The story of Cock from Will Self’s Cock
& Bull, is, as the book’s title suggests, a claptrap short story of a
newlywed British woman, named Carol, who unsuspectingly begins growing a penis.
As the size of her penis grows, so does her aggressiveness, machoism, and lack
of concern for her husband, Dan, a drunk who has just joined Alcoholics
Anonymous, in a plight to battle his addiction. Near the end of the novel,
Carol begins to be dominated by violent urges and the sexual tenacity of her
new penis, resulting in the rape and death of her husband on her behalf. A
character, referred to as the don,
recites the entire tale to a university graduate during a train ride. It is
only at the end of the story, that we discover the don’s true identity, and it is at that point that the true
horror of the story takes place.
Cock was a joy to read due to the range of emotions that are
evoked. Though the majority of the narration remains in a flat, objective tone,
I went from laughing out loud to squirming at the bottom of my seat. The
writing style effectively allows the reader to feel comfortable, chuckling at
small details such as the fact that Dan ‘had never troubled to examine Carol’s
cuntal area with any kind of attention’ only to be dazed, to say the least,
when Carol begins her murderous spree. The degeneration of the lead protagonist
mirrors the 'recovery' of her husband who is in fact losing all of the
social pillars of manhood.
I would highly recommend anyone in
search of an entertaining, ghastly, wicked and hilarious story to read with an
afternoon to read Will Self’s ‘Cock’.
No comments:
Post a Comment