Chillers for the Season

 Selections by Jeanne

I’m not normally a horror reader.  Oh, I used to be, years ago, but that was before Richard Matheson’s Hell House aka The Legend of Hell House scared the bejezus out of me and kept me awake a couple of nights. Since then I’ve been cautious about the scary stuff I read because I am now much older and I need my sleep.  I do still pick up the occasional creepy book, especially this time of year.  Here are some I have enjoyed in the past:

Hell House:  Nope, nope, not going to pick this one up again.  The ending is still too vivid.  Matheson’s tale of a group of investigators who spend the night in an allegedly haunted house may be tame by today’s standards, even be considered stale after a legion of books on this theme, but I don’t care.  I’m not going to read it again.  I’m just going to respect it from a safe distance.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson:  Most people like The Haunting of Hill House, but I was drawn to this story of two sisters who are shunned by most of the town over an incident in the past.  Of course, Jackson's story“The Lottery” is an absolute gem; but I also very much like – and often refer to—“One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts.”  (For a different view of Jackson, by all means pick up her two domestic humor books, Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons. )

The Seeker by R.B. Chesterton: Graduate student Aine Cahill has a journal written by a female relative who was a friend (and perhaps more) to Henry David Thoreau.   As part of her research, Aine has come to Walden Pond to try to find evidence to corroborate Aunt Bonnie’s story but soon she begins to wonder if there is something else lurking in the woods.  This is one of those books that the minute I finished I tried to find someone else to read the book so we could discuss it.  Extremely well written, atmospheric, and with fascinating characters, this is one I recommend often.  (Chesterton is a pen name for Carolyn Haines, who writes the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries, but the Chesterton titles are darker in tone and, so far, are standalones.)

The Other by Thomas Tryon:  Another book I read years ago, but which left a strong impression.  The story revolves around young brothers Niles and Holland who live on a farm in New England.  While twins, the two boys are very different in personality:  Niles is sweet natured and cautious, while Holland is daring and reckless, with a cruel streak. But is he responsible for a series of “accidents” around the farm?  This was Tryon’s first novel, but it was followed by another semi-classic horror tale, Harvest Home. He later turned to historical fiction before his untimely death.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill:  After a number of folks on DorothyL recommended this title, I picked it up.  I soon put it back down again. This tale of a young solicitor sent to a remote village to settle an estate was written in the Victorian first person style and just seemed too slow.  A few months later, I picked it up again and was drawn in immediately.  The setting is vivid: a dark, desolate old mansion out in a salt march with the fog rolling in, and a dampness that seems to seep out of the words and straight into the reader’s bones. The ending is abrupt, shocking.  At first I felt a bit cheated, but I certainly remember it; so it certainly fulfilled its purpose.  By the way, if you’ve seen the movie with Daniel Radcliffe, then you have some idea of the atmosphere of the book.  That part was very well done.  However, the movie took a number of liberties, including changing the ending and turning it into more of a standard horror movie.

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King: This was King’s second novel after Carrie and I liked it better.  For one thing, it was a dandy modern-day vampire story.  Set in Maine, the story revolves around a small town where two strangers have moved into a house with an unsettling reputation.  Then things really start to go downhill. . . . King has said that the inspiration for the book was wondering what would happen if Dracula moved into to a contemporary American village and the parallels are easy to see. 

Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin: Long before the first Game of Thrones book, Martin wrote a number of science fiction/fantasy books, including this gem.  Abner Marsh is a Mississippi steamboat owner whose fleet has been pretty much demolished.  Enter Joshua York, a mysterious gentleman who is willing to bankroll a fantastic new boat. . . but York’s secrecy worries Marsh.  Just what is York hiding? And what plans does he have for this boat? This is another great example of Martin’s ability to take a genre and reform it in new and interesting ways.

Happy reading!

Nevermore: John Green, Dave Eggers, Michael Connelly, R.B. Chesterton, Upton Sinclair, & even more!

Nevermore June 10, 2014

Reported by Kristin

The Nevermore table was full today but there is always room for more; newcomers are welcome!

With the newly released movie The Fault in our Stars (based on the book by John Green,) Jud brought up an interview that he had read about Green.  One of Green’s first jobs was at Booklist, and they recently had an article interviewing some of his former co-workers and supervisors.  Evidently Green was a bit scattered as an employee.  Nevertheless, his unique way of marketing his books and interacting with his fans has drawn quite a bit of attention.  In 2007, brothers John and Hank Green, tired of text communication, launched a project where they communicated with each other by video blog every week.  Now known as the VlogBrothers, their fans are known as Nerdfighters.  Collectively, Nerdfighteria embraces the concept of being different, and promotes doing positive things in the world.  Along with their 2,137,240 youtube subscribers, Jud is enthralled by the Green phenomenon.  (In the couple of minutes it took me to watch the latest VlogBrothers video, the numbers of subscribers to their youtube channel went up to 2,137,280.)

The first book up for discussion was Upton Sinclair by Lauren Coodley.  Perhaps most famous for writing The Jungle in 1906 about the meat-packing industry, Sinclair wrote about social issues that came to his attention.  Prohibition, labor, and quality food for a healthy life were but a few of the issues for which Sinclair cared about passionately.  Additionally, this is the first biography on Sinclair written by a woman, providing a different perspective on the author and activist so concerned with fairness and equality.  Sinclair may have fallen out of style in the United States, but is very well respected as an American author in other countries.

