What are you reading now? (Chapter 2)

[tattuchu]

Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. McCammon, for those that aren't familiar with him, is usually classified as a horror writer and indeed much of his work is horrific, but most is more Southern Gothic with tinges of spirits and spooks rather than outright horror. He's a fine writer, with an almost Faulkneresque grasp of the slow cadences of Southern speech and life. Boy's Life is a coming of age story about a group of 12 year old boys set in the strange little town of Zephyr, Alabama. There are supernatural overtones and a rich cast of characters, including an ex Nazi war criminal passing as the town doctor, the habitually naked son of the town's richest citizen and the Reverend who thinks the Beach Boys are actually demons trying to turn the town's children into sex-crazed delinquents. Dogs are truly a boy's best friend, bicycles are mystic steeds, school can be a dangerous minefield and adults are incomprehensible. It's reminiscent of King's The Body, but I think McCammon is the better writer, he speaks to my own childhood in such a recognizable and true voice. I definitely recommend it.

Got this. It is so poorly written that I can barely force myself to read it. I'm trying really hard to give it a chance because of your recommendation, though, so not giving up just yet.

[Svartalf]

Reading The Throat by Peter Straub, and after that I'm finishing Koko y the same guy... The man is seriously twisted, but in his case that's a good thing.

[cronus]

Chris Foss : Definitive.

Nice pics who needs words?...inspiring stuff and some I recall from a wasted youth on geek sci-fi paperbacks.

[laklak]

Got this. It is so poorly written that I can barely force myself to read it. I'm trying really hard to give it a chance because of your recommendation, though, so not giving up just yet.

Really? I enjoyed it. Maybe his style isn't to everyone's taste. I love Southern Gothic, maybe you have to be a Southerner.

I'm rereading Hyperion by Dan Simmons, I want to read the 4 volumes of the Hyperion Cantos but need to refresh my memory.

[tattuchu]

Got this. It is so poorly written that I can barely force myself to read it. I'm trying really hard to give it a chance because of your recommendation, though, so not giving up just yet.

Really? I enjoyed it. Maybe his style isn't to everyone's taste. I love Southern Gothic, maybe you have to be a Southerner.

It's not so much style, it's more the way it's written. For instance, the story is told from the perspective of the eleven year old boy (at least he's 11 at the start) but he has him saying things and describing things in a way that no person that age would. He also has him describing things he can't possibly know, like what his father sees when he jumps in after the murder victim handcuffed to the wheel of that sinking car. There's no way Cory can possibly know what his father is seeing, and yet he describes everything in detail anyway. Another example is when his mom is speaking on the phone. Cory describes the conversation on both ends, though of course it's impossible for him to know what the person on the other end of the line is saying.
The author also uses quite a lot of analogies. And while I enjoy a colorful and poetic use of the language, his analogies often come across to me as clumsy and awkward.
Another problem I have is that the author is needlessly descriptive. I understand setting the scene and all, and painting a picture for the reader. But Jesus Christ I don't need to know what color eyes every single character has and such. It's irrelevant. It doesn't matter, and I don't fucking care. And the author also launches into these in-depth descriptions without any preamble. A character starts speaking. Then the author cuts to a very long description in the same paragraph. And then, just as jarringly, switches back to the dialogue. It's not like Cory thinks to himself, "I'd never seen a whore before. I'm not sure what I was expecting, if I was expecting any certain thing, but she sure was pretty despite her potty mouth," and then Cory goes on to describe her. No, it's just the author interrupting the flow of the dialogue with a completely incongruent bit of needless description.
And for someone who likes to describe so much, the author isn't so good at describing certain things. I have to re-read some passages several times before I can work out what the hell is going on. I'm not sure if it's because the author has a Southern way of speaking, and maybe particular words aren't used the same way we use them here up north, or if the author's writing is simply clumsy and ineffective. It's difficult to tell.

Anyway, sorry to sound so negative. This book is obviously very special to you, and I do respect your opinion. So, like I said, I'll continue to give a chance and hope it wins me over.

[SteveB]

Tatt's next job is book critic.

[tattuchu]

Tatt's next job is book critic.

It's easy because I hate everything

One other thing about the book that I find extraordinarily irritating is the boy constantly addressing his father as "sir". That is absolutely not the fault of the author. I know it's a Southern thing. I just find it offensive on a personal level. It's your father, not a fucking drill sergeant. Call him Dad or Daddy or Pa or Pappa or whatever. Calling your father sir is just wrong. And it's not like the character in the book calls his mother "ma'am". He's never that formal with his mother. So why is he with his father? What's his mother, some kind of piece of shit that she doesn't deserve the same respect?

[hadespussercats]

Tatt's next job is book critic.

It's easy because I hate everything

One other thing about the book that I find extraordinarily irritating is the boy constantly addressing his father as "sir". That is absolutely not the fault of the author. I know it's a Southern thing. I just find it offensive on a personal level. It's your father, not a fucking drill sergeant. Call him Dad or Daddy or Pa or Pappa or whatever. Calling your father sir is just wrong. And it's not like the character in the book calls his mother "ma'am". He's never that formal with his mother. So why is he with his father? What's his mother, some kind of piece of shit that she doesn't deserve the same respect?

Well, whenever I've encountered that scenario, it's because the father would beat the crap out of the son if he didn't say 'sir.' While the mom was more comforting and comfortable ( but also cowed by Dad.) Haven't read this book, though.

[JimC]

Re-reading "Puck of Pook's Hill" by Kipling...

[Svartalf]

Wonderful idea, if only I remembered where I did stash it.

I can't get my mind on Straub, so I guess I'm going to try reading some Robert E Howard.

[cronus]

Winter King : Thomas Penn

Little words, almost indigestible. Will my wife read it?

[klr]

I bought this "coffee table" book today in Dealz (a discount chain) for 1.49. That's 1 Euro, 49 cents. For pocket money, in others words - the list price is about 20 times higher:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pantanal-South- ... 845378199/



Smug? Not me.

[klr]

... and I got this for the same price two weeks ago:

Code: Select all

http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Saint-Lô-Hedgerow-Hell-July/dp/2352500354

[Jason]

'Σ = ᴨᴧᴨ' - A book I'm writing.... θ

[SteveB]

I'm reading a book my aunt wrote. It's kinda boring. Stories about her being a pharmacist. The cover isn't so bad, though.