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Post by andydecker on Sept 29, 2022 20:17:06 GMT
Well, Des, I suppose sometimes a pylon is just a phallic symbol (to paraphrase Freud, or somebody). I really like Hartley's writing. Even when he goes off the rails, he has a way of twisting things up that holds one's interest. H. As I understand it, a pylon is also an opening to a temple. I never read this before in this context. Always imagined a pylon some thing of construction, a part of an arch? Do you mean the door to the temple? |
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Post by weirdmonger on Sept 30, 2022 5:18:14 GMT
As I understand it, a pylon is also an opening to a temple. I never read this before in this context. Always imagined a pylon some thing of construction, a part of an arch? Do you mean the door to the temple? According to Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pylon***  |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 9, 2022 15:45:14 GMT
A seriously great Aickman-like story: PER FAR L’AMORE by L.P. Hartley (but not in the Travelling Grave collection)
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Oct 9, 2022 18:03:18 GMT
A seriously great Aickman-like story: PER FAR L’AMORE by L.P. Hartley (but not in the Travelling Grave collection) Must everyone and everything be compared to Aickman? I feel it often does a disservice to all parties. |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 9, 2022 18:13:29 GMT
A seriously great Aickman-like story: PER FAR L’AMORE by L.P. Hartley (but not in the Travelling Grave collection) Must everyone and everything be compared to Aickman? I feel it often does a disservice to all parties. i think it helps people to find stories that are Aickman-like. But I’ll stop making the comparison, based on your advice. |
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Post by andydecker on Oct 9, 2022 19:24:06 GMT
A seriously great Aickman-like story: PER FAR L’AMORE by L.P. Hartley (but not in the Travelling Grave collection) Must everyone and everything be compared to Aickman? I feel it often does a disservice to all parties. This is really a difficult question. I think such labels basically helpful. If you read "like splatterpunk" you know that it won't be like M. R. James. But some writers are so special - or even an acquired taste - that it can be rather a warning. Which may be terrible unfair to the praised writer if the label can be easily misunderstood or is misplaced. |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 9, 2022 19:32:31 GMT
Must everyone and everything be compared to Aickman? I feel it often does a disservice to all parties. This is really a difficult question. I think such labels basically helpful. If you read "like splatterpunk" you know that it won't be like M. R. James. But some writers are so special - or even an acquired taste - that it can be rather a warning. Which may be terrible unfair to the praised writer if the label can be easily misunderstood or is misplaced. Good point. I am perhaps blinded by the fact that I assume anything that is like Aickman must be great! |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Oct 9, 2022 19:40:26 GMT
This is really a difficult question. I think such labels basically helpful. If you read "like splatterpunk" you know that it won't be like M. R. James. But some writers are so special - or even an acquired taste - that it can be rather a warning. Which may be terrible unfair to the praised writer if the label can be easily misunderstood or is misplaced. Good point. I am perhaps blinded by the fact that I assume anything that is like Aickman must be great! Aickman is great. Many other things are also great, but on their own terms, not because they are "Aickman-like." You are starting to sound like S T Joshi, who seems to believe that something can only be good if somehow it reminds him of H P Lovecraft. |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 9, 2022 19:48:38 GMT
Good point. I am perhaps blinded by the fact that I assume anything that is like Aickman must be great! Aickman is great. Many other things are also great, but on their own terms, not because they are "Aickman-like." You are starting to sound like S T Joshi, who seems to believe that something can only be good if somehow it reminds him of H P Lovecraft. I take that ‘sounding like Joshi’ as an insult or praise. But I decline to say which!  Meanwhile, I often see stories as a series of synergies. And this story by Hartley compared with Aickman merely one of them. |
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Oct 9, 2022 20:01:53 GMT
I take that ‘sounding like Joshi’ as an insult or praise. But I decline to say which! It was meant as a warning. |
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Post by andydecker on Oct 9, 2022 20:42:01 GMT
I take that ‘sounding like Joshi’ as an insult or praise. But I decline to say which! It was meant as a warning. I still like Joshi. But one shouldn't read him uncritically. He tends to have a kind of tunnel vision sometimes. |
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Post by weirdmonger on Oct 10, 2022 2:38:58 GMT
I take that ‘sounding like Joshi’ as an insult or praise. But I decline to say which! It was meant as a warning. Thanks. I take any warning seriously. |
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Post by PeterC on Oct 10, 2022 8:07:59 GMT
I agree that Per Far L'Amore is an immensely effective horror story. Possibly a little more 'definitive' than an Aickman effort.
Such elegant writing too - try reading the third paragraph out loud.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Oct 10, 2022 10:20:04 GMT
If someone states that a story is Aickman-like, I don't read it.
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Post by PeterC on Oct 10, 2022 10:28:46 GMT
I admire your self-control. Steady in the ranks.
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