I love Lafferty. I reread him on a regular basis.
She just... she just did the math.
Kaylee ,'Objects In Space'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Scrappy - May 07, 2012 6:37:09 am PDT #18599 of 28297
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Steph L. - May 07, 2012 7:05:20 am PDT #18600 of 28297
I look more rad than Lutheranism
Yay, Bloggess. That book is totes going on my birthday list, if I don't manage to acquire it sooner.
I have it on hold at the library, along with the newest (and last) of David Wellington's vampire books.
sj - May 07, 2012 10:58:23 am PDT #18601 of 28297
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
Oops. I posted this in Beep Me by accident.
Hec, great piece on Angela Carter. When I was packing all of my books they other day with thessaly she ended up borrowing one of my Angela Carters. I have only read Night Circus and The Bloodly Chamber, but I really want to read more of her stuff.
DavidS - May 07, 2012 11:04:50 am PDT #18602 of 28297
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
but I really want to read more of her stuff.
Check out The Magic Toyshop. It's so enjoyable, and I think a natural fit if you enjoyed The Bloody chamber.
I'd actually recommend getting into some of her non-fiction before you took a stab at Dr. Hoffman or New Eve. It helps to understand what she's wrestling with when she's using such unconventional structures.
You don't have to write a thesis on her book The Sadeian Woman, but it helps if you've glanced through it.
But definitely check out her other short stories too, like Fireworks. Some of the stories there are a bit half formed, but the three stories set in Japan and The Executioner's Daughter are amazing. Not like anybody else, and not like the rest of her work quite.
sj - May 07, 2012 11:21:54 am PDT #18603 of 28297
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
Hec, I'll check to see if the library has The Magic Toyshop. After packing up all my books I'm not buying anymore right now.
DavidS - May 07, 2012 11:30:24 am PDT #18604 of 28297
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Okay, but when you go shopping make sure you find one of the many cooler, older covers for it.
This one's lovely and evocative.
The first American paperback on Dell is pretty cool too.
Or this quite scandalous (though thoroughly apt) version.
DavidS - May 07, 2012 11:33:24 am PDT #18605 of 28297
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Most people are familiar with the movie A Company of Wolves based on her short stories in The Bloody Chamber, but there's also a little seen movie version of The Magic Toyshop that's worth finding.
Typo Boy - May 07, 2012 12:08:15 pm PDT #18606 of 28297
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
I love Lafferty too. But I never thought of him as obscure. Does he really have a more limited audience than your average genre writer/
Polter-Cow - May 07, 2012 1:55:52 pm PDT #18607 of 28297
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
The only reason I have heard of him is because of Neil Gaiman's short story, "Sunbird," which he said was his attempt to write a Lafferty story. I have never heard of him anywhere else ever.
Typo Boy - May 07, 2012 2:05:52 pm PDT #18608 of 28297
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Well then I've been remiss. Imagine that Salvador Dali, rather than being a Spanish surrealist painter had been an American sitting around a campfire telling tall tales. Those are the stories Lafferty wrote.