It is certainly obtuse and open-ended. I think your initial interpretation is most likely correct. I have no... idk... taxonomy for what is in the box, and I have no real explanation beyond what ended up on the page.
I think there could be elements of an unreliable narrator...
How much of what the narrator says is based in reality or truth? Things shift from moment to moment; although there are vague allusions to something larger at play, nothing is concrete, and the circumstances remain unchanged. There is no narrative movement in the piece.
I intended to craft something sinister and unerving without clearly defining the parameters or ramifications.
As I mentioned in the comments with Murph, I like the idea of a "Seaton's Aunt"- type "monster." De la Mare was far more subtle in his depiction, and I took my piece in a more creature direction, but to define it clearly or to classify it would, in my opinion, change this story from strange fiction to a pure creature feature.
I am curious about how others see it, and that is why fiction is wonderful.
Again, thank you for reading it and following up. I love conversations like this.
Ligotti is definitely an anti-natalist, his arguments in Conspiracy Against The Human Race are plagiarized wholesale to form dialogue for Rust Cohle in True Detective. But there's nothing right wing about his expressed point of view in either fiction or non-fiction to my mind.
In fact one of the key sources he relies on is Philipp Mainlander who was an early socialist utopian - though his utopianism took the unusual form of advocating for mass suicide.
Anyway, Ligotti's fiction is baroque and dreamlike, very Lovecraft in its style and very much like your own work in its strangeness.
I just finished reading “Shiva Open Your Eye” by Laird Barron, and I certainly see the comparison. There is a fatalistic theology to it, and it is combined with a quick mundane premise. In this story Laird goes almost full gonzo with descriptions and a incorporates a sort of pedagogical primordial regression.
I think I will learn a lot by reading more of his works. I won’t say I was stunned (because that would be hyperbole) by the work but I was awed by its willingness to abandon the narrative in the interest of pure cosmic non-dual fatalism.
Yeah, I imagine what happened was some internet edgelord took portions of what was said on True Detectives, co-opted it into the manosphere, and presented it as pseudo-eugenics.
I just ordered The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Barron, and I think I'll get The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror too. I’ll read it myself...see what I think. It is only fair.
Thank you. I love Robert Aickman and Walter de le Mare and every time I sit down to write something, I want to make it a “Hospice” or a “Seaton’s Aunt.” I love authors that focus on a vibe of dis-ease, and don’t feel the need to explain everything. I am glad you enjoyed it; I know the style is not for everyone, so it means a lot when someone takes the time to read/share/comment.
There really aren’t many Walter De La Mare readers left these days. Do you know the work of Thomas Ligotti which I’ve compared yours with? Or Barron Laird?
I've read a few short stories by Ligotti. I really liked The Red Tower and the Clown Puppet, but when I was introduced to his work, there was a lot of talk about his antinatalism, and the alt-right had adopted some of his "weird fiction" talking points. It poisoned the well a bit for me. It is probably unfair to him, but it prevented me from reading more.
I have not really read any Barron. I will check it out, as I have heard his name a bunch.
I've been on a Michael Shea kick as of late, but I will definitely check out some Barron.
i had a poetry book of his when i was a kid... wish i still had it! i could probably get a lot more from it now. struggled with it. I remember being puzzled by it as a gift when i was into alan garner and rosemary sutcliffe and le guin ... poetry wasnt doing it for me.
this is deliciously sinister and impeccably weighted. an ancient vampiric gargoyle jack in the box? that's what im thinking...
...that's the way the money goes round... but it's not a weasel is it!
Thank you for the read Nick. I like the phrase deliciously sinister.
i think i have missed some clues...or is it as obtuse and open ended as it is deliberately...
It is certainly obtuse and open-ended. I think your initial interpretation is most likely correct. I have no... idk... taxonomy for what is in the box, and I have no real explanation beyond what ended up on the page.
I think there could be elements of an unreliable narrator...
How much of what the narrator says is based in reality or truth? Things shift from moment to moment; although there are vague allusions to something larger at play, nothing is concrete, and the circumstances remain unchanged. There is no narrative movement in the piece.
I intended to craft something sinister and unerving without clearly defining the parameters or ramifications.
As I mentioned in the comments with Murph, I like the idea of a "Seaton's Aunt"- type "monster." De la Mare was far more subtle in his depiction, and I took my piece in a more creature direction, but to define it clearly or to classify it would, in my opinion, change this story from strange fiction to a pure creature feature.
I am curious about how others see it, and that is why fiction is wonderful.
Again, thank you for reading it and following up. I love conversations like this.
Ligotti is definitely an anti-natalist, his arguments in Conspiracy Against The Human Race are plagiarized wholesale to form dialogue for Rust Cohle in True Detective. But there's nothing right wing about his expressed point of view in either fiction or non-fiction to my mind.
In fact one of the key sources he relies on is Philipp Mainlander who was an early socialist utopian - though his utopianism took the unusual form of advocating for mass suicide.
Anyway, Ligotti's fiction is baroque and dreamlike, very Lovecraft in its style and very much like your own work in its strangeness.
I just finished reading “Shiva Open Your Eye” by Laird Barron, and I certainly see the comparison. There is a fatalistic theology to it, and it is combined with a quick mundane premise. In this story Laird goes almost full gonzo with descriptions and a incorporates a sort of pedagogical primordial regression.
I think I will learn a lot by reading more of his works. I won’t say I was stunned (because that would be hyperbole) by the work but I was awed by its willingness to abandon the narrative in the interest of pure cosmic non-dual fatalism.
Thanks again for pointing me in this direction.
Yeah, I imagine what happened was some internet edgelord took portions of what was said on True Detectives, co-opted it into the manosphere, and presented it as pseudo-eugenics.
I just ordered The Imago Sequence and Other Stories by Barron, and I think I'll get The Conspiracy against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror too. I’ll read it myself...see what I think. It is only fair.
Thanks.
Love the art. <3
Brilliant and opaque, such wonderful prose.
Of course I somewhat figured it out by the end but the sublime obfuscation is tremendous.
Thank you. I love Robert Aickman and Walter de le Mare and every time I sit down to write something, I want to make it a “Hospice” or a “Seaton’s Aunt.” I love authors that focus on a vibe of dis-ease, and don’t feel the need to explain everything. I am glad you enjoyed it; I know the style is not for everyone, so it means a lot when someone takes the time to read/share/comment.
There really aren’t many Walter De La Mare readers left these days. Do you know the work of Thomas Ligotti which I’ve compared yours with? Or Barron Laird?
I've read a few short stories by Ligotti. I really liked The Red Tower and the Clown Puppet, but when I was introduced to his work, there was a lot of talk about his antinatalism, and the alt-right had adopted some of his "weird fiction" talking points. It poisoned the well a bit for me. It is probably unfair to him, but it prevented me from reading more.
I have not really read any Barron. I will check it out, as I have heard his name a bunch.
I've been on a Michael Shea kick as of late, but I will definitely check out some Barron.
i had a poetry book of his when i was a kid... wish i still had it! i could probably get a lot more from it now. struggled with it. I remember being puzzled by it as a gift when i was into alan garner and rosemary sutcliffe and le guin ... poetry wasnt doing it for me.