H.P. LOVECRAFT HALLOWEEN SPECTACULAR PART I: The Colour Out of Space

The Colour Out of Space (pgs. 170-200)

from: The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
            by H.P. Lovecraft, 1927

              Penguin Classics, 1999, Editor: S.T Joshi

Before we get to the review, I a little background on the Lovecraft Halloween Spectacular:

I wanted to get into the spirit of Halloween for quite some time, because my day job sucks the life out of you, days run together, etc. October was flying by and I needed to get into the mood fast. I decided to try to find a great horror story to pick out and review this month. But what would I choose? I had no place to start. I consulted my ever loving, amazing idea-having significant other. Who came up with this idea of a Halloween Short Story Triple Feature on the granddaddy master of everything Horror/Sci-Fi. It didn't take long to convince me, as I have never read a Lovecraft story and I am game to read anything new.
Now, after I had agreed to this Spectacular, I suddenly learned that my significant other is a closeted, RABID LOVECRAFT FAN. This Mofo handed me 2 collections and-when asked what 3 stories to pick-replied “Kelso, That's like you telling me to pick my favorite child.” We finally decided on one I vaguely knew (“Herbert West- Reanimator”) the most popular (“The Call of Cthulhu”) and his favorite (“The Colour Out of Space”) So here we are.

Colour Out of Space is primarily about an asteroid falling next to a well on a farmer's property, then strange shit starts to happen to this family over the course of a year. Like, REAL FUCKING STRANGE SHIT. The story is told by an old man named Ammi Pierce to a much younger unnamed surveyor. Who is scouting the Blasted Heath out in order to put the town's reservoir there in the coming months. Yes. Like, this is the town's drinking and bathing water.
I don't want to go into too many details about what specifically happened to the Nahum family, but they either disappeared or died because of this liquid like magma that oozed out of the asteroid when the incredibly short sighted scientists at Miskatonic University broke open the asteroid that FELL FROM FUCKING SPACE. And just FUCKING LEFT IT ON THIS POOR MAN'S PROPERTY. You will come to understand in later reviews why I believe Miskatonic University should be considered questionable in their studies and practices.

What I really enjoyed about this story is how incredibly atmospheric it feels. From the trees swaying without any wind to the description of the pail and lantern that was found next to the well where a Nahum boy disappeared. It immerses you into this story which makes you want to slow down and take your time with it. Yet the scenes are so intense-like what happens to poor Mrs. Nahum (“...Threw open the low white door.”....”the faint yet unmistakable luminosity of all the woodwork in sight; steps, sides, exposed laths and beams alike!” pg 178-179)  for example-that you want to speed read through it as fast as you can. The very well written and supremely detailed and comprehensive notes the Mr Joshi leaves at the end of the chapter states that this is one of the first examples of Horror and Science Fiction working hand in hand together via the unknown properties of the asteroid and space in general while not having to explain anything about them thus making this story as realistic as possible.

However, I was not prepared for how difficult Lovecraft can be. I knew he was early nineteenth century literature, but I wasn't prepared for such lush language such as grambel, aerolite, foetor, and tungsten contrivances (all of which I highlighted and looked up later). Pair that with paragraphs about how creepy dead trees can be (4 paragraphs in this entire 30 page story) then it becomes pretty muddy if you're not used to it. After re reading several paragraphs and about 5 pages in, I was getting used to the style and started to enjoy the story. I do not recommend Lovecraft for someone who's not a strong reader or if English is not their first language. Have someone else try to describe the scenes for you if you're seriously interested in reading this story. (I had to ask Significant Other about certain scenes to make sure I had the plot right in the very beginning. I know, I'm pretty stupid, but I'm writing a review, I had to get it right!) Bottom line, after re-reading the story a second time, it was a pretty immerse, intense ride. Maybe not the scariest story I've read. But pretty damn creepy.
(WARNING: Don't click that link unless you have headphones on and 20 minutes of free time, it's pretty NSFW) 

Book Haiku:

Creepy atmosphere

Asteroid, pretty colors.

Fucking Scientists.

This is How You Lose Her

This is How You Lose Her

Junot Diaz, 2012 

Riverhead Books, 224 pgs.

I'm just going to jump into this, "This is How You Lose Her" is a fantastic book. Period. Here's why...

The book is a series of nine short stories that focus on Yunior's tenuous love life. A misogynistic, but heart-of-gold Dominican Culo who cannot seem to keep his carajo in his fucking pants. The short stories are about his incredibly flawed but strong women that he has loved in his lifetime, whether it be romantic, physical, familial or otherwise.

It's safe to say that this is a testosterone driven book. Yunior is an asshole to the classic degree. He can't seem to keep a relationship together, he is always cheating on his young ladies. In the book we start to see the development of how he treats women via his brother's relationships ("The Pura Principle" pg. 89, "Nilda" pg. 27) his relationship with his mami and how his papi influenced it ("Invierno" pg.119) and other outside influences ("the Cheater's Guide to Love" pg. 173, "Otravida, Otravez" pg. 49). Yet throughout the book, you cannot seem to want to hate him and his womanising ways. This is the culture he grew up in, which is vastly different from out “whitepeople” 's views on relationships. This is not to say that what he's doing to these women are in any way good, but it's good to go into this book understanding that he doesn't purposefully seek out and do harm to his lovers. 

