| And the Ass Saw the Angel | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Nick Cave |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Philosophical novel, Gothic novel, Southern Gothic |
| Publisher | Black Spring Press, Harper Collins |
| Publication date | 1989 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 320 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-880985-72-1 |
| OCLC Number | 51528255 |
And the Ass Saw the Angel is the first novel by the musician and singer Nick Cave, originally published in 1989 by Black Spring Press in the United Kingdom and Harper Collins in the United States. It was re-published in 2003 by 2.13.61 (ISBN 1-880985-72-1). A luxury "collector's edition" was released, in the summer of 2007, by Black Spring Press.
With its Southern Gothic setting, critics have compared it favorably with novels by American authors William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor.[1][2]
Cave's second novel, The Death of Bunny Munro,[3] was published in September, 2009.
Contents |
And the Ass Saw the Angel tells the story of Euchrid Eucrow, a mute born to an abusive drunken mother and a father obsessed with cruel traps and animal torture. His father's dangerous traps, greasy and vile, just might maim or kill an unwary person. The ultimate outcast, scorned even among outsiders, in a valley of fanatically religious Ukulites, Euchrid bears his mother's beatings, his father's inturned indifference, and the hatred and loathing of an entire town. Euchrid's increasingly fractured mind teems with words and horrible angelic visions, narrated by his silent Southern drawl. (To wit, Cave phonetically renders the boy-narrator's "I" as "Ah.") Raised to inevitable madness in this world of inbreeding, moonshine, and fanaticism, Euchrid will exact his terrible vengeance on the people who have made his life one of nearly unrelenting pain.
The lyrics of some of the songs from the first few albums of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (From Her to Eternity, The Firstborn Is Dead and Your Funeral... My Trial), are extensions of the ideas represented in the novel. The title comes from the Bible, the Book of Numbers 22:23, where Balaam does not see the angel of the Lord but his donkey does.
One particularly present theme is Man's inhumanity to man and their innate ability to fear what they do not understand. Euchrid is constantly under siege from those who perceive difference as a threat. The only other character to see Euchrid as something more than a dumb beast is Beth (and to a certain extent, her mother). Though Beth is taken into the fold by the Ukulites, she too is different from the rest. There is a strange transference of thought throughout the novel; her difference is seen by the community as godly, while Beth sees Euchrid as godly.
Cave did many public readings before and after the publication of the book, sometimes accompanied by various musicians. A selection of readings was released as a bonus 12" with the original release of the Tender Prey album: "Mah Sanctum", "Lamentation", "One Autumn" and "Animal Static". In 1998, Mute records released these same four chapters, together with music by Mick Harvey and Ed Clayton-Jones on CD as "And The Ass Saw The Angel" (EUCHRID1).