More Ghastliness

Alice Turner · 29 Jun 2001, 11:25 · from urth-v0030.mbox · original

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From: "Alice Turner" <pei047 at attglobal.net>
Subject: (urth) More Ghastliness
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 11:25:09
Message-ID: <urth-v0030-0521 at digest.urth.net>
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In the current (July/August, first ever double ish that I know of, not a
good sign) Atlantic Monthy there is a long bracingly splenetic rant or
manifesto about the current sorry state of American fiction by someone
named B.R. Myers. I wouldn't bring this up on the list (though I loved
it for its crankiness), as it is about mainstream fiction, except for an
aside so odd, near the end, that I must quote: "...many of the adults
who enjoy Harry Potter would be even happier with Mervyn Peake's
Gormenghast trilogy (1946-1959) if only they knew about it."

Huh? This struck such a jarring note that it threw all the preceding
into doubt. Absolutely the only thing that the Rowling and Peake books
have in common is that they are both fantasy, and one would have to have
an ear of sheer tin to connect them. Since Myers does not appear to have
a tin ear, I would guess that Peake is the only fantasy he has ever
read, that he has only heard about Potter, and that no one on the
editorial staff was familiar with both writers. Any other opinions?

-alga

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