Sunday, June 19, 2011

Reading Log

Having been sick, I put Zhivago aside for a week and read three Lovecraft stories. The three stories which I read were definitely better written than earlier stories I had sampled. His prose does still tend in an awkward purple direction, but “Cthulhu” and “Colour” both held my attention and had an enjoyable eeriness to them. “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” seemed silly at times, particularly towards the ending. I could envision animated satire of this piece. Perhaps I have seen too many of Miyazaki’s frog and fish creatures to be creeped out by “the Innsmouth look”—my mind constantly made something comical of them. Still, there were some rewarding moments of tension and eeriness. The ending, though largely predictable, succeeded for the narrator’s final proclamation. Then again, could the writer of the last two paragraphs have written the earlier narrative? The effect succeeds in the moment, but weakens with time. “Colour” sticks with me as being a successful tale.

Tomorrow I return to Zhivago in all it’s joyful sorrow and affirmation of life despite suffering.

2 comments:

  1. Glad to see you still getting plenty of reading done. I'm cutting back on my social networking to do just that, and also, hopefully to get a bit of writing done. I'm feeling as though I may have forgotten how.

    Also, I hope you are feeling better.

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  2. Thanks, Laurie. I am mostly mended, and looking forward to cycling to work tomorrow.

    My thoughts are returning to my reading project, though I think it's up for some modification. I commend Paul for his self discipline. I am never able to stick to my plans, and if I do they usually begin to rankle.

    I can never decide whether that's a trait to accept, or a flaw to overcome.

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Don't be a jerk.