Will Self's Cock refused to leave my hands upon opening it, probably for the worst. The story is jam-packed with dark satire, witty metaphors, and a thousand ways to feel bad about being a male, although I do not think this was the intention of Self. Teeming with postmodern ideals, Self socially satirizes acronyms asking to be, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or NHS. The story takes its reader on a path of fluctuating emotions: joy, disgust, arousal, and its antonym. As we witness the path of manhood that dawns upon Carol, we notice more than just a physical change. She develops a sexual drive strong enough to rape her husband, masturbate until she bleeds, and ultimately, manipulate people in order to satisfy her cravings.
Self's writing style is different than that of most Transgressive writers. The voice of each character is individual, as is the narrator. The tone, not yet colloquial, but not too formal either. Self uses this to his advantage for his satire, which is not to be forgotten. Self is poking fun at gender, at manhood, at womanhood. It's no surprise that Carol's transformation manifests itself into something far more than just physical. Her Metamorphosis enables her to escape her life as a submissive wife, and reverse the roles as she "climbs on top" of her husband (who at this point, may very well be her [his] wife) and sodomizes him.
Self does what any important satirical writer does, he attacks our weak-points (masturbation, sex, alcoholism, fantasies, etc.). He does so in a manner that not only heightens the awareness of his reader, but allows him or her to laugh at themselves, hate themselves, and finally, put down the book with scrambled emotions and ideas.
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