The Silent Land by Graham Joyce
My rating: 3/5 cats
i have always called graham joyce “jonathan carroll-lite.” and there is nothing wrong with graham joyce—i keep reading his books, don’t i? but they are always seem to take place in the same neighborhood as one of jc’s tales, just missing a certain je ne sais quoi that jonathan carroll would have supplied. but this book is just ripped out of jonathan carroll’s diary, man. this is like dean koontz trying to write a horror novel set in maine. you are setting yourself up for judgment, my friend, and to me, jonathan carroll will always win. i have never wished more that authors could cover other people’s books the way musicians get to cover and improve other people’s songs.
elvis costello > christina aguilera
and my very favorite:
richard thompson > britney spears
old(er) men just do pop tarts’ songs better. and this book just screams out for jonathan carroll’s touch. LGM. this is his realm: View Spoiler ». or, as joyce phrases it: the place where the laws of physics and the laws of dreaming meet. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with this book—it is a fast-paced and spooky story of a couple alone in a timeless world of snow, with no way to escape, and with only each other to lean on as they try to figure out what is happening.
as a love story, this is pretty wonderful. people are always asking me for love stories at work, and i always always blank, because the only ones i can ever think of are sad love stories, but you can’t mention that to people without it being a big fat spoiler. of course, if you ask them, “does it need to be happy??” then you are also giving a spoiler with your suggestion. it is a no-win situation. and i am not going to say whether this one is a sad or a happy story, only that this relationship feels real—with its ups and downs and pettiness and silent resentments and confessions but also silent courtesies and deep and committed appreciation. it is really quite lovely, this relationship, and i think i shall suggest it in the future to those people looking for love stories, even though i am pretty sure some of them will be baffled by the rest of the book.
the flashback scenes involving the couple’s relationships with their own parents was also very nicely done, and set up a lot of good mood-foreshadowing.
so i don’t know what about this is making me not bump it up to the four-starcat realm, except the knowledge that this is jonathan carroll territory, and if you want to come to this party, you better be wearing your sunday best.
but as a fast-moving spooky twilight zone-y sort of book—i do recommend this one.
sorry my reviews have been poop lately—my head is exploding with strange fluids and aches and what feels like doozers hard at work, rebuilding.
please pardon our appearance while we renovate.
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