(Cover image from Jane Austen Ruined My Life, by Beth Patillo)
Despite the surge in temperature this past Sunday, I settled down amidst football games and front closet cleaning, to soak in a few suitably atmospheric short stories for the final September weekend of the R.I.P. IV Challenge.
I actually started my Short Story Sunday reading with a perusal of the October issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. I’ve had a thing for Martha for a long time, particularly because the autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas issues of her magazine inspire me and are relaxing comfort reads. I went back recently and reviewed my collection of autumn/Halloween magazines and couldn’t wait until the October issue came out. It is something I indulge myself in only on those special occasions, but since I can actually get a year’s subscription for less than I pay for those magazines I might just have to find room in the budget for Martha year round!
There is a wonderful article, with pictures, of a home in upstate New York, planted in the midst of beautiful grape vines, that already has me thinking about new decorating ideas. And the food! How can one not look at the great harvest bounty in the food section and not be hungry?
I then selected a volume of H.P. Lovecraft short stories. I have two volumes of his work and each year around this time I pull them down and read a few of the stories. I have yet to finish either book and have enjoyed savoring them in this manner. These Penguin Classic volumes have wonderful appendices with references and interesting facts for each story and part of the enjoyment of reading them is turning straight to the appendix after each story to read the background information on it.
The Quest of Iranon
A young musician, haunted by memories of an idyllic land from whence he was removed as a child, travels from town to town putting his longing for this magical place into song. Unappreciated and unsuccessful in his searches, the young man is soon joined by another seeking a land more beautiful than his own. Why does Iranon never seem to age? And what is it about his utopia that makes it so illusive?
This story is much subtler than I am used to, coming from the mind of H.P. Lovecraft. It is reportedly an homage of sorts to the storytelling style of Lord Dunsany. It was enjoyable, with a slight eerieness factor, and proves that Lovecraft has some nice range to his storytelling abilities.
Music of Erich Zann
Continuing on the music theme, this one is much more dark and otherwordly–no doubt about this one being a true Lovecraftian tale. It is a very short story, heavy on suspense and sinister doings. The ending could have been slightly better, but overall this one was a fun reminder of why I like his work so much.
Under the Pyramids
This is a somewhat longer ‘short’ story, ghost written for Harry Houdini. In it, Houdini recounts a horrific tale of ancient evil that he encountered while traveling in Egypt. Evidently Houdini did make a very brief trip to Egypt and Lovecraft took this moment and turned it into a grand piece of short fiction. One of the knocks on H.P. Lovecraft is that his stories sometimes contain too much detail. Such could be argued here, as the narrator spends a great deal of time describing the trip and waxing eloquent about the various pyramids and temples in Egypt and their history. (Interestingly enough, the appendix indicates that many of Lovecraft’s dates in this are wrong, an error they have no ready explanation for). I myself like a good scary story placed in this setting and so didn’t mind the long build up to the action. I realized as I read this that I had read this story many years prior when a friend loaned me a copy of a Lovecraft short story collection. What was odd about the timing is that just this past Wednesday I did a guest post for Harry’s site, Temple Library Reviews, in which I spoke of how writers like H.P. Lovecraft seemed to capture this sense of undiscovered mystery…of places lurking just below the surface where ancient evils lie…and this is exactly the story I was thinking about when I wrote that. I love coincidences like this.
All said it was a perfect way to say ‘goodbye’ to September’s short story weekends and usher in October 2009.
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We had a giveaway this past week! A set of these lovely postcards from artist Anne-Julie Aubrey.
And the winner, chosen by the random number generator, is:
Email your address to me at poegeek (at) gmail (dot) com and I will get this right out to you.
There is more to come everyone! Month one of the R.I.P. IV Challenge is almost at an end, but we have the whole month of October to revel in more gothic reading!