Next up was Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas by Rebecca Solnit and Rebecca Snedeker.  This entire book is made of essays on different topics which are related to maps of New Orleans.  Some examples:  Map of oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.  Important places in the banana industry.  Importance of bass instruments in New Orleans.  Hurricane Katrina—what stayed up and what fell down.  This book sparked a huge discussion on the good and bad in New Orleans, including tourism, crime, water, and how they manage burial of bodies.  This book was praised as very compelling.  A similar publication exists for San Francisco: Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas, also by Rebecca Solnit.

Our next reader praised Michael Connelly’s new book The Gods of Guilt.  A follow up to the earlier novel Lincoln Lawyer, criminal defense lawyer Mickey Haller continues to run his office from the back seat of a limousine.  This outing has Mickey in the middle of a murder case with a prostitute as the victim, one who was his own client years ago.  Our reader says that Michael Connelly is an excellent author.

A few different readers have read or are about to read The Seeker by R. B. Chesterton.  Recently reviewed by Jeanne here, this is a novel that keeps the reader guessing to the very end, and perhaps even beyond.  Aine Cahill is a doctoral student, researching Henry David Thoreau and hoping to discover clues to expand the scholarship around his two years at Walden Pond.  Nevermore readers are appreciating the many layers involved in this complex story of a young woman, her family history, and something that may or may not be lurking in the woods.

Another reader promoted the library gift shop once again.  She recently picked up My Antonia by Willa Cather for 50 cents, and after thoroughly enjoying the classic has re-donated the book to further benefit the library.

Our next reader has enjoyed Innocence by Dean Koontz.  Addison Goodheart avoids people, knowing that his appearance would be frightening.  He can see “ghosts” that other people cannot, called fogs and clears.  This is a very different kind of fantasy book, perhaps a fairy tale, or a murder mystery, or a horror story, or a love story.  Our reader was rather intrigued, although he did point out that the book had a very strange ending.

Last mentioned was What is the What by Dave Eggers.  The novel is based on Valentino Achak Deng who was forced to leave his Sudanese village at age seven.  Separated from his family, he and the thousands of other children, the “Lost Boys”, endured great difficulties as they were marched for hundreds of miles to refugee camps.  Our reader thought that the story was great, but the writing was a little boring.  He said he couldn’t believe the author had taken this incredible story and made it “ho-hum”.

The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 am in the Frances E. Kegley Meeting Room, with doughnuts courtesy of the Blackbird Bakery!

The Seeker by R.B. Chesterton

Reviewed by Jeanne

Aine Cahill has come to Walden Pond on a mission:  to prove that Henry David Thoreau had a romantic attachment during his two years of “solitude.” Her only proof is an old journal from an aunt, chronicling their relationship, so she needs to find corroborative evidence: deeds, wills, newspaper articles, anything that will place her Aunt Bonnie in the area at the right time. She knows she needs to keep her work secret or else the townsfolk, ever protective of their famous son, won’t be as willing to help her.   

She soon discovers that there are more secrets in the woods, including a young girl whom no one else seems to see.  As Aine tries to discover what people are hiding, she also seeks to come to terms with her own bedeviled heritage.

Let me say at the start that this isn’t my usual type of reading, though I do like the occasional paranormal book. (Richard Matheson's Hell House did me in as far as horror is concerned.)  I’m also a tad resistant to novels which seek to re-write history—I’ll read and enjoy them only if they’re very well done. However, this one intrigued me because of its straight-forward approach: we know right up front what Aine has and we don’t have to go through a convoluted tale full of Nazis or Knights Templar to get there. I was also curious because “R.B. Chesterton” is a pseudonym for Carolyn Haines, who writes the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries about a feisty Southern belle.  This sounded very different, and it was.

Now my problem is how to write a review without giving away too much.  This is especially difficult because to disclose many of the things I enjoyed so much would pretty much spoil the book for someone else. But here goes:

The writing is fine, and Chesterton does a superb job of teasing out bits of Aine’s past as well. Even when she delivers a large amount of information at once, the writing is riveting. Just when you think you know most of it all, she delivers a curve which makes you see things in a different light.  Aine has struggled to rise above her hardscrabble beginnings back in Harlan County, Kentucky, with a dark and violent family history.  The characters come alive, both the ones in the distant past and the ones in the present.  In particular, there’s Patrick, a handsome younger man who has a crush on Aine and isn’t easily discouraged; and Joe, the steady ranger who supports Aine but who has something unsettling in his own past.

One of my pet peeves is when the protagonist is about to do something supremely ill-advised, he or she often pauses to rationalize the action to the reader.  Most of the time, I don’t buy these explanations in the least.  I did, however, like the way Aine handles it by saying “Cahills were known for hardheadedness.  Chances were, if Captain Ahab could trace his lineage, he would discover he had Cahill blood.  No one but a Cahill, fictional or not, would chase a whale around the world just for the pleasure of trying to kill it.” That is one fine explanation.  I believed it immediately.

Most of all, the book is atmospheric.  You feel the dark of the woods, the frost in the air, the weight of the snow. The supernatural elements are handled very well—this is one creepy book even as it avoids the blood, gore, and vomit that decorate most horror novels.  This is one of those books that gets into your head and lingers in the memory long after the book is over.

Of course, your mileage may vary.

(Note:  Kristin also read the book and her comment was, “I don’t know if I liked it, but I enjoyed it.”)