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Welcome goonlings to the Awful Book of the Month! In this thread, we choose one work of Resources: Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org - A database of over 17000 books available online. If you can suggest books from here, that'd be the best. SparkNotes - http://www.sparknotes.com/ - A very helpful Cliffnotes-esque site, but much better, in my opinion. If you happen to come in late and need to catch-up, you can get great character/chapter/plot summaries here.  For recommendations on future material, suggestions on how to improve the club, or just a general rant, feel free to PM me. Past Books of the Month [for BOTM before 2014, refer to archives] 2014: January: Ursula K. LeGuin - The Left Hand of Darkness February: Mikhail Bulgalov - Master & Margarita March: Richard P. Feynman -- Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! April: James Joyce -- Dubliners May: Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- 100 Years of Solitude June: Howard Zinn -- A People's History of the United States July: Mary Renault -- The Last of the Wine August: Barbara Tuchtman -- The Guns of August September: Jane Austen -- Pride and Prejudice October: Roger Zelazny -- A Night in the Lonesome October November: John Gardner -- Grendel December: Christopher Moore -- The Stupidest Angel 2015: January: Italo Calvino -- Invisible Cities February: Karl Ove Knausgaard -- My Struggle: Book 1. March: Knut Hamsun -- Hunger April: Liu Cixin -- 三体 ( The Three-Body Problem) May: John Steinbeck -- Cannery Row June: Truman Capote -- In Cold Blood (Hiatus) August: Ta-Nehisi Coates -- Between the World and Me September: Wilkie Collins -- The Moonstone October:Seth Dickinson -- The Traitor Baru Cormorant November:Svetlana Alexievich -- Voices from Chernobyl December: Michael Chabon -- Gentlemen of the Road 2016: January: Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the Dog!) by Jerome K. Jerome February:The March Up Country (The Anabasis) of Xenophon March: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco April: Plain Tales from the Hills by Rudyard Kipling May: Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima June:The Vegetarian by Han Kang July:Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees August: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov September:Siddhartha by Herman Hesse October:Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse November:Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain December: It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis 2017: January: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut February: The Plague by Albert Camus March: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin April: The Conference of the Birds (مقامات الطیور) by Farid ud-Din Attar May: I, Claudius by Robert Graves June: Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky July: Ficcionies by Jorge Luis Borges August: My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber September: The Peregrine by J.A. Baker Current:  Blackwater Vol. I: The Flood by Michael McDowell Book available here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0755KSSVD/ref=docs-os-doi_0 That's a link to the whole series for ten bucks; we're just reading the first unless people want to go further, which people should consider themselves free to do. About the book: quote:You are now entering Perdido, Alabama. It’s a small town, just a short trip northeast of Mobile. There isn’t much to remark about it. People are neighborly, for the most part, and everybody seems to know everybody else’s business. Perdido has all the charms you might expect from a little Southern town in the early-to-mid 20th century, and of course that means it has the usual flaws, too. It helps, for example, if you’re white. It helps if you come from money. And, most importantly, it helps if you know what questions not to ask. Because like any small town, Perdido has its secrets. http://www.valancourtbooks.com/blackwater-1983.html Mel Mudkiper posted:So I am reading this book that was described to me as Faulkner with river-monsters and as the 100 Years of Solitude of Paperback Horror novels and I thought those were ridiculous statements so I found a copy and holy poo poo its actually Faulkner with river-monsters. Runcible Cat posted:It's a 6-volume series that's basically one of those Southern Gothic family sagas, with added kinda-Lovecraftian-Deep-Ones-except-rivers-I-guess. Innsmouth-on-the-Mississippi if Lovecraft had been a Southern writer and not an atrocious racist? quote:
quote:Michael McDowell wrote prolifically—his first published novel appeared in 1979, and he published four more, including the much-lauded haunted house novel The Elementals, before Blackwater appeared in 1983—but the books did not stay in print for very long. This doesn’t appear to have troubled him much. In an interview with Douglas E. Winter, contained in the book Faces of Fear, McDowell said, “I am a commercial writer and I’m proud of that. I am writing things to be put in the bookstore next month. I think it is a mistake to try to write for the ages.” About the Author Franchescanado posted:Isn't that by the dude who wrote Beetlejuice? Themes Southern-ness! quote:The maenad loves—and furiously defends herself against love’s importunity. She loves—and kills. From the depths of sex, from the dark, primeval past of the battles of the sexes arise this splitting and bifurcating of the female soul, wherein woman first finds the wholeness and primal integrity of her feminine consciousness. So tragedy is born of the female essence’s assertion of itself as a dyad. "Pulp Fiction" and genre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztz_Vr9uHk  Pacing This thing is long as balls so jump in and drown yourselves, then post about it. Please bookmark the thread to encourage discussion. References and Further Reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelpie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rusalka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naiad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maenad Final Note: Thanks, and I hope everyone enjoys the book! Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Oct 4, 2017 |
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Oct 4, 2017 13:46
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Dope, I hope the length doesn't scare people off
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Oct 4, 2017 13:50
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So, to start this bad boy off, one thing I have found fascinating is that the supernatural is not being used so much for horror or suspense as much as it being used as a critique of the artifice of Southern manners. The first part (originally its own novel) is really more of a social satire than anything else. It seems to be built around the way traditions of Southern geniality were about burying your true self and keeping up a good public image. The only difference between Elinor and any of the other characters is simply that her buried self is different. James is a closeted gay man, Mary-Love is possessive and insecure, Oscar is feeble and indecisive, and they hide these deep character flaws in what is essentially a game of social masquerade. Elinor is not even particularly worse than anyone else, she is hiding like the rest of them. She just happens to be hiding that she is an immortal river monster who feeds on wayward children.
