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belated 2020 reading thread -
the buried giant, kazuo ishiguro - reminded me more of wai ashes of time more than i would've expected. genre, memory, ishiguro confronting violence more head on than he has before i think. more and more i admire how he sometimes risks embarassment
the buried giant, kazuo ishiguro - reminded me more of wai ashes of time more than i would've expected. genre, memory, ishiguro confronting violence more head on than he has before i think. more and more i admire how he sometimes risks embarassment
the green knight, iris murdoch -
late murdoch, very long, many characters, lots of repetition & an almost studied disinterest in sentence for sentence elegance. but somehow convincing for me - unknowable spiritual crisis as posh family drama of attempted murder. it's funny!
late murdoch, very long, many characters, lots of repetition & an almost studied disinterest in sentence for sentence elegance. but somehow convincing for me - unknowable spiritual crisis as posh family drama of attempted murder. it's funny!
the mad and the bad, jean-patrick manchette -
the wild growing violence of this, and the sharpness of the writing, is great but easily the weakest of the manchettes i've read. first time i fully prefer the jacques tardi version.
the wild growing violence of this, and the sharpness of the writing, is great but easily the weakest of the manchettes i've read. first time i fully prefer the jacques tardi version.
city primeval, elmore leonard -
leonard seems clumsier w/ his researched detroit western than in his westerns. accumulated detail is fascinating in the moment but feels thin, the mean anti-climax climax notwithstanding. not sure why they included this in loa book over killshot.
leonard seems clumsier w/ his researched detroit western than in his westerns. accumulated detail is fascinating in the moment but feels thin, the mean anti-climax climax notwithstanding. not sure why they included this in loa book over killshot.
three act tragedy, agatha christie -
experiments more boldly w/detective story framework than the overpraised ackroyd. everyone knows what kind of story they are in, and acts accordingly, until the plot is undermined by venality.
experiments more boldly w/detective story framework than the overpraised ackroyd. everyone knows what kind of story they are in, and acts accordingly, until the plot is undermined by venality.
charterhouse of parma, stendhal -
more disconnected and picaresque than i expected - it swings wildly between movements with sometimes seems like next to no connective tissue - but somehow very convincing in the moment. i like the version gracq describes when he writes about it
more disconnected and picaresque than i expected - it swings wildly between movements with sometimes seems like next to no connective tissue - but somehow very convincing in the moment. i like the version gracq describes when he writes about it
the people in the castle, joan aiken -
not a convincing selection, most of these are clever, or cheap sentimental. few, "listening" most of all, are kind of fascinating, refusing structure or catharsis in favor of piling on images. feels like grade school shirley jackson.
not a convincing selection, most of these are clever, or cheap sentimental. few, "listening" most of all, are kind of fascinating, refusing structure or catharsis in favor of piling on images. feels like grade school shirley jackson.
brothel in rosenstrasse, michael moorcock
end of century sexual decadence pastiche, both cruel in dismantling the narrator's beliefs and a little too indulgent. arty textured moorcock always ends up being much less interesting than tossed off commercial genre moorcock
end of century sexual decadence pastiche, both cruel in dismantling the narrator's beliefs and a little too indulgent. arty textured moorcock always ends up being much less interesting than tossed off commercial genre moorcock
carmen dog, carol emshwiller
women start turning into animals, animals start turning into women, pooch just wants to sing opera - skirts close to uncomfortable gender essentialism but carnival of complete social disruption, & sharpness of emshwiller's sentences is very moving
women start turning into animals, animals start turning into women, pooch just wants to sing opera - skirts close to uncomfortable gender essentialism but carnival of complete social disruption, & sharpness of emshwiller's sentences is very moving
the secret commonwealth, phillip pullman
moving a fiction about adolescence into story about adulthood is necessarily confusing, but even then not sure what he's going for here - feels like 1/2 a book but even then bloat of incident is overwhelming & leads nowhere (so far)
moving a fiction about adolescence into story about adulthood is necessarily confusing, but even then not sure what he's going for here - feels like 1/2 a book but even then bloat of incident is overwhelming & leads nowhere (so far)
trafalgar, angelica gorodischer
linked traveler's stories, like calvino invisible cities told from frumpy provincial argentine cafe. joy of the voice is everything here, and slyly turns into something odd & kind of beautiful by the end...
