Closer (Dennis Cooper novel)

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Closer is the debut novel of American writer Dennis Cooper, published in 1989 by Grove Press. It is considered one of the author's most famous works. The plot revolves around George Miles, a passive, drug-using gay teenager who becomes an object of desire for several boys seeking escape from the monotony of their lives through sex and violence. The novel explores themes such as male objectification, sexuality, violence, child abuse, and death. Regarding his approach to these themes, Cooper stated in 1989 that his intention was neither to arouse nor shock readers, but rather to "disturb" them. The novel is the first installment in the George Miles Cycle, a collection of works inspired by a childhood friend of Cooper's who later became his boyfriend and that is characterized by the eroticization of death and sexual violence. Because of that, several elements introduced in Closer are later explored in the other novels of the cycle, albeit from different perspectives. George Miles himself reappears...

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