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Oct 4, 2017 13:59
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Well poo poo I'm doing this.
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Oct 4, 2017 15:03
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Got it, will start reading today. The BotM is what the ebook version calls the first part, right?
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Oct 4, 2017 15:16
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anilEhilated posted:Got it, will start reading today. The BotM is what the ebook version calls the first part, right? I think so. I'm just diving into this too. We'll just keep going till we drown.
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Oct 4, 2017 15:23
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They are pretty quick reads. Like ideally the first book is fine, and it only hits about 130 pages in the e-book. I am gonna try to power through the whole thing this week though so buckle the gently caress up EDIT: Interesting note about the publication is that although BLACKWATER is six books in one volume, the books were published once a month over the course of the first half of 1983. So although they were published as six volumes, they were intended to be read relatively close together in time as a singular piece. Hieronymous Alloy posted:I think so. I'm just diving into this too. We'll just keep going till we drown. uuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Mel Mudkiper fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Oct 4, 2017 |
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Oct 4, 2017 15:25
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Mel Mudkiper posted:uuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh We all float down here! Seriously though just a few pages in and I'm already intrigued. Floods are such a powerful story element in southern fiction -- Deliverance, O Brother Where Art Thou -- but usually floods close stories rather than opening them.
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Oct 4, 2017 15:45
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I'll bite. I just read McDowell's The Elementals and it seems he does a good job of making nature kind of horrifying.
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Oct 4, 2017 16:04
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I think the reason this book never caught on is because it was horrendously marketed. It was marketed as a paperback horror novel in the golden age of the genre, and its nothing like a horror novel of the era. So far I kind of reject the label horror overall. There has been one scene in the last 100 pages that might be seen as "horror" and it wasn't even written to be frightening but rather to sort of establish the "rules" of the universe.
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Oct 4, 2017 16:06
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I think the reason this book never caught on is because it was horrendously marketed. I sort of found Elementals to be that way too, though it definitely had horror moments. It was so much more about the sense of place and how it was being taken over by nature and decay than being spoopy-scary though.
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Oct 4, 2017 16:09
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MockingQuantum posted:I sort of found Elementals to be that way too, though it definitely had horror moments. It was so much more about the sense of place and how it was being taken over by nature and decay than being spoopy-scary though. Yeah, like keep in mind Michael McDowell had his books marketed side by side with stuff like    and you can see why he ended up so obscure
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Oct 4, 2017 16:15
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Yeah it's not at all surprising, Elementals was very subtle and understated, and suggested a lot more than it said outright. It's unusual even in the context of most modern horror. And like Blackwater, it's kind of selling it short to call it "just" another horror novel. I'm really excited to see what he does in Blackwater. (haven't started it yet, I have like two chapters left of Handmaid's Tale to finish)
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Oct 4, 2017 16:18
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Mel Mudkiper posted:I think the reason this book never caught on is because it was horrendously marketed. Yeah, I'd go with Southern Gothic, or even magical realism - the supernatural elements are so tied in with the whole milieu and culture.
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Oct 4, 2017 21:20
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Okay after Mel's praise in the lit thread I took the bait on this one. Very readable after the first few chapters but I need to get hooked soon or I don't know if I'll care enough to make the jump to Vol. 2.
