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A BAD MAN by Stanley Elkin

A BAD MAN

by Stanley Elkin

Pub Date: Oct. 13th, 1967
ISBN: 1564783324
Publisher: Random House

Elkin, whose Boswell (1964) heralded a major talent, continues to dazzle; he's got the wit, he's got the words, but he still lacks a story capable of attracting and holding a large audience. Boswell almost had it. The title character, driven by the sudden recognition of his eventual death to continuous, stupendous efforts at gate-crashing, in order to live it up, however vicariously, every remaining moment, went on for too long and was finally stretched too thin. Criers and Kibitzers. Kibitzers and Criers (1965) a collection of nine Elkin stories (which had prominent-to-prestigious magazine exposure) showed some of the same flaws of Boswell and here the story goes on long past the point where readers have gotter the message. And, the cumulative effect of pettiness magnified, even while taking into account some brilliant comic passages, leads to a state of reader-bloat. Feldman, this title's bad man, is convicted of fixing (arranging abortions, the satisfaction of perversions, prescriptions for drugs, guns for fanatics) in his department store basement. This has been as profitless as the petty cruelties practiced on family and associates, both motivated by curiosity rather than satisfaction. Early on it is revealed that Feldman has a petrified homonculus over his heart and one blow to his chest will kill him. Less than halfway through the book, it is apparent that the blow will be delivered at the most ironic moment, the end of Feldman's sentence. Even in prison, Feldman is outside humanity and only the warden and the inmates and their stories achieve occasional significance. Feldman represents not a man, but a good short story gone bad at novel length.