linked traveler's stories, like calvino invisible cities told from frumpy provincial argentine cafe. joy of the voice is everything here, and slyly turns into something odd & kind of beautiful by the end...
the great and secret show, clive barker
my intro to barker's writing - nice to see what all those early vertigo writers were pulling from. some very good stuff here but hopelessly extended & leans too much into the worst kingisms. would like to see anime version i guess.
my intro to barker's writing - nice to see what all those early vertigo writers were pulling from. some very good stuff here but hopelessly extended & leans too much into the worst kingisms. would like to see anime version i guess.
the beast in view, margaret millar
very tight, very mean novel of suspense with great use of poison anonymous phone caller conceit. my first millar, and very impressed - some of her sentences come out of nowhere in a way that is genuinely surprising.
very tight, very mean novel of suspense with great use of poison anonymous phone caller conceit. my first millar, and very impressed - some of her sentences come out of nowhere in a way that is genuinely surprising.
mischief, charlotte armstrong
guess i should've expected a writer adapted twice by chabrol to go play tough but even then it hits hard when the title drops late in the book. that she keeps constant child endangerment as lest of the suspense thumbscrews is impressive.
guess i should've expected a writer adapted twice by chabrol to go play tough but even then it hits hard when the title drops late in the book. that she keeps constant child endangerment as lest of the suspense thumbscrews is impressive.
the blunderer, patricia highsmith
rough even by highsmith standards - the guy who savagely kills his wife in first few pages comes as most sympathetic. just an awfully preordained channel towards doom. title becomes blackly, awfully comic as full scope of book comes into view.
rough even by highsmith standards - the guy who savagely kills his wife in first few pages comes as most sympathetic. just an awfully preordained channel towards doom. title becomes blackly, awfully comic as full scope of book comes into view.
the poison oracle, peter dickinson
should win some prize as most high concept mystery novel i've read - science fiction at some point. mix of orientalism, post-colonial critique, ethnography & whodunnit mechanics a bizarre fit. not sure what to make of it but nothing like it.
should win some prize as most high concept mystery novel i've read - science fiction at some point. mix of orientalism, post-colonial critique, ethnography & whodunnit mechanics a bizarre fit. not sure what to make of it but nothing like it.
suldrun's garden, jack vance
a masterpiece i think? this picaresque, dispersed plot movement is hard to keep up even apart from this disorienting place setting. rivette duelle vibes for magic stuff. & vance always has the right word/phrase. curious where sequence goes from here.
a masterpiece i think? this picaresque, dispersed plot movement is hard to keep up even apart from this disorienting place setting. rivette duelle vibes for magic stuff. & vance always has the right word/phrase. curious where sequence goes from here.
the green pearl, jack vance
typical mid-series problem of having too many plot points to move around, but this is really undone by not having the two great female characters (suldrun & madouc) present; the language and energy stands but as solo book feels more like genre exercise
typical mid-series problem of having too many plot points to move around, but this is really undone by not having the two great female characters (suldrun & madouc) present; the language and energy stands but as solo book feels more like genre exercise
madouc, jack vance
changeling princess madouc takes over & everything brightens & gets stranger. course doom is in background (atlantis sinks after all) but for now the arthurian myths are sidelined, picaresque detail adds up in mad ways, a fascinating young woman gets her way.
changeling princess madouc takes over & everything brightens & gets stranger. course doom is in background (atlantis sinks after all) but for now the arthurian myths are sidelined, picaresque detail adds up in mad ways, a fascinating young woman gets her way.
artforum, cesar aira
waiting and trying to get your thought process to work the way you want it to. a very stupid sentence to describe a small and complicated book but there you are.
waiting and trying to get your thought process to work the way you want it to. a very stupid sentence to describe a small and complicated book but there you are.
let me tell you, shirley jackson
very spotty posthumous collection, but some of the short pieces are genuinely unsettling
very spotty posthumous collection, but some of the short pieces are genuinely unsettling
count brass (w/champion of garathorm & quest for tanelorn), michael moorcock
count brass takes tragic hawkmoon sequence & suffuses it with ghostly sense of loss & cyclical futility; next 2 books tie everything to increasingly tedious eternal champion story & throw it all away.
