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There is a hazing ritual practiced by some fraternities that involves blindfolding a
pledge, putting him in the middle of a room and subjecting him to a good whacking with
two-by-fours administered by his soon-to-be "brothers." The hapless pledge has
no idea where the next whack is going to come from, and the anticipation of a smarting
blow is, by all accounts, almost worse than the actual delivery. I never went through this
rite of passage. Having read BACK FROM THE DEAD, however, I have a rough idea about what
it feels like to get smacked upside the head repeatedly and never see it coming. The only
difference is that I never wanted BACK FROM THE DEAD to end.
Chris Petit, the author of BACK FROM THE DEAD as well as 1997's THE PSALM KILLER, is a
filmmaker. He is also an absolute, wonderfully brilliant maniac. You can call BACK FROM
THE DEAD a mystery, a parable, a history, a suspense novel, a twisted romance, or all of
the above --- or none of the above. And you'd be at least partially right on all counts.
But you'd be wrong, too.
BACK FROM THE DEAD begins with Youselli, a New York City cop, assigned to special duty at
a Long Island party being hosted by McMahon, a fading rock star whose only creativity lies
in his ability to find new ways to flush his life down the toilet. Youselli, divorced and
disillusioned, is sliding through his life and job without interest or ambition. McMahon
retains Youselli to investigate the source of some mysterious letters he is receiving that
profess to be written by a girl who died 15 years previously. Youselli is simultaneously
drawn to and repulsed by McMahon, often for the same reasons, but, intrigued by the
mystery of the letters, agrees to investigate. The letters themselves are fascinating, a
combination of love and hate, anger and joy, laughter and sadness, with strong sexual
overtones and, most disturbingly, an air of almost irrefutable authenticity. Youselli
finds himself not only increasingly attracted by the letters, but also influenced by them,
to the extent that he soon becomes obsessed with the sender on a number of different
levels. He fails all the while to see what the letters, the investigation, and his client
are doing to him personally, though there is some question as to whether he would care if
he did. Youselli's quest ultimately leads him to a destiny that, although wholly
unpredictable, in hindsight is preordained almost from the opening pages of the book.
With the exception of one or two of the characters that inhabit BACK FROM THE DEAD there
is no one, including Youselli, who is truly likable. Yet, for inexplicable reasons, they
are all oddly attractive while being thoroughly repulsive. These are not people you would
want in your homes, or watching your children, or even sitting next to you on a bus; yet
they are fascinating to observe. Petit's characters, while functioning as a subtle
freakshow, also create a fascinating historical subtext. McMahon and his wife live in the
infamous Dakota Apartments, a building that appears to have been built upon cursed earth.
Additionally, those of you who are up on the hidden history of rock 'n' roll and the
subculture of the '60s will see traces of Brian Epstein and Anita Pallenberg (and a tip of
the Hartlaub hat if you know who that is without looking up her name) and will have
great fun going through the book figuring out who the real-world model is for each
character. But the best part of this book is reading it and finding the facts and the
rules changing almost page by page, and being repeatedly rocked by it. You'll never hear
the board coming at you until it's too late. But you'll ask for more, and keep reading.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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