on June 27, 1969, more than a month before the Tate murders were perpetrated by the Manson Family on August 8, 1969. Character analysis Franklin "Hogg" Hargus Michael Hemmingson wrote in the journal The Review of Contemporary Fiction that Hogg, Literary significance and criticism Despite the book's infamous reputation, several respected authors have given it their endorsement. Norman Mailer, for instance, said "There is no question that Hogg by Samuel R. Delany is a serious book with literary merit." J. G. Ballard, prolific speculative fiction author and elder statesman of transgressive literature, also praised Delany's work, citing the medium of pornography as being the "most political form of fiction." Author Dennis Cooper said in his collection Smothered in Hugs: Essays, Interviews, Feedback, and Obituaries that "Hogg is tiresome and indulgent" and that the "pace is molasses-slow". However, he also goes on to say that "the book is a highly charged object...[and] that's reason enough to recommend it." In the preface to a later edition of "Smothered in Hugs," Cooper writes, "I now think Samuel Delany's "Hogg" is a great novel, and I don't know why I didn't realize that upon first reading." Jeffrey A. Tucker, associate professor of English at the University of Rochester, comments in his critical study A sense of wonder: Samuel R. Delany, race, identity and difference that Hogg "gave expression to the author's hostility toward a heterosexist society, an anger that had no socially constructive outlet prior to the modern Gay Rights movement." References Further reading External links 1995 American novels 1990s LGBT novels Novels about prostitution Novels by Samuel Delany American LGBT novels African-American novels Novels about ephebophilia Novels about necrophilia Pedophilia in literature Novels about rape Incest in fiction BDSM literature Self-harm in fiction Obscenity controversies in literature Novels about child sexual abuse