count brass takes tragic hawkmoon sequence & suffuses it with ghostly sense of loss & cyclical futility; next 2 books tie everything to increasingly tedious eternal champion story & throw it all away.
the dying earth, jack vance
the swiftian satire bits don’t really work but this version of sword & sorcery adventure in bleak landscape of shifting rules is fascinating. a genuine sense of cruelty here and Vance fake courtly language is kind of fascinating
the swiftian satire bits don’t really work but this version of sword & sorcery adventure in bleak landscape of shifting rules is fascinating. a genuine sense of cruelty here and Vance fake courtly language is kind of fascinating
eyes of the overworld, jack vance
all the verbal & narrative invention of dying earth but here linked to total black joke plot of unrelenting, casual cruelty; this is one of those boooks were the incidental body count created by putative hero becomes text. Wonderful mean ending
all the verbal & narrative invention of dying earth but here linked to total black joke plot of unrelenting, casual cruelty; this is one of those boooks were the incidental body count created by putative hero becomes text. Wonderful mean ending
a king alone, jean giono
giono one of my favorite authors & this my favorite of his i've read yet - murder in the french countryside confused by time and memory. blood in the snow, voices in the trees, lives ticking away into nothing.
giono one of my favorite authors & this my favorite of his i've read yet - murder in the french countryside confused by time and memory. blood in the snow, voices in the trees, lives ticking away into nothing.
death of a unicorn, peter dickinson
one of the absolute strangest takes on the english whodunnit i've ever read - memory, fictional voice, inheritance, cia intrusion into post war magazine publishing and the horrors of the 20th century. petty to say but atonement for grownups
one of the absolute strangest takes on the english whodunnit i've ever read - memory, fictional voice, inheritance, cia intrusion into post war magazine publishing and the horrors of the 20th century. petty to say but atonement for grownups
also small beer press (a publisher i like a lot) saying this is for fans of downton abbey on the back copy is an all time way of shooting yourself in the foot and misunderstanding your audience
machines in the head, anna kavan
curious as to how representative this selection of stories is; the gnomic, shadowy fragments of the early stories are brilliant, the later stories a little less convincing. but the sheer bad vibes intensity of the early work is hard to ignore.
curious as to how representative this selection of stories is; the gnomic, shadowy fragments of the early stories are brilliant, the later stories a little less convincing. but the sheer bad vibes intensity of the early work is hard to ignore.
elidor, alan garner
the narnia dream in a cursed post war austerity britain - the children go to another world to heal by sacrificing a mythic animal, but the sacrifice is grotesque and the children are in a way used and left with nothing. young adult classic!
the narnia dream in a cursed post war austerity britain - the children go to another world to heal by sacrificing a mythic animal, but the sacrifice is grotesque and the children are in a way used and left with nothing. young adult classic!
a life on paper, georges-olivier chateaureynaud
not fully convinced he's a major writer by this selection (wakefield will be 1st to publish one of his novels soon) but love the careful, almost formal voice pushing towards the unsayable. best of the stories are very strong.
not fully convinced he's a major writer by this selection (wakefield will be 1st to publish one of his novels soon) but love the careful, almost formal voice pushing towards the unsayable. best of the stories are very strong.
howard who?, howard waldrop
no matter how well intentioned the racial ventriloquism of some of these stories wears poorly, as does the '50s fanzine kid sensibility. but 'ugly chickens' is kind of undeniable.
no matter how well intentioned the racial ventriloquism of some of these stories wears poorly, as does the '50s fanzine kid sensibility. but 'ugly chickens' is kind of undeniable.
labrava, elmore leonard
leoard is best when the stakes are seemingly low, and this weird florida self-blackmail plot romance is one of the better arguments for him as important crime writer
leoard is best when the stakes are seemingly low, and this weird florida self-blackmail plot romance is one of the better arguments for him as important crime writer
glitz, elmore leonard
love the puerto rico/atlantic city settings and some of the more baroque plotting, leonard law enforcement characters are always his worst and the central relationship feels like dull practice for the great killshot.
love the puerto rico/atlantic city settings and some of the more baroque plotting, leonard law enforcement characters are always his worst and the central relationship feels like dull practice for the great killshot.