Martha Stewart – how fabulous. She has only recently come to my attention over here in England as she has started making punches for scrapbooking. The magazine look awesome. I think America is so much better than England at celebrating Halloween.
I have two collections of H.P. Lovecraft, but I’ve only read one or two of his stories. For the R.I.P. IV challenge I aimed to read through some of these short stories, but as of yet I’ve only managed two. Last night I attempted one, but I was so tired I only made it a few paragraphs into the story.
Any suggestions on which story to choose or start with?
Lovecraft was a hack!!! 🙂
Love the cover of Martha Stewart’s mag–it’s gourdeous!
We wanted to grow a pumpkin patch for the autumn, and planted seeds for giant pumpkins, but due to a lack of watering (and rain) we’ll need to pick up our pumpkins at the market.
Congrats to Sakura!
yup Martha ain’t so bad lol..
Just one more month for RIP wow.. I ‘m still reading! I’m on my 3rd chunkster! I did Drood and Shadow of the Wind and now The Woman in White! whew.. tired just thinking of it lol
I really need to read some Lovecraft man! I think of you everytime I see Martha Stewart’s seasonal issues of her magazines 🙂
I’m listening to the soundtrack to the Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack right now (which you can stream for free here: http://stereogum.com/archives/stream-the-where-the-wild-things-are-soundtrack_092471.html) and I keep thinking that you’d love it! It’s perfect October music!! Fantastic stuff! It’s by Karen O and the Kids. It’s the lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s together with an untrained children’s choir. Just wonderful stuff!! Check it out!
Congratulations Sakura 😀
I really need to try some Lovecraft. I never thought of you as a Martha Stewart man (that’s not the sound of me giggling!) 😉 Though we don’t really get much Martha over here in the UK.
Ceri: I have all kinds of surprises! 🙂 I don’t watch the show, but I am still a fan. I find her a cool customer and her taste in designers (or her ability to get out of their way) in regards to the layout, etc. of her magazine impresses me.
Chris: I like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! I’ll check that out. I can’t wait to see that film. It really, sincerely makes me smile that the holiday issues of Living make you think of me!
Deslily: I’ve been so swamped with work, and bringing work home, that I’ve done little reading and almost no blog visiting for a week or more. I’ve got to get over to your site to read about your great reads! I haven’t even been on my email for 4 days or so…gotta get caught up!
Susan: I’ve wanted to grow pumpkins before and just haven’t tried. I really should. I remember working in the pumpkin patches when I was a teenager and really enjoying it.
Jeff: Yep, him and Poe. 😉
Logan: Lovecraft definitely isn’t something to read it you are tired! Ha, he can be too verbose for that. I really enjoyed “The Statement of Randolph Carter”, “Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family” and “The Picture in the House”. These that I listed in today’s post are also good.
Vivienne: I wonder why that is? It seems that much of the traditions celebrated have origins on the isle of Great Britain.
Thanks Carl! I never thought of reading short stories as part of the challenge but you’ve got me thinking. It’s a great idea.
I am sorry Carl but can you hear me giggling? Martha Stewart?
You are full of surprises.
P.S. Short stories drive me nuts. I always want them to go on…….
Martha Stewart and H.P. Lovecraft. What a combo! (Actually, given what she is famous for, there’s a great pun in there somewhere. But I’m too tired…)
OMGosh…I LOVE the cover on that Martha Stewart magazine!!! Sounds like you managed to fit in some winning short stories amongst Martha and football. Sadly, I didn’t get any read last weekend, but I’m hoping for better luck this one.
Debi: It is really fun, isn’t it? I’m hoping to squeeze in some short story reading this weekend, but it is shaping up to be a full one, so we’ll see.
ds: there is a great pun in there somewhere, I’d have to agree. 😉
Cynthia: It says ‘eclectic musings’ on the header, so I aim to please. 🙂
Sakura: The short story peril during the R.I.P. Challenge is one of my favorites. I love reading gothic/scary short stories during this time of year.