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Oct 4, 2017 21:37
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Runcible Cat posted:Yeah, I'd go with Southern Gothic, or even magical realism - the supernatural elements are so tied in with the whole milieu and culture. I'm not sure I would go as far as magical realism if only because the supernatural forces are distinctly foreign to the characters. Absolutely Southern Gothic though.
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Oct 4, 2017 21:43
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This guy gets the South. Little details like the fish not swimming out of their stream beds in the flood, or Elinor Dammert wrapping the silver in felt after polishing.
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Oct 5, 2017 17:37
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The further I get in, I the more I get the feeling Elinor isn't the only monster in town. Might be just getting the Southern locale or anything but when Mary-Love claims that she's against divorce but wouldn't mind Genevieve dying, it's... something. Hell, Elinor is one of the more sympathetic characters in there.
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Oct 5, 2017 22:12
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What's interesting is that Genevieve isn't that bad of a person it seems. She is just honest instead of hiding behind pretense
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Oct 5, 2017 22:19
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Finished book one and I have to admit I am a bit perplexed as to what exactly are the boundaries of what Elinor can do.
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Oct 6, 2017 03:53
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ugh damnit HA i didn't think you'd actually take mel up on this suggestion and now i need to buy and read this drat thing
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Oct 6, 2017 04:37
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Mel Mudkiper posted:So, to start this bad boy off, one thing I have found fascinating is that the supernatural is not being used so much for horror or suspense as much as it being used as a critique of the artifice of Southern manners. The first part (originally its own novel) is really more of a social satire than anything else. It seems to be built around the way traditions of Southern geniality were about burying your true self and keeping up a good public image. The only difference between Elinor and any of the other characters is simply that her buried self is different. James is a closeted gay man, Mary-Love is possessive and insecure, Oscar is feeble and indecisive, and they hide these deep character flaws in what is essentially a game of social masquerade. Elinor is not even particularly worse than anyone else, she is hiding like the rest of them. She just happens to be hiding that she is an immortal river monster who feeds on wayward children. I'm at about 16% on the kindle version and they're dividing up the jewels and one thing I'm really enjoying is how it's mixing this with the horror artifice of "buy in" -- people are complicit, they accept these evils by choosing not to ask questions because not asking gets them what they want too. It's like the opening third of Psycho everyone forgets, where she steals the money and runs and brings the evil on herself. chernobyl kinsman posted:ugh damnit HA i didn't think you'd actually take mel up on this suggestion and now i need to buy and read this drat thing That's how I roll and how I troll
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Oct 6, 2017 05:51
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Mel Mudkiper posted:Finished book one and I have to admit I am a bit perplexed as to what exactly are the boundaries of what Elinor can do. I guess it's too early but I'm really curious about her motivations. I figure she brought the flood on and given her prophecy there won't be any more floods as long as she's alive (and the town will be washed from the face of the Earth right after which seems rather obvious foreshadowing), but what does she get out of it? Human comfort, sense of community? Children? Guess what really irks me is why would a lake monster want to settle in a town, even if she is some kind of embodiment of the river and can't move away from it. e: Sorry if banal, I'm just a genre fiction pleb. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 11:00 on Oct 6, 2017 |
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Oct 6, 2017 10:57
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No, it is an interesting question. I do wonder the same thing. I find it very interesting that the ending to part 1 is genuinely the most horrifying part of the story so far and yet it has absolutely nothing at all to do with the supernatural I also loved the image of Genevieve's head staying attached to the wooden pole as the driver continues on
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Oct 6, 2017 12:16
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anilEhilated posted:Right? I'm starting to think the most malevolent force in town is social convention. Welcome to the South.
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Oct 9, 2017 13:52
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Just popping in here to say I read Blackwater a couple of years ago in its entirety and it owns. McDowell owned. Years later and certain scenes still pop into my head from time to time.
