Soul of a Whore and Purvis

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Two plays--hilarious and searing in equal measure--by one of our most essential and original authors In his poetry, short stories, novels, and plays, Denis Johnson has explored the story of America--especially of the West, land of self-made men and self-perpetuating myths--with a searing honesty and genuine sympathy. In these two plays, written in verse both hypnotic and clear, he confirms his position as one of our great verbal stylists, and a literary conscience for our times.Purvis's seven reverse-chronological scenes catalog the fall and rise of Melvin Purvis, the G-man who brought down John Dillinger and Charles Arthur "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Johnson takes us from Washington's backrooms to a Midwestern cornfield, dramatizing the seductive allure of power and our own human capacity for both pettiness and grace. In Soul of A Whore, a lively cast of characters--faith healers, pimps, strippers, actual demons--converges, with unexpected...