Jennifer Allen's "Dirty" Book: What Would Her Brother Say?

By: PM
Published On: 11/21/2006 5:36:29 PM

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George AllenGÇÖs sister Jennifer Allen (Richard) wrote another book besides GÇ£Fifth Quarter,GÇ¥ entitled GÇ£Better Get Your Angel On.GÇ¥  It largely escaped mention during her brotherGÇÖs Senate campaign, even though George Allen was denigrating Jim WebbGÇÖs character for having written a few erotic passages in his vast output of literary work.  Published in 1987, Jennifer Allen describes it in GÇ£Fifth QuarterGÇ¥ as being reviewed by the Times of London, where it was called GÇ£obscene in every sense of the word.GÇ¥  I wonder what Senator Allen thinks of his sisterGÇÖs book.

Ms. AllenGÇÖs book seems a forced attempt to be avant garde, while showing the seamy side of California through a series of short -- often incomprehensible -- stories.  GÇ£1987GÇ¥ opens thusly:

[readers are forewarned that the passages quoted in the remainder of this diary are for adults only, and are fairly disgusting.]

It is New YearGÇÖs Day on the strand and I am watching a man who has blood on his face that looks to me like the blood is coming out of his eye give one, two, three kicks to the stomach of a woman who is one her knees in a puddle of sand under an outdoor shower that is on when a kid wearing a hat that says Happy New Year in glitter with palm trees sticking out of both sides slaps my ass and asks whose blood I think all that is messing up the sand, his or hers.

It turns out the GÇ£kidGÇ¥ is the child of the couple.  He is smoking marijuana in the scene, and comments on his motherGÇÖs GÇ£nice tits.GÇ¥  The man kicks the woman down again onto the sand, urinates on her; she then gives him oral sex.  The woman grabs a stiletto and plunges it into the manGÇÖs thigh.  The boy says, GÇ£Mom and Dad, they are so in love . . ..GÇ¥

The short story GÇ£Better Get Your Angel OnGÇ¥ takes places on Christmas Eve, where a father and daughter are waiting for a Mass to start around a hotel swimming pool.  (The angel is a figurine the father had gotten as a gift when he had made a recent purchase GÇô he is trying without success to scrub off the word GÇ£Bonus,GÇ¥ which had been printed on the angelGÇÖs head, before it is placed on the tree beside the pool.)  The daughter asks the theological question: GÇ£Daddy, you think Jesus was f---d over so bad?GÇ¥  The daughter throws her cross and chain into the pool.  The GÇ£priestGÇ¥ makes his entrance, followed by someone blowing on an exhaust pipe and banging a trash can lid.  A second member of the procession pours wine on the daughterGÇÖs head.  The daughter begins taking off her shirt and shorts; another person throws a leather bra and leather underwear into the pool.  The father decides he should say the Mass and, carrying the angel, walks into the pool.

The story GÇ£TricentennialGÇ¥ features GÇ£MarshaGÇ¥ and her older brother by nine years GÇ£Mickey.GÇ¥  (This is about the age disparity between Jennifer Allen and George Allen.)  They are traveling across country and Mickey likes to run over animals GÇô and rerun over them by backing over them, then tie them on the roof of the pickup he is driving.  Mickey spits tobacco juice on the floor and wears a Confederate States of America hat.  Years later he becomes the President of the GÇ£Re-United States.GÇ¥

It is hard to believe anyone published this book.  IGÇÖve read all sorts of avant garde and erotic literature, and this is neither; it is basically junk literature.  But I wonder what Senator Allen would say about the GÇ£deviantGÇ¥ and blasphemous scenes recounted here.


Comments



Hahahahaha! (phriendlyjaime - 11/21/2006 5:53:55 PM)
I wrote about this on my blog, West of Shockoe, last week.  Your write-up is a bit more thorough though, thanks.

link

So THAT'S why the Allen camp attacked Senator-elect Jim Webb's books; they were afraid Allen himself would be questioned about his sister's dirty book.

Sen. George Allen’s sister wrote steamy short stories
By Emily Heil

In the final throes of Sen. George Allen’s failed reelection bid, the Virginia Republican took aim at some seamier passages of fiction written by his rival, Democratic Sen.-elect Jim Webb. But we wonder what Allen thinks of some other fiction that hits a little closer to home.

