The Gothic Novel Book Club <Hiatus> discussion

Let's hear 'em.

Stonehearst Asylum by Edgar Allan Poe.

YASSSS!

I nominate My Cousin Rachel

That one's old?! Get out!

Modern Classic, but I will accept it.

I wish it were on the modern side. I would love to read that for modern and like ... no wait it's a secret.

I love secrets, Shaina, and now you have me very curious!!!

Well I would really love to read that as modern... my cousin Rachel ... and do Stonehearst Asylum here!

Shhh. Don't tell

I need to check outStonehearst Asylum: Short Story and has anyone considered A Rose for Emily

By coincidence, I read My Cousin Rachel recently. I didn't like it. The protagonist is such a fool for getting involved with a woman who obviously does not care for him and ruins his material prospects in so doing. The book, it seemed to me, was mostly about a love addiction - and addiction is the word - that parallels most kinds of addiction: the inability to grasp yourself as other than weaknesses based on emotion.

I nominate Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. It was published in 1973. Does that make it a classic?

We may need to do a shorts sesssion.

John, I have never read it but I have heard this before. I would still be willing to give it a shot.

John maybe you could have put , or rather should have put .... spoiler alert before all that. I know you've been a bookworm and read it already but some of us, including me have not.
Le sigh.
Got it John.? Do that before you spill plot things next time and ruin things for another reader. If you don't like that book, that's fine. You don't have to read it. Nominate another one and we will all still vote.

Kathy wrote: "I nominate Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon. It was published in 1973. Does that make it a classic?"

I loved that book, Kathy, but would need to hunt it up and purchase it again; what a fine writer ( and actor) he was. WOW

Skye, I get most of my books from the library. If you have a Georgia library card, you can order a book from any library in the state. Thank goodness, because our town's library is really small. Plus I can usually track down the older books while I am put on a wait list for the newer ones. Have you read his other book The Other? That one is pretty good, too.

Hi Kathy, Yes, I read The Other and I believe I read part of Crowned Heads ( but not a gothic, to be certain).

I live in NJ, Kathy, not far from Center City Philadelphia. I live in a little historical town, and the library is not close by, but I can get books from any of the branches throughout Burlington County. I read so slowly Kathy ( I work online full time) that I would just have to keep renewing and renewing books.

The Collector by John Fowles.
This is a wonderful book and a great film

Skye, I went to Temple so I am familiar with Center City. It has been about 15 years since I have last visited. I love all the historical buildings and such. I worked for the Buck's County DA's office so I got to travel all over northern Phila up to Allentown -- beautiful region.

Oh, heavens, Kathy, Temple, huh? My father went to Temple! I imagine you have been following ( good grief) the nightmare in Bucks County that has absorbed us for over a week, It has taken precedence over the news and I believe most of the 'breaking news from Philly has centered around the DA of Buck's County.
http://www.buckscountycouriertimes.co...

I grew up on Sixth and Spruce, but then we came to NJ; I later moved to Medford ( many years ago when I married, and then Marlton) You must be familiar with all these places. .

I feel like I'm eavesdropping. Feel free to message each other at any point since this isn't about the nominations. Heh. Whatever floats your boat.

Eavesdrop, Shaina!!!! :)))

Np, just got carried away!

Hahaha!!!!!

I find it to be a very small world, Shaina.

Okay. I even felt a bit guilty about my poor opinion of Rachel because I have a great regard for Daphne du Maurier. Rebecca is so outstanding. It seems that she was interested in exploring the various illusions people have about others, combining it with a sort of Gothic slant. Ill Never be Young Again does something similar.

Outstanding insight. Well considered. If someone is going to dislike something I think a well reasoned argument instead of just a bunch of complaining is far superior. This is the place for that. We love intellect like that and discussion. Everything you say is brilliant anyway. :) (Sorry about the spoiler thing, but someone might still want to read that) Well, we all don't always like what we read here or anywhere else. That's just part of it. Do you have a classic you can recommend that we read?

Yes, can we please keep the nomination boards clean. I encourage discussion in other threads but it makes the nominations hard to sift through. Feel free to open discussion threads of your own at any time.

How about Là-Bas? It is a novel by the French writer Huysmans, first published in 1891. Là-Bas deals with the subject of Satanism in fin-de-siecle 19th century France. The novel stirred much controversy on its first appearance. It is a kind of tour around the dark side of Paris, a bit like Confessions of an Opium Eater by our own de Quincy. (Sale of the book was banned in French railway stations.)