal meditations, some about his writing career; he considers his book a literary freak show, knowing that people are amazed by his appreciation of beauty because, to them, he represents ugliness. Raymo ( In the Falcon's Claw ) so skillfully manipulates the author-within-an-author narration that it's easy to forget that Frank is a fictional entity. His unique, epiphanic and bluntly truthful story forces a reconsideration of the beautiful and the grotesque. ( May )

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

``Begin with beauty,'' commands the opening sentence of this powerful novel, suffused with a 19th-century Romantic sensibility; its trite, although heartfelt, closing plea--``Hold me''--encapsulates the narrative's shift in focus from wide-ranging contemplation to the personal realization of love. Set in Cork, Ireland, this philosophic, imaginatively plotted tale is narrated by Frank Bois, a 43-year-old dwarf who has just completed a semi-autobiographical book. In a rambling internal dialogue he reminisces about the events his volume covers: his birth after WW II; his emotionally distant mother, who took many lovers; and his early decision to sublimate his sexuality after a prostitute told him, ``Be gone, ye little dork'' by immersing himself in a passion for the moon and stars. Frank interrupts the chronological narrative with personal meditations, some about his writing career; he considers his book a literary freak show, knowing that people are amazed by his appreciation of beauty because, to them, he represents ugliness. Raymo In the Falcon's Claw so skillfully manipulates the author-within-an-author narration that it's easy to forget that Frank is a fictional entity. His unique, epiphanic and bluntly truthful story forces a reconsideration of the beautiful and the grotesque. May

Library Journal

In this novel, Raymo, author of In the Falcon's Claw: A Novel of the Year 1000 LJ 1/90, explores alienation--how it can be induced by religious belief, emotional trauma, or physical disability. His protagonist, Frank Bois, resident of Cork, Ireland, is 43 years old and 43 inches tall when we meet him. Frank has lived his adult life cut off from all meaningful human contact. Awash in self-pity over his size, unable to believe in the existence of God, Frank finds solace in observing the heavens and worshiping from afar the physical beauty of women. Through a series of flashbacks, often humorous, we learn of the mishaps that have shaped Frank's life, from his conception aboard an American troopship at the end of World War II to the death of his mother. The opportunity to have his celestial observations published takes Frank to London, where his preconceptions about God, women, and himself are challenged. Raymo has created a character we can all empathize with and for whom we care. This thoughtful, humorous novel is recommended for larger collections.-- Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P.L., Minn.