(no subject)

[felis_ultharus]

So yesterday, I reached one of the funniest moments ever to appear in a novel. For those who haven't read Headhunter I won't spoil it. For those of you who have: the funeral, the black silk Balenciaga dress. 'Nuff said. That shall be permanently etched upon my memory.

Yesterday, I kept passing buildings -- shopping centres, banks, churches -- occupying space that could so much better used to construct shrines to Timothy Findley. Why haven't we diefied him yet?

Comments

[scottevil.livejournal.com]

I saw you on TV last night. And Matt on the noon newscast.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Cool. I didn't think they'd both putting such a small protest on TV :)

[ex-zombie-po784.livejournal.com]

Oh I don't know what it about but it sounds intresting enough for my money O.O

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read Heart of Darkness -- where a man named Marlow goes into the Belgian-owned Congo where the Belgians are indulging in genocide and an ivory hunt, and calling it "civilizing the natives," and a man named Kurtz is at the centre of it all?

Headhunter is a modern-day retelling of it that takes place in modern-day Toronto. Only Kurtz and Marlow are now psychiatrists, and the "natives" to be "civilized" are their psychiatric patients. Marlow lives next door to a schizophrenic woman Lilah Kemp, who thinks she has the power to release characters from books, and thinks she's let Dr. Kurtz and Dr. Marlow out of Heart of Darkness by accident.

It's creative, brilliant, disturbing, terrifying, and very often funny in a darkly comic sort of way. Findley is a master of two things: taking you deep into his characters' souls (and having compassion even for the worst of people), and describing any scene with such beauty and originality that you fall in love with these pictures he paints in words.

He's also openly gay, and I think it shows up in his writing. Beautiful men abound everywhere ^_^

[ex-zombie-po784.livejournal.com]

Okay now I must read this book O.O
How many books are there, is it a series?

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Odd -- I answered this, but my answer disappeared.

It's a single book, though 500 pages. I'm not even halfway through, and it's already one of my favourites.

I've only read one of his other books -- Famous Last Words, which is about a conspiracy involving the Nazis and a former King of the UK during World War II. The characters in Famous Last Words weren't as likable, but the scenes were even more beautifully painted in words.

[jenjoou.livejournal.com]

You know, if I had a power like that I would read Heart of Darkness... If I could release characters from books I could think of some I;d much rather meet... ;)

You're making me want to read this. :)

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Good. That's the plan ^_^

[jenjoou.livejournal.com]

wouldn't read Heart of Darkness.

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

Yep. I figured :)

Spamming!

[em-fish.livejournal.com]

Tiff is the shiznit and The Wars is the Cadillac of CanLit. Read that one next.

Re: Spamming!

[felis-ultharus.livejournal.com]

My next Findley is probably going to be Pilgrim because I'm interested in Jung and because it's been on my to-read pile for about a decade.

Shiznit...?