As much as the short story genre is making a comeback in a big way The stories are not what captured my attention as much as they way Diaz writes. My God, can this man WRITE. Every single sentence works, there isn't one word in any of his paragraphs that doesn't have a purpose. You know how sometimes you're reading a book or a paragraph and it feels like some sentences and words were unnecessary fillers? Not this book, Everything flows so beautifully, Case in point, when Yunior gets caught (yet again) cheating, this time by an incriminating journal entry his girlfriend found:

“Instead of lowering your head and copping to it like a man, you pick up the journal as one might hold a baby's beshatted diaper, as one might pinch a recently benutted condom. You glance at the offending passages. Then you look at her and smile a smile your dissembling face will remember until the day you die. Baby, you say, baby,  this is   part of my novel. This is how you lose her. “ 

(Diaz. From “Alma” pg.48)

Yeah I know right?  Fucking, FAN-TAS-TIC!
The short stories don't just exist, they're breathing, beating, alive. I'm in love with this book, and it's not just me. In closing, you need to go read this book. They will change the way you look at literature for months to come. 

Book Haiku:

This book is a treat.

Revel in your heart, breaking.

Forever a fan.

Gone Girl

"Gone Girl – A Novel"

Gillian Flynn, 2012

Crown Publishing Group, 432pgs.

Before we start this review, I must disclose that I am not a Thriller/Mystery person in any sense of the word. I never really gave much thought to the genre and it never really interested me past middle school. By that time I was reading Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine. I had then graduated to Stephen King classics like Gerald's Game and The Shining. But after I reached 16 the genre pretty much died in me. I felt like I could predict the ending to every book I was reading after 30 pages in. It got real boring.

I did not expect the twist in Gone Girl. It was that surprising.

Gone Girl is a multi-layered novel about a marriage gone wrong. Not like, “Oh they're like Ralph and Alice! So degrading but totally acceptable!” Nope.
They're like George and Martha if they were raised by Ted Bundy and Aileen Wuornos. They're THAT kind of fucked up. The book opens with Nick and Amy Dunne on the morning of their 5^th wedding anniversary, Amy is cooking breakfast, while Nick appreciates it but then has an overwhelming sense of dread. He then goes to work while Amy does the housewife thing. When he returns, Amy is gone.

What follows is a tilt-a-whrl ride through the next several days while Amy is missing: The police and the TV crews are involved, Amy's diary appears- which is collated with chapters regarding the events that happen while Amy is missing- and paints Nick in a not so wonderful light, a strange but seemingly heartfelt treasure hunt left by Amy on her last few days before her disappearance, and-of course-towards the middle of the book, Nick becomes the number one suspect. Towards the halfway point of the novel, when Nick finishes his wife's annual treasure hunt, is when we get the major plot twist, the twist which I didn't expect (not fully, at least). Because I do not condone spoilers in my book reviews, I will have to leave quite a bit of themes and explanations out of the plot synopsis. I apologize for this, but the book will be so much better if you go in knowing as little as possible. The impact is better if you don't know what's going on.

What I will go into, however, are the two main characters. I have hated both main characters the entire book. They are vile human beings. Nick is an untrustworthy, selfish, mamma's boy, who blames his problems on everyone but himself. He is also untrustworthy as a narrator, knowingly lying to the police and letting us know about it, but he doesn't dish his big secret until 25% into the book. Whereupon it's forced upon him by his twin sister, Go (shortened from Margot). Who, by the way, is the only redeeming character in this book, and even she is very flawed. Amy on the other hand, is something else entirely. Even her diary entries which make her seem like a helpless flake do nothing for her personality. The relationship they have throughout the book (both before and after Major Plot Twist) is incredibly toxic. It makes for a fantastic story but I felt like I couldn't get into the book as much as I'd like because the main characters are two wholly unlikable people with no credible reason to like either of them.

The story line and plot for this book surprised me as well, it was fucking GREAT, it was one of the best plot lines from a mainstream book I've read in the last 3 years. It really hooks you in, drags you into dullness for a few chapters, whereas I'm white knuckling pages so I don't try to skim and get to “the good stuff” then-suddenly-a new development appears! And I'm forced into a 20 page reading spree until the next lull happens. I enjoyed that feeling, this was a fun sidetrack to go down and braking down my typical, go to, genres I read most of the time. I came into this book thinking it wasn't going to be that grand (Some of the few thoughts going into this novel: IT'S A MAINSTREAM, THRILLER, MYSTERY NOVEL!!! IT'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER JAMES PATTERSON/SUE GRAFTON TRASH BOOK, OMG WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF? Mind you, someone in my steno pool said this and Fifty Shades of Grey were required reading for her. I will not stand here as a lover of Literature and self-proclaimed book lover and tell you that Fifty Shades is a book you should be reading, but if you're tired of reading the same genres and are looking for something a few steps above the Alex Cross/Kinsey Millhone bullshit trade paperbacks, then I highly recommend this book.

Book Haiku

Unraveled marriage

Unbelievable Assholes

Unexpected end