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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Antisemitism
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s hard to judge old books when you lack historical context, but I get the impression that this book felt familiar because it is a well that has been drawn from many times.
That being said I was surprised by how modern some of the prose felt, and was not expecting some of the funnier moments especially in the later stories.
Glad I read it, probably will not return to it
That being said I was surprised by how modern some of the prose felt, and was not expecting some of the funnier moments especially in the later stories.
Glad I read it, probably will not return to it
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this off Project Gutenberg. Thanks, Gutenberg!
Going in, all I knew about The King in Yellow was that a) much like some mind-bending artefacts in the SCP Foundation, it was a play that drives you mad when you read it; and b) it's being referenced/homaged/??? in True Detective. Which was more than enough reason for me to read this!
I was surprised to discover that it's actually a sequence of ten stories:
THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS
THE MASK
IN THE COURT OF THE DRAGON
THE YELLOW SIGN
THE DEMOISELLE D'YS
THE PROPHETS' PARADISE
THE STREET OF THE FOUR WINDS
THE STREET OF THE FIRST SHELL
THE STREET OF OUR LADY OF THE FIELDS
RUE BARRÉE
The first seven are uncanny, creepy horror with the recurring imagery of the Yellow Sign, the King in Yellow (both play and man) (which also reminded me of THE DARK TOWER's Crimson King and his sign/sigul), a mythical place named Carcosa, etc. Characters' brushes with the play are always unnerving, their minds becoming unhinged after they make the mistake of reading it. The last three stories, however, have pretty much nothing horrific or speculative happening in them -- they're just the adventures of various bohemian artists in Paris.
Had it just been the creepy, eerie tales, this collection would have been a resounding 5 stars, but I found myself nodding off at the end because I didn't care about the artists. Hence, docking one star.
Still, though, Robert Chambers' writing is great: his style doesn't feel or sound at all like the more standard, stuffy Victorian lit one might be used to. THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS was my absolute favourite of the lot, which means the collection starts off with the strongest tale. It involves an imagined future 1920s America (which is such a cool thing, and means it has shades of sci fi too, sort of), and a narrator who suffered a head injury a few years back, leading to a personality change and, possibly, losing his mind. Spoiler alert: The first-person narrator is completely out of his fucking gourd, but the hints are small and slow, and it takes you a while to realise just how askew your unreliable narrator is. It builds up a sense of uncanny anxiety, of things being ever so slightly not right as you're forced to witness the story through his eyes, while the others around him are mostly oblivious. It's a sublime exercise in subtlety and show-don't-tell, which is astonishing considering how, well, exposition-happy most Victorian literature is. Everything about the actual Repairer of Reputations was grotesque and unsettling, too. Loved this one so, so much.
THE MASK is also very good: more like your standard Victorian science fiction, with tragic beautiful innocent ladies and tortured artists and implausible science.
I also really liked THE PROPHETS' PARADISE, which is a series of interlinked prose poems, which utilise a lot of internal symmetry and repetition; they didn't make a great deal of sense, but there was something strangely unsettling about them that I couldn't put my finger on.
The other creepy-crawly stories were good too, but those three were the real standouts. Mostly, I just can't get over how much I loved THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS. Everyone should read it.
Annnnd I am now stoked to go finish True Detective and see how in the world this all ties in.
Going in, all I knew about The King in Yellow was that a) much like some mind-bending artefacts in the SCP Foundation, it was a play that drives you mad when you read it; and b) it's being referenced/homaged/??? in True Detective. Which was more than enough reason for me to read this!
I was surprised to discover that it's actually a sequence of ten stories:
THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS
THE MASK
IN THE COURT OF THE DRAGON
THE YELLOW SIGN
THE DEMOISELLE D'YS
THE PROPHETS' PARADISE
THE STREET OF THE FOUR WINDS
THE STREET OF THE FIRST SHELL
THE STREET OF OUR LADY OF THE FIELDS
RUE BARRÉE
The first seven are uncanny, creepy horror with the recurring imagery of the Yellow Sign, the King in Yellow (both play and man) (which also reminded me of THE DARK TOWER's Crimson King and his sign/sigul), a mythical place named Carcosa, etc. Characters' brushes with the play are always unnerving, their minds becoming unhinged after they make the mistake of reading it. The last three stories, however, have pretty much nothing horrific or speculative happening in them -- they're just the adventures of various bohemian artists in Paris.
Had it just been the creepy, eerie tales, this collection would have been a resounding 5 stars, but I found myself nodding off at the end because I didn't care about the artists. Hence, docking one star.
Still, though, Robert Chambers' writing is great: his style doesn't feel or sound at all like the more standard, stuffy Victorian lit one might be used to. THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS was my absolute favourite of the lot, which means the collection starts off with the strongest tale. It involves an imagined future 1920s America (which is such a cool thing, and means it has shades of sci fi too, sort of), and a narrator who suffered a head injury a few years back, leading to a personality change and, possibly, losing his mind. Spoiler alert: The first-person narrator is completely out of his fucking gourd, but the hints are small and slow, and it takes you a while to realise just how askew your unreliable narrator is. It builds up a sense of uncanny anxiety, of things being ever so slightly not right as you're forced to witness the story through his eyes, while the others around him are mostly oblivious. It's a sublime exercise in subtlety and show-don't-tell, which is astonishing considering how, well, exposition-happy most Victorian literature is. Everything about the actual Repairer of Reputations was grotesque and unsettling, too. Loved this one so, so much.
THE MASK is also very good: more like your standard Victorian science fiction, with tragic beautiful innocent ladies and tortured artists and implausible science.
I also really liked THE PROPHETS' PARADISE, which is a series of interlinked prose poems, which utilise a lot of internal symmetry and repetition; they didn't make a great deal of sense, but there was something strangely unsettling about them that I couldn't put my finger on.
The other creepy-crawly stories were good too, but those three were the real standouts. Mostly, I just can't get over how much I loved THE REPAIRER OF REPUTATIONS. Everyone should read it.
Annnnd I am now stoked to go finish True Detective and see how in the world this all ties in.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Too obscure. There seems to be little point in anything, and the writing is outright boring.
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I read a few stories, intended to finish, but haven’t come back yet. I’ll read more eventually!