freaky deaky, elmore leonard
genuinely unpleasant book, as always the drawing lines fro chaos plotting is great but there is something mean and sour here, not even counting gross treatment of sexual assault.
genuinely unpleasant book, as always the drawing lines fro chaos plotting is great but there is something mean and sour here, not even counting gross treatment of sexual assault.
a fairly honourable defeat, iris murdoch
drawing room farce, mostly dialogue & almost metronome precise scene/chapter progression, sharp & funny until expected tragic end. least interesting murdoch i've read but simon/axel one of the most convincing married couples in fiction
drawing room farce, mostly dialogue & almost metronome precise scene/chapter progression, sharp & funny until expected tragic end. least interesting murdoch i've read but simon/axel one of the most convincing married couples in fiction
the death ship, b. traven
fiercely anti-capitalist take on nautical adventure, with post-ww1 sailors on ships meant to be sunk for company prophets as the forgotten of the earth. maddeningly repetitive on purpose, very funny, vicious end.
fiercely anti-capitalist take on nautical adventure, with post-ww1 sailors on ships meant to be sunk for company prophets as the forgotten of the earth. maddeningly repetitive on purpose, very funny, vicious end.
there are doors, gene wolfe
wolfe's weird religious subtext becomes text here but the morbid portrait of male middle aged depressive loneliness, noirish intrigue and tricky shifting states of place and being are all great. termite mode wolfe is underrated i think.
wolfe's weird religious subtext becomes text here but the morbid portrait of male middle aged depressive loneliness, noirish intrigue and tricky shifting states of place and being are all great. termite mode wolfe is underrated i think.
the drawing of the dark, tim powers
the west culture vs. east culture coming to head in 1529 siege of vienna is dicey for obvious reasons; it's also brilliant basis for melancholy swashbuckling arthurian fantasy. as usual powers piles on destruction of self and horrible loss
the west culture vs. east culture coming to head in 1529 siege of vienna is dicey for obvious reasons; it's also brilliant basis for melancholy swashbuckling arthurian fantasy. as usual powers piles on destruction of self and horrible loss
the evening plays, richard maxwell
3 difficult plays about death and memory that make a kind of perfect book when put together. some of the greatest of all time "you figure it out" stage directions i've read.
3 difficult plays about death and memory that make a kind of perfect book when put together. some of the greatest of all time "you figure it out" stage directions i've read.
the honjin murders, seishi yokomizo
for all the brilliance of the play on the locked room murder story and introduction of all time great detective kosuke kindaichi but what lingers most is just the horrifying sense of loss and injustice.
for all the brilliance of the play on the locked room murder story and introduction of all time great detective kosuke kindaichi but what lingers most is just the horrifying sense of loss and injustice.
moonwise, greer gilman
cloistered, esoteric take on otherworld fantasy as found sisters friendship and the turning of the seasons. dense, purposefully archaic wordplay that alway is one step away from precious and stronger for the risks taken.
cloistered, esoteric take on otherworld fantasy as found sisters friendship and the turning of the seasons. dense, purposefully archaic wordplay that alway is one step away from precious and stronger for the risks taken.
of cats and elfin, sylvia townsend warner
uncollected fairie stories & early '40s book of cruel folk tale revisions presented as fables told by cats. 3 great stories & the rest somewhat minor, nothing a patch on kingdoms of elfin, but it's great to spend time in this world
uncollected fairie stories & early '40s book of cruel folk tale revisions presented as fables told by cats. 3 great stories & the rest somewhat minor, nothing a patch on kingdoms of elfin, but it's great to spend time in this world
the island under the earth, avram davidson
genuinely bizarre opening book of a never completed trilogy; picaresque plotting, centaurs and non-human creatures, general air of misanthropy and an ending that seems to promise a science fiction justification to it all. weird object
genuinely bizarre opening book of a never completed trilogy; picaresque plotting, centaurs and non-human creatures, general air of misanthropy and an ending that seems to promise a science fiction justification to it all. weird object
the empty space: a haunting, m john harrison
harrison diligently unmaking his own work. the end point of the greatest english language sci fi series of the last decade or two is mostly about modern upper middle class english living environments.
