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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
The first four short stories, the ones that actually reference the eponymous in-universe play, are awesome. Their influence on Lovecraft and his particular brand of cosmic horror is clear. The rest of the stories are... really French? All supernatural elements get dropped for the last five short stories and they're all just bohemian love stories, which are good enough, but really not what I was expecting after the first four.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Life is too short to read a book that doesn’t go anywhere
The King in Yellow is a great concept. Chambers wrote a few short stories that all featured references to a mysterious piece of literature called "The King in Yellow." It's usually referred to by fans as a play, but I forget if it's explicitly called that in any of Chambers' stories. It's not important though. What's important is that the second act of the piece drives the reader insane. And the five stories featuring it (to various levels) all make a cool, shared Yellowverse.
Chambers is great at creating a sense of unease around the (I'm just gonna call it a) play. The first story, "The Repairer of Reputations," is written from the point of view of someone who's read the play. He seems fine at first, but his sanity becomes more and more questionable as the story progresses. Other stories are less overt, but they still contain a sense of dread with the play lurking in the background as a possible cause. At least for those first five tales in the collection.
The sixth thing collected is itself a collection of short poems that could themselves actually be excerpts from the play. But after that follow four more stories that don't contain any reference to the play or even any supernatural elements at all. They're social dramas with romantic subplots.
They do take place in a Parisian artist community much like the "King in Yellow" stories do, so there's a similarity of tone. I assume that's why they're grouped with the others. And they're well-written. I enjoyed them as their own thing. They just aren't definitively connected to the "King in Yellow" world and I question their inclusion in the collection. As do many other King in Yellow readers.
Chambers is great at creating a sense of unease around the (I'm just gonna call it a) play. The first story, "The Repairer of Reputations," is written from the point of view of someone who's read the play. He seems fine at first, but his sanity becomes more and more questionable as the story progresses. Other stories are less overt, but they still contain a sense of dread with the play lurking in the background as a possible cause. At least for those first five tales in the collection.
The sixth thing collected is itself a collection of short poems that could themselves actually be excerpts from the play. But after that follow four more stories that don't contain any reference to the play or even any supernatural elements at all. They're social dramas with romantic subplots.
They do take place in a Parisian artist community much like the "King in Yellow" stories do, so there's a similarity of tone. I assume that's why they're grouped with the others. And they're well-written. I enjoyed them as their own thing. They just aren't definitively connected to the "King in Yellow" world and I question their inclusion in the collection. As do many other King in Yellow readers.
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
// Review //
Format: Soft Cover
Old literature and the lexicon of writers of the past always astound and in The King in Yellow, Robert Chambers takes that storytelling to an alluring and poetic level. The writing in this book takes time to explain the characters, their thoughts, the scenery and among all of it, the off putting elements (or the absence of them) to paint the scene. By doing this, you start to catch details that are just not right - like being in a dream where you have a bit of consciousness and tell yourself something is off. The dream-like state of things was the true allure to this book for me. If your not found of pulling apart elements of individual stories to find the symbolism and details to a world now steeped in madness and obscurity, where your not certain the reality of the situation, then you may find yourself frustrated with this book. I had to read the Street series twice to better understand the reason for the tone and perspective shift from the other stories. The book’s tone departure and small references in the street trilogy were there just not as gripping. I would have enjoyed the continuation of the worlds plagued by The King in Yellow (the play within the book its titled after) more.
// Personal Remarks //
My personal favorites were:
The Repairer of Reputations story
The Yellow Sign story
All the poetry in the Street Trilogy.
The version of The King and Yellow I purchased did not translate them, but I looked them up and they were profound. I hope to find standalone poetry by Chambers.
Format: Soft Cover
Old literature and the lexicon of writers of the past always astound and in The King in Yellow, Robert Chambers takes that storytelling to an alluring and poetic level. The writing in this book takes time to explain the characters, their thoughts, the scenery and among all of it, the off putting elements (or the absence of them) to paint the scene. By doing this, you start to catch details that are just not right - like being in a dream where you have a bit of consciousness and tell yourself something is off. The dream-like state of things was the true allure to this book for me. If your not found of pulling apart elements of individual stories to find the symbolism and details to a world now steeped in madness and obscurity, where your not certain the reality of the situation, then you may find yourself frustrated with this book. I had to read the Street series twice to better understand the reason for the tone and perspective shift from the other stories. The book’s tone departure and small references in the street trilogy were there just not as gripping. I would have enjoyed the continuation of the worlds plagued by The King in Yellow (the play within the book its titled after) more.
// Personal Remarks //
My personal favorites were:
The Repairer of Reputations story
The Yellow Sign story
All the poetry in the Street Trilogy.
The version of The King and Yellow I purchased did not translate them, but I looked them up and they were profound. I hope to find standalone poetry by Chambers.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I may come back to it. The second half of the book really began to bore me.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated