infobox Book |
name = Kiss Me, Judas
title_orig =
translator =
image_caption = Hardcover Release from MacAdam/Cage Publishing
author = Will Christopher Baer
illustrator =
cover_artist = Jacket design by Dorothy Carico Smith
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Viking Press
release_date = October 1, 1998
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages = 240 pp
isbn = ISBN 0670881759 (first edition, hardcover)
preceded_by =
followed_by = Penny Dreadful (novel)
"Kiss Me, Judas" (1998) is the first published novel by American author Will Christopher Baer. The plot uses an urban legend, with protagonist Phineas Poe waking up in a hotel bathtub full of ice to discover that somebody has removed one of his kidneys. It is considered to be squarely in the genre of neo-noir.
Will Christopher Baer finished "Kiss Me, Judas" in two weeks while staying in a borrowed artist's studio in East Bay that "had a coffeemaker, cheap stereo, and toilet. And disturbing paintings on the wall."[Baer, Will Christopher. [http://willchristopherbaer.com/bio.php Baer's Bio] . [willchristopherbaer.com] . Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads" album was all he listened to during the drafting of this novel.] ]After publication, it was selected as one of Barnes and Noble's Best New Voices for Fall of 1998. [ [http://www.barnesandnoble.com/discov...r_1998.asp?z=y B&N Best New Voice] [barnesandnoble.com] ] ]Plot summary
During his first night out of a mental institution after suffering a nervous breakdown, Phineas Poe is picked up by a prostitute named Jude. She drugs him and removes his kidney and leaves him in a hotel bathtub full of ice with a note on the counter that reads, "If you want to live, call 9-1-1." Phineas, an ex-police officer that had recently been searching for information against the Denver Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit, later finds out that his kidney was actually replaced by a baggie of heroin. While searching for his missing kidney, Phineas actually finds love in his attacker, while he evades the angry police of Denver and tries to unlock the secrets behind his wife's recent death.
Characters in "Kiss Me, Judas"
; Phineas Poe :; Jude :; Detective Walter Moon :; Eve :; Crumb :; The Blister :; Henry :; Rose White :; Isabel :; Luscious Gore :
Major themes
Awards and nominations
The novel won the following awards:B&N Best New Voice: Fall of 1998
ee also
* 1998 in literature
* Neo-noir
* Urban legends
* Kidney removal
Footnotes
References
External links
* [http://www.willchristopherbaer.com/ Official site of Will Christopher Baer]
* [http://www.welcometothevelvet.com The Velvet: A Community Dedicated to Will Christopher Baer, Craig Clevenger, and Stephen Graham Jones]
