Comments on: Longsword, Earl of Salisbury

By: jodi

jodi — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 17:39:03 +0000

By the way, I love the gothy new colour scheme you’ve got going here.

By: jodi

jodi — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 17:38:21 +0000

Duh. I completely skimmed over Carrie on that list. And, if literary merit is NOT a criterion, then Anne Rice should definitely be in there. But, if Margaret Atwood, why not Timothy Findley?

By: pzed

pzed — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 17:33:48 +0000

It’s only a timeline, so perhaps these titles are meant to be representative rather than comprehensive. And Carrie is on the list, although again I’m not sure I’d call it gothic, but again (again) I’ve only seen the movie. Another funny thing about this list is that since 1950 there are only four authors represented: O’Connor, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, and King. Oh, and one Toni Morrison (Beloved). No Anne Rice? Surely if literary merit is a criterion, Rice is as good if not better than King.

By: jodi

jodi — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 15:41:20 +0000

Yeah, he wrote other stuff. The Stand. Misery. And that Gunslinger series. Tons of other things, actually, which I guess indicates that these are the titles that the list-makes consider particularly “gothy”. Not sure how Pet Sematary or Firestarter fit if Carrie doesn’t, though. Ugh. I sound like I know a lot more about his work than I really do, but remember that I didn’t have access to the same calibre of public library as a teen as you did, and refrain from mocking.

Are you saying that I’ll soon be reading more treatments of goth lit, or more goth lit? Are you talking about Flannery O’Connor? I’m almost through with that bleakness, thank FSM.

By: pzed

pzed — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 15:18:36 +0000

hey baby… the Stephen King titles in the list include Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Night Shift, Dead Zone, Firestarter, Cujo, Different Seasons, Pet Sematary, Skeleton Crew, IT, Gerald’s Game, Insomnia, The Green Mile, Bag of Bones, and Hearts in Atlantis. Has he written anything else? Yes, I know how to find out, but why bother.

Of course, I only know King from movie versions, all of which have been ridiculous except The Shining, which was genuinely funny. (Actually, Dead Zone was kind of enjoyable, if only for Christopher Walken.) I’m taking Thomson et. al.’s list as a starting point only. Their’s was primarily a bibliographic project, and a useful one, but perhaps not as long on theory or literary analysis as other treatments of goth lit, of which you will soon be reading more.

By: jodi

jodi — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 19:09:39 +0000

While I wouldn’t want to suddenly find myself living with a 40 year old who fits neatly into some sort of “goth boy” stereotype slot (weekend or otherwise), I’d sure like to see you in eyeliner more often.

Perhaps the inclusion of King in the list is based on a few particular works. While Cujo and all of that other dreck doesn’t seem to fit, he did also make some serious forays into fantasy/adventure with the Gunslinger series and, um, that other one I didn’t read (my brother could probably tell you about it). I still don’t think those works have much in common with the “gothic” writers I’ve read, though.