Right, well you all know the rules so let's just get on with it, shall we?
H. P. Lovecraft, The Whisperer in Darkness: Collected Stories Volume One
This may not make me many friends in the weird world, but I found it unconscionably hard to get into Lovecraft. And I've not made it yet - to my mind he has neither the genius for neatly expressed ideas of Poe nor the wild exuberant madness of, say, M. P. Shiel. Machen gets a namecheck in several of the stories in this collection but that only served to remind me how considerably superior
old AM is when it comes to narrative. I'm not saying these stories were bad; they may possibly be brilliant, but let's just say the veil has not yet been lifted away from my benighted ignorance. Call me a philistine (I am), and I will persevere with HPL, but I found these hard-going and, frequently, a bit dull. Having said all THAT - I did find some of the description breathtakingly rich and marvellous, almost literally fascinating in that it well-nigh seemed to cast some sort of lyrical spell over the reader. Greatly written, what is written is not great - at least not to this poor reader. Sorry, HPL devotees. 4
Various, The Intelligent Man's Guide to Bog Graffiti
I know, I know, from the sublime to the ridiculous - but these were a welcome bit of light relief after HP's brain-taxingly horrific excursions. One problem with this particular book - which I picked up for 10p from a bargain bin outside a charity shop on Tuesday - is that some of the wall scrawlings were repeated - sometimes even whole pages or 'walls', in fact, found themselves turning up again later in the book. But it's only a bit of fun, isn't it? Well, yes and no. Though many are understandably obsessed with sex ('Sex is very bad for one (but very good for two)', 'That the pill can stop unwanted pregnancy is a popular misconception', etc.), there are some which point to broader philosophical, political, and religious preoccupations. ('America has Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Britain has Margaret Thatcher, no hope and no cash.' That one's showing its age now, but it's still a fine observation!)This may help to make them funnier, but it also means that, when it comes to studying society at a given time, the writing is always on the wall. 10
Philip Larkin, Collected Poems
Between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, Coventry-raised poet-librarian Philip Larkin wrote some of the best poems of the twentieth century. In three key collections, The Less Deceived (1955), The Whitsun Weddings (1964), and High Windows (1974), he made himself one of the most beloved poets of Britain, so much so that when his friend Betjeman died in 1984, he was asked to be Poet Laureate (an offer he declined). Like Morrissey's lyrics, I think a lot of people assume that Larkin's poetry is miserable: Larkin's a grumpy old man, an anti-social sod, the least cheery soul at the party. True: but he also produced, like Morrissey, words that speak to so many people because, while treating dark subjects such as death (repeatedly, most famously in 'Aubade'), ambulances (in 'Ambulances') and hospitals (in 'The Building'), rape ('Deceptions'), and work ('Toads' and 'Toads Revisited'), he is capable of being incredibly funny (the line 'A tuberous cock and balls' always makes me chuckle). He once said that a poem should encapsulate an experience peculiar to the poet, rather than try to express what it thinks everyone usually feels. This approach makes for very funny, very stylistically accomplished poems (his skill with verse forms, run-on lines, and syntax is unmatched by any other modern poet), but also very sincere ones. But there really is an embarrassment of riches here. Go and see for yourselves, if you're not familiar with Larkin. 11
Next week? Well, I've only gone and managed to pick myself up several great books this week. Saying no more for the time being. Reviews to follow.
Don't worry, I am one person at least who largely agrees with you about Lovecraft. I don't dislike his work and I have a particular affection for some stories as they were my introduction to weird fiction many years ago, but I now find him rather overrated, especially when compared to Machen and Blackwood.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kai - it's good to know I'm not alone re Lovecraft. I kept wondering if there were something I wasn't getting. With Poe (at least this is how I see it) I think you just walk in and there you are, you're largely there. With Machen and Blackwood there's a bit of forcing to be done, but entry isn't too difficult. Lovecraft seems to have barred the door pretty fast - but maybe little by little it can be broken down. I think I feel similarly about Robert E. Howard to how you now feel about HPL - he's good in places, but why I worshipped him nightly as I once did, I don't know!
ReplyDeleteI think the thing people primarily rate Lovecraft for is the creation of the Cthulhu Mythos, which even as fusion of Machen's tales of atavistic paganism and William Hope Hodgson's cosmic horror, was very original for its time and has proved immensely influential. This is usually the best "hook" with which to try and get to grips with his work, but whilst I certainly love the idea of it, his lack of skill with narrative or characterisation means that the execution is sadly rather clumsy.
ReplyDeleteGood point - and I love the idea of the Necronomicon too, I have to say. But yes, I completely agree about poor narrative and characterisation - this is what rendered the stories themselves sometimes rather dull to read, for me. But I'll give the second volume a shot (when I've sufficiently recovered!).
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