From Kirkus Reviews
Wildly prolific British satirist Nicholson (Still Life With Volkswagens, 1995, etc.) offers another black comedy of obsession, this time from the viewpoint of a foot fetishist. Right from the start Nicholson's unnamed narrator tells all about his swift descent ``to hell in a shoe box,'' giving the reader an obsessive's-eyeview of every nuance of foot- and shoe- fetishism. The otherwise unremarkable hero has given up on love but never tires of searching for the perfect foot. He has a giant archive of women's shoes, photos of shoes, photos of feet, articles on foot fetishism, anything and everything to do with female feet, and he proudly lays bare his soul to the ladies whose soles he desires. Fraudulently passing himself off as a researcher, he stands outside shoestores asking women to take part in a survey, which eventually leads to him photographing, then propositioning, women with attractive feet. One day the perfect feet do appear, attached to an attractive American named Catherine, who actually loves to have her feet worshipped. The happy couple stumble upon a man who creates specialty shoes for serious shoe lovers. Seeing Catherine's Michelangelo-like feet, the shoemaker, too, is overcome with their beauty and offers, for free, to make shoes for her for the rest of her life. These elaborate creations generally include snakeskin, bone, metal, and all sorts of other intimidating materials. Eventually, however, Catherine gets cold feet (pardon the pun) about the escalatingly strange relationship and runs off with a commercial foot-photographer, angering both narrator and shoemaker to a murderous degree. While the plot is threadbare and the book slight, Nicholson once again demonstrates his biting wit and his unmatched eye for capturing modern-day compulsions. A darkly funny tale with a kick even for the most foot-phobic. (First serial to Grand Street) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Kurzbeschreibung
The "wickedly funny" (Vanity Fair) master of literary black comedy spins a thrillingly erotic homage to Manolo Blahnik-wearing, nail-polished, high arched, beautifully footed women.
Geoff Nicholson, the reigning master of obsessive black literary humor, brings us his riskiest novel yet, delving into the erotic world of a foot fetishist. Nicholson's unnamed narrator is a serious man with a full life. He reads newspapers, follows politics, and holds down a steady job. But one thing ismissing--a woman with a great pair of feet; silky smooth skin, perfect arches, delicate curvature of the nails. . .
It's hard to meet the right woman, if you're a foot fetishist. Some slap your face. Some call thepolice. And then the narrator finds Catherine, who has just the feet he's been looking for his entire life. She leads him, wearing a staggering assortment of all the best shoes, on a foot fetishist's dream caper, combining the props from a Helmut Newton photo shoot and the twists of Antonioni's Blow-up. Sexy, blackly funny, Footsucker is a novel of fetishism, murder and, ultimately, love.
Geoff Nicholson, the reigning master of obsessive black literary humor, brings us his riskiest novel yet, delving into the erotic world of a foot fetishist. Nicholson's unnamed narrator is a serious man with a full life. He reads newspapers, follows politics, and holds down a steady job. But one thing ismissing--a woman with a great pair of feet; silky smooth skin, perfect arches, delicate curvature of the nails. . .
It's hard to meet the right woman, if you're a foot fetishist. Some slap your face. Some call thepolice. And then the narrator finds Catherine, who has just the feet he's been looking for his entire life. She leads him, wearing a staggering assortment of all the best shoes, on a foot fetishist's dream caper, combining the props from a Helmut Newton photo shoot and the twists of Antonioni's Blow-up. Sexy, blackly funny, Footsucker is a novel of fetishism, murder and, ultimately, love.
Über den Autor
Geoff Nicholson is the author of nine novels. His short stories are widely published and four of his novels have been optioned for film. He has written for radio, television, and the stage. He lives in London.
