tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post5350485205774729194..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: The Kind of Face You Slash - Day 18: The Cause of Goodness Everywhere Would Be Betrayedbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-67266162683864032472012-10-19T17:11:17.259-04:002012-10-19T17:11:17.259-04:00Then I am sorry this has happened to you.Then I am sorry this has happened to you.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-84634410485534152232012-10-19T15:43:07.107-04:002012-10-19T15:43:07.107-04:00Well, I guess I would call it almost like a stream...Well, I guess I would call it almost like a stream of consciousness approach to reviews (I say that as not being all that familiar with the term, so I guess that, too, is a Ryanism). <br /><br />Something like... "This is the story I had decided to read and it was quite good, really, even after all that I had previously thought about the author (the jury's still out on those reported puppy beatings though), but with this story So-and-So has proven, and I say this after having only read this one piece, that he is a master of his form. But, then again, one story, so what do I know?" Jose Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18152405075039057304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-54688960414947999502012-10-19T15:12:12.083-04:002012-10-19T15:12:12.083-04:00What Ryanisms are you referring to? Long sentence...What Ryanisms are you referring to? Long sentences that end halfways through? Not knowing what you're talking about? Ruthlessly padding for length?bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-32017355412265599822012-10-19T13:56:56.662-04:002012-10-19T13:56:56.662-04:00Excellent stuff as always, Bill, and glad to hear ...Excellent stuff as always, Bill, and glad to hear that you took to Hartley more than I imagined when offering up my meager suggestion. The only other story I have of his is "The Travelling Grave" from THE DRACULA BOOK OF GREAT HORROR STORIES and it seems, especially in light of the mood of the other two tales you mentioned here, completely afield from his usual thing and a little whacky, but all the more tantalizing for that reason. I'm going to dig that one out soon enough. Pun INTENDED. (Wow, that was obnoxious). <br /><br />I of course echo John's sentiments on your writing. Funny, but after reading so many of your damn posts, I couldn't help but notice that my own literary write-ups are starting to demonstrate little "Ryanisms" from time to time. Are Ryanisms a thing? They should be. Jose Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18152405075039057304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-34532582609575178892012-10-18T15:12:59.940-04:002012-10-18T15:12:59.940-04:00Thank you, John, I appreciate that very much. I&#...Thank you, John, I appreciate that very much. I'm often up-and-down about spoilers, and my ability to do the stories justice, for good or ill, if I don't talk about their endings, so it's good to know that my decision to (mostly) not do that is working for at least one person. It would be easy to just slap a spoiler warning on every post, but I don't know...doesn't seem like the thing to do.<br /><br />I plan on reading much more Hartley in the near future. I've ordered I think three of his novels in the past couple days. And I keep meaning to do Saki for one of these, but somehow I never do.<br /><br />If John Skipp's other anthologies are anything to go by, "The Paperhanger" can only serve to class up the joint. I haven't read anything else from PSYCHOS yet. I may get to it, I don't know. I read "The Paperhanger" in Gay's collection, so it's still in play! (I make up stupid rules to follow)bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-77447245034794979642012-10-18T13:36:29.968-04:002012-10-18T13:36:29.968-04:00One of the great things about these pieces, for me...One of the great things about these pieces, for me, Bill, is the way your commentary brings new life and perspective to my rapidly fading memories of stories I was fond of, without ever undermining the work in question by simply rehashing the whole thing. Even stories that clearly suck, that weren't worth the time you spent considering them, you remain more than fair in your treatment of, even as you're (hilariously) tearing them down.<br /><br />I've also got the "Complete Stories" (a better deal than the other book, I have no doubt, and not just because copies are probably still going for about a hundredth of the price), and I remember getting through it pretty quickly (for me, at any rate). The first section is all overtly macabre, while the rest mixes things up nicely with some more mainstream (but often just as unsettling) fare. There's a very dry wit, a little like Saki's, evident at times, but as in Saki, it rarely relieves the darkness.<br /><br />Incidentally, I was pleased to find "The Paperhanger" in a book I've had sitting around unread for a while called The Best American Noir of the Century. And yeah, it's a doozy, so thanks for bringing it to my attention. But now I wonder whether including it in a book called PSYCHOS might work against it a little (while acknowledging that it's a good choice for a book like that).Johnnoreply@blogger.com