Assorted Reviews #3 (Spooky Edition)

[alaterdate]

Master Zacharius by Jules Verne is a short story about a clockmaker, the very first of his kind, who meets a tragic end due to his hubris. See, he believes that, as a clockmaker, the very first, somehow he is in control of time itself and that this fact makes him akin to God. SO of course a demon shows up and is like "yeah, of course absolutely, you have risen to godhood, now let me marry your daughter to cement it eternally." That turns out as well as you might expect (not well at all!). I read Zachary Katz-Stein's translation (if only my French wasn't piss poor... hm! perhaps if I had a daughter....) ahem! It's quite an interesting little tale, with a little adventure thrown in and some pretty good quotes. Check it out! Or else!

Turn of the Screw by Henry James is the story of a governess in charge of two wards, who keeps seeing mysterious apparitions on the grounds of the estate where she and the little boy she's to watch are staying. None of the others at the estate see these ghostly specters, but the governess is determined to protect the children from the creatures. Gonna be real here: this one was a slog. A tough piece of meat to chew for a modern reader, truly. Its prominence is very much due to its publishing context (like Stevenson's Jekyll & Hyde, a "you had to be there" type book). See, when people first read it, it was very hotly debated whether or not there were actually ghosts or if the governess was, in truth, of unsound mind. You can see the reverberations this had on horror literature! (Much like we still feel emanations from Jekyll & Hyde even though the original story is far from how we perceive it today!)

J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla is...FANTASTIC. I've been meaning to read this one for quite a few years, and BOY I WAITED TOO LONG. I absolutely adore it. It's exciting, interesting, and easy to read. Carmilla cuts quite the striking figure and I must say I was enamored. So too was dear, sweet, Laura. Carmilla cuts into her life like a hot poker through butter. And the relationship between them is bitter sweet with our audiences' knowledge that this is a vampire story. There's so much of this story reflected in later vampire works, its just a treat to read them here and point them out. If you're a fan of vampire media this is a MUST-READ. SINK YOUR TEETH INTO IT.