I Just Finished Reading...

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Quote Originally Posted by Zaharoff

Bassoff, Jon - Corrosion For a first book, solid.

Thanks. I was curious about Bassoff after seeing a couple of covers by Daniele Serra.

[bendk]

I've read four novels recently.

Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West. This short novel is about a man who is responsible for responding to an advice column. Between his editor's cynicism and the often desperate letters from people needing help, they eventually take their toll. A very good novel.

The Coma by Alex Garland. A man, protecting a female passenger from being mugged, is beaten severely and incurs brain damage. It is a disorienting yet fascinating read. Nicely illustrated by Nicholas Garland, the author's father who was a political cartoonist. I enjoyed reading this until the end. I felt the ending was weak.

The Foundation Pit by Andrei Platonov. This novel skewers early communism. It reduces individual people to classes. At times funny, other times violent. A very good novel.

Larger than Life by Dino Buzzati. Sherdstube put me on to this novel. I was unaware of it being translated. He didn't recommend it. He couldn't find an inexpensive copy and hadn't read it yet. I got one through an interlibrary loan. Remarkably, despite being published in 1960, it's about AI. The question it poses is still very relevant. And while the novel ended strongly, I didn't really care for it. But perhaps that is based on its relation to his other work for which I hold the highest regard.

[Zaharoff]

Roscoe, Theodore - The Wonderful Lips Of Thibong Linh

Fairly old book has been in the shelves for years, finally getting around to reading.
A trio of 1930’s Pulp adventures.
The first, "On Account of a Woman," follows an intrepid pair, a Yank and Australian, as they spy a haunting statue, fiercely guarded by an Arab tribe. How much would museums pay for this, they wonder. Well, they wonder pretty high and plan to steal the female statue. The best laid plans, however.
Published in 1936 in Adventure, this strikes me as more clearly aimed at juvenile readers, with fisticuffs and hijinks aplenty.
Next, "The Voodoo Express," a cracking adventure set in Haiti. Legendary gold, a forgotten express train, a treacherous voodoo priest. Oh, what men will endure once they discover their fellow man has access to untold riches. Lengthy tale is evocative of the jungle and a page turner.
The closer is "The Wonderful Lips of Thibong Linh," set in French controlled Vietnam and Cambodia. A Legionairre is given a secret document to take to Hanoi. Previous couriers have been murdered, so he decides to take a circuitous route. Instead, he rescues the beautiful Thera, priestess of the goddess, Thibong Linh, who is the key to – you guessed it – untold wealth.
Another romp through exotic jungles, with some masterful twists.
Theodore Roscoe provides forward and afterword.
He was also still alive when I purchased my copy, and I like to think he got a couple of dollars.

[Zaharoff]

Vardeman, David - An Angel Of Sodom

Who let this guy loose?
The opening title story is a wild read and an avalanche of deranged images. Fifteen year old Jackie weighs 342 lbs, his knockers are the envy of most girls. Under his belt lurks his mantool, buried beneath folds of flesh. Folds that prove resistant to hygiene, so they waft like only body stench can.
Such is merely the opening of a painfully funny novella.
Within weeks, however, Jackie experiences “growing up” lessons, and his outlook detours into a sadder perspective.
Oh, the novella is written without commas or quotes. Yeah, yeah, the author is being artsy.

“… I’ve always had to do the wrong thing to find out what the right thing would have been …”
So sighs Mrs. Windbourne, pondering her quietly misspent life. She has struck up a conversation with a new friend in “Stomboli” as their cruise ship circles the volcanic island of the same name. Both females, one insecure, the other incisive, drink cocktails on deck, and their exchanges grow ever more irrational and incoherent.

The next outing bears a conversational tone, with a repetitive narrative style. Meaning a phrase or sentence is echoed in varying degrees. This repetition, for me, became like an annoying coworker.
Anyway, “A Young Guy And His Career” might just as well be Detection 4 Dummies. One morning, Wally decides he is a detective. He posts an advertisement, and lands his first case within 15 days. From there, the tale moseys from Pigge to pig. I kid you not. A satire on hard boiled dicks and the Great American Way, if a little hammy.

“Tramp On The Street” is another long tale. Opening paragraphs resemble a standup monologue. Our narrator’s mother has just died – so – doing as you or I, he heads to the local saloon.
The usual table, the usual cronies, spouting alcohol soaked wisdom and philosophy. Much of your sympathy here may depend on your thoughts on the human race.
There are one or two interludes where our narrator, Kap, leaves the table and reflects. Situations, observations, paths untaken. Mr. Vardeman enters more serious territory here, before stepping back and returning to sarcasm de jour.

This is not a collection to trot through or to read solo, one story after another. The author’s voice has a “samey” quality, and I found it best to space these between stories or novels by other writers.

[bendk]

Quote Originally Posted by Zaharoff

Vardeman, David - An Angel Of Sodom

Why is it that I can't find a single book by this author on any sales platform?
I only see him on Goodreads.

[indecipherable]

Quote Originally Posted by bendk

Quote Originally Posted by Zaharoff Vardeman, David - An Angel Of Sodom Why is it that I can't find a single book by this author on any sales platform? I only see him on Goodreads.

Here you go: An Angel of Sodom, gold, by Davic Vardeman

[Zaharoff]

Quote Originally Posted by bendk

Why is it that I can't find a single book by this author on any sales platform? I only see him on Goodreads.

After Robert mentioned Corona / Samizdat earlier, I made a couple of purchases. At 10E most of their books are very reasonable.
Each time! I ordered 3, shipping was another 7E.
They are small sized books, sized like older paperbacks, only shorter, stubbier.
Before the Vardeman i had read the Chandler Broussard.
Interesting press in Slovenia.

[bendk]

Quote Originally Posted by Zaharoff

Quote Originally Posted by bendk Why is it that I can't find a single book by this author on any sales platform? I only see him on Goodreads. After Robert mentioned Corona / Samizdat earlier, I made a couple of purchases. At 10E most of their books are very reasonable. Each time! I ordered 3, shipping was another 7E. They are small sized books, sized like older paperbacks, only shorter, stubbier. Before the Vardeman i had read the Chandler Broussard. Interesting press in Slovenia.

I looked at their catalog and Broussard is the other author that sounds interesting. What book did you read? Was it worth reading?

[Zaharoff]

Quote Originally Posted by bendk

I looked at their catalog and Broussard is the other author that sounds interesting. What book did you read? Was it worth reading?

The Double Dealers

https://www.ligotti.net/showpost.php...&postcount=147
I believe GR lists this as The Double View.

[Zaharoff]

Bukowski, Charles - Hot Water Music

Chinaski attends the reading by a rival poet, untalented yet wildly popular. One masterpiece proceeds:

“East of the Suez of my heart
begins a buzzing, buzzing, buzzing
sombre still, still sombre
and suddenly Summer comes home
straight on through like a
Quarterback sneak on the one yard line
of my heart!”

Thirty plus stories from 1983. The majority are funny, though often fading at the end like a drunk passing out.
Chances encounters in the cheap bar. Arguments over breakfast. Fistfights in the alley
Winning on the horses, losing everything. Wading from one stinking cesspool of a job to another.
How hard does your own life blow, loser?