Dennis Cooper's 'Dieu Jr.' Explores Grief Through Video Games

In his 2005 novel 'Dieu Jr.,' Dennis Cooper departs from his signature themes of gay adolescent murder and sexual violence to explore a father's grief following his son's death in a car accident. The protagonist, Jim, attempts to connect with his deceased son through the boy's favorite Nintendo video game, heavily influenced by 'Banjo-Kazooie.' Jim builds a monument in his garden based on his son's drawing, which becomes a local curiosity. The novel marks a shift from Cooper's earlier George Miles cycle—five novels (Closer, Frisk, Try, Guide, Period) written to maintain contact with his deceased lover, George Miles, who committed suicide in 1997. Cooper learned of Miles's death after completing Guide, realizing he had been addressing his books to a dead person. 'Dieu Jr.' continues Cooper's exploration of erasure and the 'as if' of fiction, with the father as narrator and accidental killer. The novel's final paragraph repeats the phrase 'on va dire' ('let's say'), underscoring the theme of fictional reality. Laurent Goumarre's article in artpress discusses the novel alongside Bret Easton Ellis's 'Lunar Park,' noting both authors' departure from their obsessive cycles and their adolescent relationship with death.