The Review of Contemporary Fiction
dem by William Melvin KelleyBrian Evenson
William Melvin Kelley. dem. Coffee House Press, 2000. 164 pp. Paper: $14.95.
Originally published in 1967, dem is being reissued as part of Coffee House Press’s Black Arts Movement series, and comes equipped with a long introduction by John S. Wright placing the book within the context of the Black Arts Movement. dem is a startling and often menacingly comic novel, with similarities both to the work of Nathaniel West and John Hawkes, as well as to the early novels of Ishmael Reed. Though dedicated to “The black people in (not of) America,” dem is notable for being largely about whites, for being a parody of upper-middle-class white culture (or lack of culture) from the outside. The protagonist, Mitchell Pierce, is a white man working in an advertising agency. Comfortable at work and home, he seems to have no worries, but as the novel progresses his life falls apart. Mitchell goes from feeling on top to ending up duped by his own willed blindnesses. Stylistically, the novel manages to swirl together fantasy and reality, with Mitchell, for instance, imposing the story line of a daily TV soap opera onto a woman he has a one-night stand with. Another chapter consists of a description of Mitchell’s dream. The chapters are short and sharp, the dialogue skirting a line between mimesis and parody. Kelley composes characters who have grotesque elements but who can’t be dismissed—their very grotesqueness reveals a great deal about middle-class white life not only in the sixties but now. It is to Kelley’s credit that he manages, despite Mitchell’s shortcomings, to make him still somewhat sympathetic. Yet it is to Kelley’s credit as well that this sympathy doesn’t come at the expense of the shortcomings; we see Mitchell clearly throughout, flaws and all, with any sympathy we feel held in balance by these flaws. dem is a strong piece of work, one that parodies white society succinctly and cuttingly. [Brian Evenson]