The Melancholy Strumpet Master by Zeb Beck
What's It About?
This eccentric story follows the down-and-out Gilmore Crowell as he tries — and often fails — to piece together his life. It’s a unique work of dark humor that reveals the more unseemly side of society, and forces readers to view their lives through a new lens.Have you ever stumbled across something that forces you to look at things through a new and strange perspective? Something so absurd and distinct that you have to take a moment to fully process it? That’s how I felt after reading Zeb Beck’s debut novel, The Melancholy Strumpet Master.
This eccentric story follows the down-and-out Gilmore Crowell as he tries — and often fails — to piece together his life. It’s a unique work of dark humor that reveals the more unseemly side of society, and forces readers to view their lives through a new lens.
Gil is down on his luck and just looking for a break. Crummy apartment, crummy job, and an academic career that seems to be going nowhere.
While working toward his doctorate in anthropology, Gil works as a teacher at a juvenile detention center — a job he loathes. The kids drive him crazy and his coworkers make him question his own sanity. But it pays the bills and allows him to care for the stray dumpster cat that crawled through his broken window and had a litter of kittens.
Gil spends all his free time in the redlight district of Tijuana — not for sex, but to study the culture of sex workers for his doctorate program. But the eight-year study seems to be leading nowhere. It doesn’t help that the women refuse to talk to him. Gil starts paying the women for their time, asking them questions and getting some half-committal answers. Then he comes up with an idea: in exchange for real answers, he offers to showcase the women on a website designed to advertise to potential customers.
A UNIQUE WORK OF DARK HUMOR
Meanwhile, he starts sleeping with one of the sex workers: Ava. Intelligent and quick-witted, Ava never fails to put Gil in his place, but she also encourages his academic pursuits and acts as a soundboard for his ideas. Gil’s feelings for Ava morph into something beyond sex — still, this cynical guy isn’t looking for romance.
As Gil’s work seems to be coming to an end and he finally finishes writing his thesis, everything else in his life comes crashing down. His website is discovered at work and leads to a scandal; Gil not only loses his job, but also his apartment and any chance of gaining his doctorate degree. With nowhere else to turn, Gil returns to the place he steadily grew to call home — the Tijuana red light district — and finds an unexpected ending.
The Melancholy Strumpet Master is a unique mixture of dark humor and brutal honesty, with an anti-hero readers can’t help but pity. Gil’s biting cynicism and morose outlook on life are layered underneath a quick wit and, by the end, an uncanny ability to laugh at himself and any situation.
Underneath Beck’s sardonic tone is a detailed and raw portrayal of poverty in Los Angeles and Tijuana. However, where Beck differs from other writers is his sympathetic characterization of the “filth” of society. For example, Gil remarks on his upbringing walking through the sketchy parts of town on his way to school as a child: “I started taking in the scene … I’d sit down somewhere in the shade and sketch the weirdness of it all: people shooting up, playing checkers, arguing frantically with whatever demons possessed them. It all fascinated me.”
Beck’s sketches of these unseemly aspects of society are interspersed with lively portrayals of Mexican culture. From the mariachi music spilling into the streets to the smell of tamales pouring out of houses and shop windows, Beck vividly describes everything Gil passes on his treks across the border.
Readers are sure to find something in The Melancholy Strumpet Master that captures their attention. Just like a young Gil Crowell, you will sit down, take in the scene and be utterly fascinated.
About the author:
Zeb Beck lives in Los Angeles with his lovely wife and difficult pets. He likes and dislikes the same things you do.
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