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A review by stucifer_
Master of Reality by John Darnielle
3.0
This is probably landing at a 3.5 for me; I'm rounding down to emphasize that his later work, that I have rated 4 stars iirc, is stronger IMO, as well as due to some casual homophobia*.
I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books, but I feel pretty comfortable in thinking that Darnielle's approach here is unusual. Instead of doing a straightforward discussion of the album in question, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Darnielle writes the fictional diary of a teenager who is institutionalized against his will, in which he tries to explain how important the album is to him in the hopes that his copy will be returned to him by the hospital staff. So, yknow, a bit of an unusual take on the premise of this series, which is itself pretty great! I think Darnielle came into this motivated by his experience working as an orderly in a state psychiatric hospital, possibly seeing an overlap between people who cared passionately about this band and young patients there, and strives to find compassion in the reader for the inhumane treatment of these children via the MC's articulate and full love of this album. And yknow, as a character study, this works. Roger is an angry and vulnerable kid whose life gets fucked over, and he is trying desperately to hold on.
I think though, that as much as I feel for Roger, the album aspect - which is, in fact, the point - feels a bit shoehorned in. I think Darnielle was inspired to write this story, which as far as I know is his first published prose fiction, by the album and the 33 1/3 imprint, but may not have recognized that the story took on its own life, or knew it did but kept trying to force focus back on to the album anyway. No question that Darnielle is an incredible storyteller; both his prolific musical output as well as his later novels prove that. I just ultimately don't think the parameters of this publication serve the story he wants to tell here.
*Elaborating on the homophobia : Roger is a teen boy of the 1980s, the MC is casually, naturally homophobic and throws out slurs a few times. It's a pretty minor facet of the book, and it does feel true to character, but nevertheless it's worth a mention.
I haven't read any of the other 33 1/3 books, but I feel pretty comfortable in thinking that Darnielle's approach here is unusual. Instead of doing a straightforward discussion of the album in question, Black Sabbath's Master of Reality, Darnielle writes the fictional diary of a teenager who is institutionalized against his will, in which he tries to explain how important the album is to him in the hopes that his copy will be returned to him by the hospital staff. So, yknow, a bit of an unusual take on the premise of this series, which is itself pretty great! I think Darnielle came into this motivated by his experience working as an orderly in a state psychiatric hospital, possibly seeing an overlap between people who cared passionately about this band and young patients there, and strives to find compassion in the reader for the inhumane treatment of these children via the MC's articulate and full love of this album. And yknow, as a character study, this works. Roger is an angry and vulnerable kid whose life gets fucked over, and he is trying desperately to hold on.
I think though, that as much as I feel for Roger, the album aspect - which is, in fact, the point - feels a bit shoehorned in. I think Darnielle was inspired to write this story, which as far as I know is his first published prose fiction, by the album and the 33 1/3 imprint, but may not have recognized that the story took on its own life, or knew it did but kept trying to force focus back on to the album anyway. No question that Darnielle is an incredible storyteller; both his prolific musical output as well as his later novels prove that. I just ultimately don't think the parameters of this publication serve the story he wants to tell here.
*Elaborating on the homophobia : Roger is a teen boy of the 1980s, the MC is casually, naturally homophobic and throws out slurs a few times. It's a pretty minor facet of the book, and it does feel true to character, but nevertheless it's worth a mention.