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Oct 9, 2017 14:11
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I'm about 60% in and it's reminding me more of One Hundred Years of Solitude than Faulkner, althugh more in scope than in style; it's turned from interpersonal drama to a community facing new challenges brought by the outside world, with the rivers standing in for the land. Sometimes it's an explicit sacrifice like with the kid Elinor kills and buries in the leevee, sometimes it's Elinor's advice bringing prosperity to the town by seeing WW2 coming; either way, it's riches built on murder even if the characters themselves are blissfully unaware of the fact. Well, that and using kids as a commodity even among the human townsfolk. I find it kind of interesting that while Elinor's motivations and thoughs are still a mystery for the most part, we get a sort of a re-introduction into what her deal is with Frances and the occassional remark about "her family", all in all it makes one wonder just how many of them are supposed to be around. Which probably won't get answered. Thing is, with Frances especially you can see they are really human, just with this tiny murderous quirk. I'd still maintain Mary-Love was a bigger monster than Elinor... Oh, yeah, another thing I've noted: I'm no expert on that period or area but I'd imagine two women running a farm together would generate quite a bit more outrage than it did in the book. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Oct 9, 2017 |
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Oct 9, 2017 14:56
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Khizan posted:Welcome to the South. I honestly didn't think people were still writing this kind of Southern fiction. Which may still be somewhat true since the 1980's were a long time ago now, but the type of South this guy is writing about is the depression-era deep south, the sedate subtle South, not like Pat Conroy style "Boomers in Seersucker" type stuff that seems written for Hollywood adaptation, or (god forbid) the wallowy touristy menopause lit of people like Dorothea Benton Frank. Most successful southern lit today seems to . . . crank up the technicolor to 11, as it were. This is written in sepia. anilEhilated posted:
I'm at the end of the first book but, no, I suspect he gets this right. Gay people have always been around and as long as you were 1) white, 2) well-off, 3) local, and 4) technically closeted, there would have been a level of acceptance. From googling this question though I found this listicle which actually looks interesting : https://www.autostraddle.com/7-must-read-books-on-queer-history-and-identity-in-the-south-327102/ You can find the "Sage Conversation" short story here: http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/longstreet/georgia.html in relevant part: quote:"The strangest match," said Ned, resuming the conversation with a parson's gravity, "that ever I heard of, was that of George Scott and David Snow: two most excellent men, who became so much attached to each other that they actually got married - " That's published 1840 though, so . . . eighty years before our scene opens. Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 16:40 on Oct 9, 2017 |
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Oct 9, 2017 15:14
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son of a bitch this really is faulkner with river monsters
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Oct 9, 2017 16:42
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chernobyl kinsman posted:son of a bitch this really is faulkner with river monsters I know right
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Oct 9, 2017 17:15
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quote:
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Oct 9, 2017 21:26
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http://toomuchhorrorfiction.blogspot.com/2015/06/michael-mcdowell-interview-1985.html  
Hieronymous Alloy fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Oct 9, 2017 |
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Oct 9, 2017 22:18
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Too much horror fiction is how I found out about this book btw
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Oct 9, 2017 22:29
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i guess i should read that blog as horror is my pet genre and it is extremely difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff
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Oct 10, 2017 00:55
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Not sure I have a ton of original insight to add, but drat this books nails the texture and authentic feel it aims for. I have a little bit of peripheral experience with one of the grand families down by Savannah and they map onto this story pretty easily. Close enough I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that a generation or two back, river monsters ran that family as well. I empathized really, really hard with Early Haskew until we find out he is just as awful as the rest of the Caskeys. The real horror for me, beyond the typical banal evils of "polite society," turned out to be the children as currency and weapons theme. Even lonely, closeted James, whom I previously liked and sympathized with, turns out to be pretty monstrous. The offhanded jokes about being lonely and dipping down to buy a young boy at the Ben Franklin for $1.59 to keep him company hit pretty hard.
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Oct 10, 2017 04:05
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Sounds like this should be extremely my poo poo, will dive in once done with current book.
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Oct 10, 2017 08:55
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Just picked this up and am only up to about chapter 3 in the first "book." I am definitely enjoying it so far, the author seems to be doing a good job of building up tension, we are getting a story of a town rebuilding after a catastrophic flood but at the same time something just doesn't seem right. All the descriptions of scenery seem to be, on the surface, very pretty. Lots of river scenes and walking through the country scenes, but something about them makes me feel a bit of dread. Maybe the constant mention of steam coming off of everything and the smell? I'm not sure if it's just me knowing that this is a horror book and expecting to find horror, or the author just being really subtle about hinting that stuff is not quite right in Perdido.
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Oct 11, 2017 01:30
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Finished it; not quite sure what to make of it except my impression that Elinor was a lot more human than most of the actual humans in the book stayed until the end - and that's despite her being an unrepentant killer. The second half, after Mary-Love dies really reminded me more of Marquez than Faulkner and felt a lot weaker, but that's probably just me.
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Oct 11, 2017 07:41
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drat man you really warpathed through it
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Oct 11, 2017 12:30
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I'm a fast reader. Never stopping to think about what I just read helps. Also keeps me reading genre. Looking forward to see others' reactions and all the themes I inevitably missed. Hopefully there will be some. e: To be fair I was spending a lot of time on trains over the last weeks. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Oct 11, 2017 |
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Oct 11, 2017 12:55
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