mjj (flemmings) wrote,
mjj
flemmings
The clerks at my local pharmacy are two friendly 40-something Coptic Christian women from Egypt or thereabouts, who spend their time joking with the regulars or each other, depending on how busy it is. But Saturdays there's a young Asian guy (Chinese-Canadian or Korean-Canadian, going by the features) who spends his time between customers reading. Today he was deep in the Penguin edition of The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies by Clark Ashton Smith. So of course I had to ask him about it, since it's been half a century since I read any Smith and I wasn't impressed then. Lumped in with Eddison as a wordy man, and with Lovecraft as an incoherent one.

My guy agreed, pretty much: 'You get to the end of a story and say "and then...?"' Indeed. Somehow I seem to have misplaced the horror of these horror stories, and jeez Louise but all you guys have been mainlining Lautréamont. Oddly, in view of the prolixity, the majority of the 4 and 5 star reviews at Goodreads come from guys.
Tags: reading
Subscribe

  • Not with a bang but a whimper

    It's going to snow some time in the near future, so as long as it's possible biking weather I figured I'd better get to the hardware store for…

  • Shifts

    1. Sunday was hair wash day but I wanted an epsom bath. Which had, but could smell- because I have A Nose- my hair just the slightest bit manky from…

  • The dead days

    Another calm grey dry day, but brighter than before: like the best of civil November. The seasonal fantods withdraw for a spell, as they bloody well…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    Help
  • 0 comments