Early fiction written by Allen’s sister, Jennifer, depicts scenes that might make even former Marine Webb blush. "Better Get Your Angel On," Jennifer Allen’s 1989 collection of short stories, includes one story in which a couple engages in violent sexual acts while their child watches and smokes a joint. Other passages depict sex, violence and profanity.

The prose is written in a sort of disorienting, Faulkneresque style. A review from Publishers Weekly that accompanies the book’s listing on Amazon.com noted that with "insistent, arresting voices that hurtle the reader through glimpses of hedonistic, drug-speeded-up lives, some of the 13 very short stories in this debut collection succeed on their technical brilliance and shock value."

Webb, a former Marine who served as secretary of the Navy, is the author of six novels, according to his website. Allen’s campaign trotted out passages from several of them, saying they were "demeaning" to women and "dehumanizing."

Jennifer Allen’s most noted work is "Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach’s Daughter," an autobiography that attracted attention because it depicted her father, beloved NFL coach George Allen, as removed from the family and said George was often cruel towards her.

Calls to Allen’s office weren’t returned by press time.

NICE.  Violent sex, children smoking pot, hedonism, profanity...but war stories written from first hand accounts should be stricken from library shelves and covered in shrink-wrap with huge warnings on the cover at the Barnes and Noble.

Typical Repunlican mindset.

I plan on going to the library tonight to see if this book is available; if it's as hot as it sounds, I'll repost some steamy goodness for you.



Shiny Rock (seveneasypeaces - 11/21/2006 6:45:45 PM)
My Goodness!

As Mae West said, Goodness had nothing to do with it!



For shame!!! (thegools - 11/21/2006 7:54:01 PM)
That Allen family!!  George Allen doesn't deserve to be Senator based on this.  We should get on our moral high horse and vote that clown out of office.....oh wait a minute.....never mind.


Oh, *do* give over... (libra - 11/22/2006 2:17:04 AM)
Judging Jim Webb's character on the basis of the fiction he'd written was ridiculous enough -- as even some of the Repubs admitted. Judging Felix's character on the basis of the fiction his *sister* had written is doubly so.

Felix has condemned himself by his own actions -- the noose in the office, the smirk in the photo with the CCC "leadership", the "macaca incident"... He's cooked (and burnt ) his own goose, he's *gone*. Trying to pile up guilt-by-association is so... welll... Republican... Trying to do so *now* is a waste of time and energy; totally inefficient



This was all tongue in cheek (PM - 11/22/2006 10:20:20 AM)
Except that if George knew about the book (and likely he did -- it's 19 years old) he's a hypocrite

But I was smirking as I was writing this.

And don't tell me what is "inefficient" until you put the amount of work I've put into this blog; I've not seen any substantial contributions form you that I can recall



Jennifer Allen isn't George (Pain - 11/22/2006 8:22:39 AM)
While I think Felix Macacawitz was grasping at straws by attacking Mr. Webbs novels and it ended up doing him more harm than good, I don't see any reason to do the same to Georges sister, except of course to laugh at it just like we laugh at Lynne Cheneys stuff.  But, heres a peice of advise for Felix:  If you live in glass houses, don't shit bricks.


It was intended as a smirk (PM - 11/22/2006 10:21:39 AM)


Let's not get caught up in the (Catzmaw - 11/22/2006 10:12:11 AM)
literary criticism as evidence of character issue; however, I would suggest that Ms. Allen needs to be reintroduced to punctuation.  Sounds like I won't be picking up this little book for Christmas.


"The Hill" newspaper certainly thought the book was relevant (Peace - 11/22/2006 12:21:24 PM)
http://thehill.com/t...

The importance of the book is that it points out George's hypocrisy. 

This is like GOPpers who say gays are evil when they know people in their family are gay.

Did anyone notice that "Mickey" is clearly patterned after George?  And that this "Mickey" runs over animals?  Is there some symbolic hint here to George having issues with animals?  Think -- deer head?



Allen is okay with her book... (Hugo Estrada - 11/22/2006 2:18:03 PM)
because Allen doesn't know how to read :P

Okay, that was mean. He can sound some words, but he is technically functionally illiterate.