Avoosl Wuthoqquan Wrote:
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> To me, M.R. James is comfort food: you know
> exactly what you are getting, but boy is it good!
Yes!
And it's good because you crave it already!
> I’m sure that Ms Christie’s fans feel the same
> about her scribblings.
Probably!
;^)
For me, Sherlock Holmes is the same way, except, as with Oreos, I no longer feel like indulging.
>
> I recommend listening to David Collings’s
> readings of the complete ghost stories. They’re
> on Spotify:
> [
open.spotify.com]
> xH
>
> (I must question the designation ‘ghost
> stories’, by the way: many of James’s stories
> are about monsters, demons etc. -- not ghosts.)
>
> Sawfish Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There is nothing particularly wrong with his
> > writing--it's quite competent. But it lacks that
> snap
> > of inspiration and/or imagination that might
> make it
> > truly special.
>
> That’s funny: I think the Jamesian ‘snap’ is
> one of the hallmarks of his writing. The reader
> gets a long, slow burn, full of Old Testament
> obscurities or Latin quotations, and then suddenly
> it’s there:
>
> It hung for an instant on the edge of the hole,
> then slipped forward on to my chest, and put its
> arms round my neck.
>
> What he had been touching rose to meet him.
>
> ‘They hadn’t much to call faces,’ said the
> shepherd, ‘but I could seem to see as they had
> teeth.’
>
> Yikes!
Yep, I have to agree.
I overstated my original point in the hopes of having just such discussions as these.
I mean, I could have (almost did) start one, "Subterranean Motifs in CAS and HPL", and I'd possibly still be waiting for my first "hit"...
>
> For a special Jamesian treat, seek out the short
> story ‘The Guide’, by Ramsey Campbell. He’s
> got the formula down pat.
I'll try to give it a go.
[SNIP...]
--Sawfish
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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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