Nearly Roadkill

by Kate Bornstein and Caitlin Sullivan

Nearly Roadkill apparently takes place in the not-so-distant future, where Internet users are required to register online and all transmissions can be policed by government agencies. Big brother is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1852424184
• ISBN13: 9781852424183
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Length: 385 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant

I have always been a fan of Kate Bornstein and her nonfiction work, plus I'm always searching for genderqueer fiction, so this was a gem to find. Indeed, it is an interesting, engaging read, and I reccommend everyone read it. But that's not to say there aren't drawbacks: -The title bothers me; even now I remember that great book I read- what was it called? 'Nearly Roadkill' doesn't sum up the book in any way except perhaps abstractly, and, to my recollection, wasn't mentioned in the book as a phrase or something clever like that. The term 'Infobahn' was odd, too. -The book is just a little long. It may seem longer because of the format, or because of the storyline (several times you think it should be over; it keeps going), but it does tend to drag in places. That's not to say that I ever wanted to put it down, in fact, I was avidly reading near the end to find how things worked out, but some brevity, some smashing down of things, could have been better. -A few plot holes. There aren't many big ones, but a few things irked me. The whole book long I was expecting them to be cleverly explained, but they never were! For instance- Jabba writes narrative accounts of what's going on with Lt. Budge, very welcome reliefs from all the cybertalk, and letting us know what's going on with him. But how is this achieved? Is Jabba spying on him and guessing at his inner thoughts? It's never said. Everything else is meticulously explained as Toobe's diary entry, etc., etc., but not that. Jabba's friend and aid, Gwyn, is a "cyber witch", but that never really gets explained. It makes her a very interesting character, for sure, but was the witch aspect necessary? I don't know that I can say. Jabba was a well-drawn character and I liked the fact that the end explained hir life, although it was vague. Was the tie between Jabba and Toobe too precious to be believed? Again, I liked it, but I can see where others would be put-off. -Lastly- it ended happily, sweetly. Very nice- EXCEPT- what happens to Winc and Scratch in the end???? They run off to hiding and cooperation. Are we expected to believe that the government would just suddenly drop all charges and give up? People know what Winc looks like! Their identities have been compromised, so how will they deal with that? We're never told. Besides those, I adored this novel. Other people's complaints just weren't big for me: the sex scenes were necessary and lovely, the use of "ze" and "hir" were of utmost importance and didn't distract, and the type and format didn't bother me (if anything, I think it's amazing when people can pull off entire books of cyberchat). It's a beautiful love story, a message about gender, and a warning about government and civil rights. Did it negate the gender lesson by revealing Scratch and Winc's genders? I would certainly say not, because 1) it comes so early in the novel that it's not the main focus, and 2) what genders? What was revealed, except for Wi

so good....

Great characters, inventive plot, excellent storyline, good writing, so much fun to read, and a lot of hot sex to boot. What could be bad?

If you're online, you need to read this one...

Scratch and Winc capture the best of all arenas in their sexual exploits, moving from boy, to grrrl, to vampire, to punk, etc...living in freedom over the internet that makes me cringe at the banality of my own life. The prospect of regulation in this final frontier is abominable, if not unavoidable, and the social commentary this book evokes is relevant. I read this book and surfed the web a *new* person, using my newfound creativity to have tons of fun! Jabbathehut & Gwynyth are great players in this game as well, adding a sense that we're not alone in this fight...just read it!

Life or Art?

Life and art, art and life, the perennial question what came first. In my case, the novel. Nearly Roadkill: An Infobahn Erotic Adventure by Caitlin Sullivan and her cohort Kate Bornstein began as an online discussion of gender in cyberspace, by two provocative souls whose battle to define male and female, I imagine, continues. I followed it in the novel with interest, rooting for the characters to reach an understanding. Though the gender issue seems to be the prominent one in Nearly Roadkill, I was just as intrigued by its presentation of the online world in light of the predictions for ubiquitous intervention by corporations and government (For further discussion on this aspect, visit http://www.new-kewl.com/lollygag/blow.html) Fictional protagonists Scratch and Winc become martyrs to the cause of corporate avarice by refusing to undertake Registration, a process of answering demographic and lifestyle questions to build a user profile. Registration is a mandated by the government, in order for corporations to best target email advertisements to ostensibly ready and willing recipients. Needless to say, Scratch and Winc's resistance becomes the catalyst for people online everywhere to rebuke their previous co-operation with the scheme. A riot, a rally, a complete shutdown of the Internet ensues, while our heroes limp into the underground, bewildered that their personal agenda became a worldwide cause sufficient to change the way government and big business freely exploit the personal tastes of the worldwide populace for their own commercial gain. A terrific read on many levels (though a bit of an edit on mid-book dialogue would be welcome), it will be interesting to see if or how this novel foreshadows the future!