Oedipus Cadet a novel by Willie Smith ISBN 978-0930773-113 ISBN 0-930773-12-8

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Oedipus Cadet is a satire of the middle-American ideal of security and stability. In the 1950s everything only appears stable. But beneath appearances something sinister lurks. It arises from the depths, flirting with, even wholly engaging pure evil. It is a consuming fire, blazing from the furnaces of the libido to enflame your entire being. It is the violation of what you hold most dear. It is PUBESCENT FANTASY! Or is it? Willie Smith blends fantasy and--what? Other fantasy? Let's call it reality--until first you are not certain which is which, and then you know very well. "Oedipus Cadet" is very seductive. It is a book to be experienced rather than read with detachment. After reading this book, you will look at life, yours and others, different, perhaps with sympathy, perhaps with horror. Also, it is a fun book.

"If James Joyce had wanted to write like Dashiell Hammett, and had a sense of humor, he would have written like Willie Smith."

            -- K.O., Reflex Magazine

"Willie Smith has a reason for writing that goes hand in hand with my reason for reading: surviving under a crushing weight by proving daily that it is not a crushing weight. This writing is the only kind of argument that beats universal inertia. Heads roll here."

            -- Jessie Bernstein

"This is a quirkily original novel. . . . The telegraphic, Celinesque style has its own energy . . ."

            -- Kirkus Review