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| Bookgasm. 'Nuff said. |
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| Post-Apocalyptic Castaway? |
Once in a while, you come across a book that makes your inner bookworm orgasm. You know you've had one when you find yourself going "squeeeee!" like a crazed teenage girl over some male pop idol long after you've finished the book.
Richard Matheson's "Hell House" has been on my reading wish list for quite some time now, so when I came across this 2006 edition of I Am Legend + short stories/Hell House in a secondhand bookstore, I snapped it up in a millisecond.
Funny thing is, I was never interested in reading "I Am Legend." I mistakenly thought it was similar in plot to the movie of the same title starring Will Smith, or to "The Omega Man", starring Charlton Heston. (I remember watching this as a kid- my maiden aunts are BIG Charlton Heston fans). Since neither movie really appealed to me, when it came to the book, I was like, meh.
I shall now try to repress said fan girl (SQUEEEEEEE!!!!) slightly, lest I give away the entire story in this review in my enthusiasm. Well, either that, or the whole thing shall end up being punctuated by a whole bunch of squees.
Robert Neville is the last man on earth. Our setting is post-war, and due to biological warfare, a pandemic has spread and turned everyone around him into mindless, bloodsucking creatures. (Quite the zombie-vampire mix.)
When we first meet Robert, he has been alone for several months and has given into depression and alcoholism. He has lost both wife and daughter to the disease, and his current life is an endless cycle—by day, he sets out to kill as many vampires as he can; by night, he is imprisoned in his own house, drinking, while vampires surround his house, crying out for his blood until the break of dawn.
As the story progresses, Robert eventually meets another living creature - a dog. It is this contact with life that snaps him out of his depression and inspires him to turn his energies into studying the vampire, in hopes of finally finding a cure and restoring humanity.
My take on this tale? To label Richard Matheson as a horror novelist is a gross understatement, and trying to put a genre to "I Am Legend" is kind of like trying to fit a square through a circular hole. It is more than just a horror story written to terrify its readers. It is a philosophical dialogue on a lone man struggling to survive and all the while, looking for a reason to. It is a crash course in biology, a study on social behavior and psychological conditioning, among other things. It won't take long before you're sucked into the story and you're identifying with the protagonist. A few chapters on and I found myself cheering Robert on his ingeniousness, his ability to adapt, and sympathizing with his frustrations and sadness. Richard Matheson is a true master of words. The beauty of the story mainly lies in that he has given Robert Neville a soul.
One of my favorite parts is when Robert snaps out his depression and starts researching and experimenting to find out more about the disease. Oh, the details! I loved how Matheson has a plausible explanation for every aspect of the vampire—from the physical evolution to the folklore surrounding it. Kudos to Matheson for using "hysterical blindness" (psychological conditioning + insanity) to explain why a Christian vampire would fear the cross, the Jewish vampire the torah, a Buddhist vampire the swastika, and so on. (Thank you, Mr. Matheson, for the United Colors of Vampirism.)
Oh, and of course, the ending. The last chapter was headed towards a direction I really, really didn't like. So there I was, seething, trying to keep my violent reactions in check until the very end. And then, all of a sudden, this master of words was able to deftly wrap the story up FLAWLESSLY, BEAUTIFULLY, PERFECTLY (SQUEEEEE! SQUEEEEE!), in a way that melted my heart and left me shaking my head in disbelief at how he was able to do that with JUST THREE SHORT PARAGRAPHS. Amazing.
Published in 1954, Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend" has been hailed by many as a pioneer for the global apocalypse/zombie genre, and also as "the first modern vampire novel". Sad, if you think about it, about how the paranormal genre have now evolved mostly into love stories between suicidal teenage girls and emo paranormal entities attending high school for eternity. Oh, and vampires now sparkle in sunlight too!
But then, as Robert Neville puts it, "Normalcy [is] a majority concept, the standard of many and not the standard of just one man." And the sarcasm of this blogger probably just stems from her love for a more eloquent bygone era.
For classic movie buffs, the 1964 film "The Last Man on Earth" starring Vincent Price is the closest movie adaptation to the novel.
Dear Kelly,
ReplyDeleteWill you please consider reviewing my new novel DON’T FORGET ME, BRO (Stephen F. Austin State University Press and Texas Book Consortium, Dec. 2014-Jan.2015).
My novel tackles themes of childhood abuse, mental illness, and alienated families--and leaves the reader uplifted!
Kirkus Reviews says: "Read this book for the vivid imagery and sharp dialogue. Read it for the spot-on characterizations..."
The subject matter is never treated frivolously or over-handled in details. The writing is taut and compelling throughout. The pace leans forward tirelessly.
Those accomplishments alone took years.
In all, five of my thirty years of writing were dedicated to this novel. I like to joke: I had to pull my soul sideways through a keyhole for those five years to get the right words down.
My debut novel, THE NIGHT I FREED JOHN BROWN (Penguin Group, 2008), won The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades 7-12) and was one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY for Black History Month. For more info:
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/john-michael-cummings/the-night-i-freed-john-brown/
My 2011 short story collection, UGLY TO START WITH (West Virginia
University Press), was hailed by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a work of “sharp observation and surpassing grace.” Here’s a link to some information about my collection:
http://www.amazon.com/Ugly-Start-With-Michael-Cummings/dp/193597808X
My short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary
journals, including The Iowa Review, North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review. Twice I have been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. My short story "The Scratchboard Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short Stories 2007.
But DON'T FORGET ME, BRO is my best!
The novel is a fictionalized story of my brother. Joe died at 47 of system-wide neglect and indifference for the so-called mentally ill in my, until recently, extremely backward home state of West Virginia.
I know thousands of lives are lost every day around the world. True, Joe was just one. But in this novel, you will see him live and die not once, but a thousand times in the minutes of his life.
If you email me at johnmcummings@aol.com, I'll send you the cover graphic for my novel. Then, please take a look at the image. You will see in Joe's innocent, dead-on eyes at 19.
I'll also email you a new digital .pdf of my novel from the publisher. It's a clear, bold text.
I promise you that DON'T FORGET ME, BRO is not too grim. I am
sensitive to the reader's well-being and tolerance.
Cleanly written and briskly plotted, DON'T FORGET ME, BRO is a quick, fabulous read, a literary page-turner. Never before in my career could I say this about my work. So I say so now with a truth I can all but guarantee.
I hope I don't sound arrogant. I am just very happy and confident.
To give you a bigger picture of my novel, I'll even email you a full advance review by Pauline Finch of Bookreporter.com, along with a list of authors who've blurbed my novel so far and what they have said.
I would very grateful and honored if you were to review my new novel.
Again, my email is johnmcummings@aol.com
My phone number is (304) 620-8747.
In respect and gratitude for your work,
and warmly,
John Michael Cummings
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