I finished the book today and, while there was a character that I liked (Baby), I can honestly say I didn't really like the book.

The ideas were good, there was definitely a story there but the way it was put together in the book just wasn't for me. The sex and drugs in the story didn't bother me at all. It fit with the storyline and wasn't just there as a shock factor.

I know it was supposed to be campy and taken from the real New York streets of the 90's, but I just didn't feel it. ( )

You can read my entire discussion here: http://ireadoddbooks.com/permanent-obscurity-by-richard-perez/

Review snippet: Okay, Permanent Obscurity is not a bad book but it is not a good book either. The protagonist, in addition to lacking self-awareness, is one of the most tiresome, irritating, foolhardy, aggressive heroines you will ever read. She is best friends with a sociopathic, self-absorbed sadist. Together, the two of them, in the bowels of New York, decide to escape from the terrible financial situation they find themselves in by making a porno. Oh yeah, they owe a ton of money to a drug dealer. That should have gone without saying. The porno goes terribly wrong, as you knew it would, ending in a high speed chase and jail time.

The author tries to justify creating characters that irritate and annoy by saying, through the mouth of Dolores:

You better recognize this fact: People are complicated.

People are indeed complicated. Dolores, the heroine, and her friend Serena, are not that complicated, however. There is really only one complicated character in this book, a man called Baby who is in thrall, in a very controlled manner, to Serena. Everyone one else shows clearly how being completely fucked-up often passes for being complicated. ( )

I'm not sure how I felt about this book. I wasn't crazy about the writing for most of it, it was interesting to me but for some reason the book couldn't keep my attention. I realize that its a somewhat true story but I felt like there were a few places where not much was happening and I got bored. I also had a hard time identifying with any of the characters, maybe I'm just not rebellious enough! This is a small thing, but I also had a problem with the cover, even though I was reading an e-book the cover would show up on my virtual shelf and I was very embarrassed by it. I'm not sure I would recommend this book to anyone because I can't think of any people I know who would enjoy it, but I'm sure there is someone out there who would. I'd say you need to have a sense of adventure for very rebellious young adults and be ready for anything to happen. ( )

Not entirely sure what to think, or whether to like or hate it. I'm ambivalent and not a story I'll re-read. For others this could be a masterpiece. For me it was a lesson in a world I knew nothing about - and now I see why. ( )

Permanent Obscurity: Or a Cautionary Tale... is described by its author as a "sexploitation" novel which centers on "femdom". Narrated in the first person - with an "as told to" conceit - P.O. follows Dolores Santana and her sometimes-girlfriend Serena in an absurdist spiral of drugs, debts owed to dealers and an attempt to make a porno that will solve all their problems.

This initial premise - a promising place to begin - quickly turns to sludge. The plot slowly collapses under the weight of subplots, mostly centering on the girls scoring their mind-altering substance of choice. The revolving cast of drug dealers, fellow users, and current and former lovers are sketched thinner and thinner as the plot progresses, seeming only to exist for Serena to dupe and Dolores to avoid. The New York City of Permanent Obscurity never feels quite real, either. While Dolores uses e-mail, she's hunting down cassettes for a camera and travelling through a city that seems stuck in the gritty, crime-filled 80s.

Anyone who's offended by sex, drug use or frequent use of fuck, shit, cunt, etc should obviously stay away. But anyone who's looking for a voyeuristic look into a drug- or sex-filled world alien to their own would be better off reading Hunter S. Thompson, Warren Ellis or William Burroughs. ( )