harrison diligently unmaking his own work. the end point of the greatest english language sci fi series of the last decade or two is mostly about modern upper middle class english living environments.
the 3 riddlemaster books, patricia mckillip
feels more like young adult generic fantasy than i'm really interested in, and often feels like elaborate metaphor for being mad at your parent figure.
feels more like young adult generic fantasy than i'm really interested in, and often feels like elaborate metaphor for being mad at your parent figure.
to each his own, leonardo sciasia
always up for someone full of hate for their own social world but this is pretty thin both as crime story and cynical state of the country allegory. no real pulp imagination at all, just "symbolic" gestures.
always up for someone full of hate for their own social world but this is pretty thin both as crime story and cynical state of the country allegory. no real pulp imagination at all, just "symbolic" gestures.
dinner at deviant's palace, tim powers
cult led by cosmic space vampire in ruined LA, creepy vampirism details & great doomed california iconography. powers physical & mental breaking down of his protagonist is as always a great, uncomfortable engine.
cult led by cosmic space vampire in ruined LA, creepy vampirism details & great doomed california iconography. powers physical & mental breaking down of his protagonist is as always a great, uncomfortable engine.
the good apprentice, iris murdoch
drawing room infidelity on 1 hand & gothic mystery on the other, w/various spiritual crises bridging gap between. not played for comedy at all which robs her a signature but buildup of haunted detail (the remote castle!)more than makes up for it
drawing room infidelity on 1 hand & gothic mystery on the other, w/various spiritual crises bridging gap between. not played for comedy at all which robs her a signature but buildup of haunted detail (the remote castle!)more than makes up for it
everville, clive barker
great & secret show had issues but the horror material was deeply felt & the sentence for sentence writing often strong. switch to fanciful material here doesn't suit his strengths at all & the writing throughout feels tv treatment functional.
great & secret show had issues but the horror material was deeply felt & the sentence for sentence writing often strong. switch to fanciful material here doesn't suit his strengths at all & the writing throughout feels tv treatment functional.
southern reach trilogy, jeff vandermeer
more convincing as portrait of mid life crises and work related despair in a granularly realized florida than as a first contact sci-fi narrative, although that's not necessarily a complaint.
more convincing as portrait of mid life crises and work related despair in a granularly realized florida than as a first contact sci-fi narrative, although that's not necessarily a complaint.
berserker trilogy, (pseudonymous) robert holdstock
unreconstructed barbarian sex and violence, w/the cursed hero cast back endlessly through time to try and find a way out of a very unpleasant history/genre.
unreconstructed barbarian sex and violence, w/the cursed hero cast back endlessly through time to try and find a way out of a very unpleasant history/genre.
inspector cadaver, georges simenon
2 hallmarks of a great maigret, he's stuck in provincial place he hates, & not so much a mystery as tangle of unpleasant relationships, but stays minor anyweay. simenon so conscious of formula he announces maigret will "do a maigret" at close.
2 hallmarks of a great maigret, he's stuck in provincial place he hates, & not so much a mystery as tangle of unpleasant relationships, but stays minor anyweay. simenon so conscious of formula he announces maigret will "do a maigret" at close.
no room at the morgue, manchette
manchette attacking the p.i. novel, in the bleak fallout of '68. a sliding scale but surprisingly not as savage as usual; there is almost melancholy at points. & as always just an extraordinary sense of beat for beat genre plotting.
manchette attacking the p.i. novel, in the bleak fallout of '68. a sliding scale but surprisingly not as savage as usual; there is almost melancholy at points. & as always just an extraordinary sense of beat for beat genre plotting.
the way out, ricardo piglia
late piglia, shifting his emilio renzi character into a displaced campus novel, a femme fatale romance, a kind of meditation on the unibomber & different but tied fates of the left in america and argentina. trickier than it seems i think, and...
late piglia, shifting his emilio renzi character into a displaced campus novel, a femme fatale romance, a kind of meditation on the unibomber & different but tied fates of the left in america and argentina. trickier than it seems i think, and...
seems inextricably tied to his weakening health and final preparation of his diaries. also, besides the writing on conrad, wh hudson, etc this has the most unexpected discussion of the band weezer i've read in a novel, for what it's worth.
