If Shakespeare had been commissioned to write a play for a Rogers & Hammerstein-style musical, this would have been it – replete with Greek chorus. I have a new favorite author, and finally an indication that not all postmodernism is self-important drivel. This author who lived in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma of all places (perhaps just down the street from where I dumped Cloudie in the water-filled ditch in 1985?) seems to me very much a foundation author. I can hear his influence in Zelazny, Delany, Brust, Peter S. Beagle, Effinger, very much in Stephen King and Peter Straub, and as far afield as in the breath of my favorite poet (who spoke a few years ago in Santa Cruz), Larry Ferlinghetti. This is so exciting!
Someone on their internet tribute site said: “reading a Lafferty story is a full body experience. After a few sentences your brain goes into hyperactivity, your belly is aching from laughter and you might need to reach for the aspirin jar soon, because like all good drugs his stories tend to leave you with a headache.” And Zelazny blurbed the book, saying: “whom the gods would destroy, they should first have read FOURTH MANSIONS. The closest comparison I can think of is a psychedelic morality play where the Virtues and Vices keep sneaking offstage and switching masks. One comes away from it as one awakens from a dream.” I absolutely agree both, and this is one book I would very much enjoy reading again. Now, I have to read the rest of this author’s offerings.
Still, it’s hard to explain the lessons this book teaches. There’s more poetry here than you can throw a stick at! This is powerful writing, an orchestra of writing, versus the usual simple tune one usually hears. There is amplitude to what is said. How do you do that?
Someone on their internet tribute site said: “reading a Lafferty story is a full body experience. After a few sentences your brain goes into hyperactivity, your belly is aching from laughter and you might need to reach for the aspirin jar soon, because like all good drugs his stories tend to leave you with a headache.” And Zelazny blurbed the book, saying: “whom the gods would destroy, they should first have read FOURTH MANSIONS. The closest comparison I can think of is a psychedelic morality play where the Virtues and Vices keep sneaking offstage and switching masks. One comes away from it as one awakens from a dream.” I absolutely agree both, and this is one book I would very much enjoy reading again. Now, I have to read the rest of this author’s offerings.
Still, it’s hard to explain the lessons this book teaches. There’s more poetry here than you can throw a stick at! This is powerful writing, an orchestra of writing, versus the usual simple tune one usually hears. There is amplitude to what is said. How do you do that?
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