Wow! What a stunning litany of weird (and weirder still) works of literature! What a splendid idea to bring these works from the shadows into the light!
The diary of lady murasaki is one of the most sublime texts one could ever read, just shows what Japanese women of the 11cAD were capable of. And stands up well in a tradition which normally valorises Basho as the ultimate arbiter of written refinement.
Loving in this list the concentration on Anglo-Saxon mystism and the middle English Canon. Although I would note I didn't see early English female writers such as Julian of Norwich and/or Marjorie Kemp.
I could go on but this is a great foundation level list out of which could grow so many syllabi.
Enjoyed this immensely.
Get some Angela Carter on there. Bloody Chamber. The Magic Toyshop. Wise Children.
I cannot express my joy at seeing the Journey Through Wales by Gerald of Wales included on this list. I wrote 20,000 words in a masters dissertation to prove that all of Gerald's books were just as weird, confounding, polemic, fragmentary and plain funny as Journey. Also shoutout to the Trifles of the Courtiers by Walter Map which has some of the best medieval ghost stories
What with the 50th anniversary of the film, howsabout Joan Lindsay's PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK? I understand it's even weirder than the film! Definitely on my little list.
Yeah! So, if you like Shakuntala, you might dig this Indian story collection:
"TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS", a series of stories told by a goblin inhabiting a dead man. The king, Triple-Victory, cuts the dead man down from a tree, the goblin tells tales to escape the king, over and over.
Featuring stories like, "The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?" and "The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?"
Absolutely love this thank you. I’ve been looking for anything about Gilgamesh on here, will definitely be joining you on April 18th. My contribution to suggestions is The Dark is Riding series by Susan Cooper.
My grumpy comment here, not to be Captain Bringdown or anything, BUT. All of those books 📚 are magical and beautiful and get better and better, with the fourth one, Grey King, winning the Newberry, is it, r smth, and then, AND THEN, the last one is kind of a hot mess, IMHO, like she had lost interest, or just couldn't be bothered or whatever. Doesn't take away from the first 4, but I just wish it could have ended in a fashion worthy of the whole.
I also am a fan of the neighbor man tossing cucumbers over the fence to woo Nicklebys mother. And of course I have read all the Icelandic Sagas (I am a half Scandinavian). Let us not forget the ghost stories of Edith Wharton. I found them eerie and naturally well written-see the Portable E. Wharton for these and other excellent stories. And also see some of the unsettling and excellent stories in William T Vollmann's Last Stories and Other Stories.
Tolkien was spot on, ‘critics read Beowulf for its historical allusions and sniffed in disdain at the dragons, when the dragons were by far the most important bit’ — the dragons are what got me reading and rereading Beowulf (Seamus Heaney’s translation rocks btw)
This is fun! I was astonished by how much I loved Metamorphoses when I read it a couple years ago. I then recommended it to a friend who's a fan of the weird, who was in turn astonished by how much he loved it.
My dear, you married into the right family, in the right state/ (Cf, Portland's unofficial motto, "Keep Portland Weird." Ashlandia is Weirder.)
It's funny, I was thinking the exact same thing as I wrote this piece.
Wow! What a stunning litany of weird (and weirder still) works of literature! What a splendid idea to bring these works from the shadows into the light!
The list itself is revelatory.
Into the shadows . . . !
The diary of lady murasaki is one of the most sublime texts one could ever read, just shows what Japanese women of the 11cAD were capable of. And stands up well in a tradition which normally valorises Basho as the ultimate arbiter of written refinement.
Loving in this list the concentration on Anglo-Saxon mystism and the middle English Canon. Although I would note I didn't see early English female writers such as Julian of Norwich and/or Marjorie Kemp.
I could go on but this is a great foundation level list out of which could grow so many syllabi.
Enjoyed this immensely.
Get some Angela Carter on there. Bloody Chamber. The Magic Toyshop. Wise Children.
I cannot express my joy at seeing the Journey Through Wales by Gerald of Wales included on this list. I wrote 20,000 words in a masters dissertation to prove that all of Gerald's books were just as weird, confounding, polemic, fragmentary and plain funny as Journey. Also shoutout to the Trifles of the Courtiers by Walter Map which has some of the best medieval ghost stories
What with the 50th anniversary of the film, howsabout Joan Lindsay's PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK? I understand it's even weirder than the film! Definitely on my little list.
Yeah! So, if you like Shakuntala, you might dig this Indian story collection:
"TWENTY-TWO GOBLINS", a series of stories told by a goblin inhabiting a dead man. The king, Triple-Victory, cuts the dead man down from a tree, the goblin tells tales to escape the king, over and over.
Featuring stories like, "The Four Brothers who brought a Dead Lion to Life. Which is to blame when he kills them all?" and "The Girl who transposed the Heads of her Husband and Brother. Which combination of head and body is her husband?"
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52309
I think that some works on the standard cannon are weird too. Oedipus is weird, as is a lot of Shakespeare.
Personally, I'd love to hear all about all the Icelandic sagas!
Cannot recommend Icelandic sagas enough, although it's been decades since I read them. Njal's Saga and Laxdaela Saga in particular. 💖
Will be on the lookout for those next time I go out to get books, thanks for the suggestions!
Absolutely love this thank you. I’ve been looking for anything about Gilgamesh on here, will definitely be joining you on April 18th. My contribution to suggestions is The Dark is Riding series by Susan Cooper.
I just finished Over Sea, Under Stone!
Yay! They’re so good.
Should have asked if you enjoyed OSUS?
My grumpy comment here, not to be Captain Bringdown or anything, BUT. All of those books 📚 are magical and beautiful and get better and better, with the fourth one, Grey King, winning the Newberry, is it, r smth, and then, AND THEN, the last one is kind of a hot mess, IMHO, like she had lost interest, or just couldn't be bothered or whatever. Doesn't take away from the first 4, but I just wish it could have ended in a fashion worthy of the whole.
I don't remember Silver on the Tree being worse than the others when I read the series as a kid haha
To be fair, I was an adult when I read them, and I am particular, so something didn't sit well.
I also am a fan of the neighbor man tossing cucumbers over the fence to woo Nicklebys mother. And of course I have read all the Icelandic Sagas (I am a half Scandinavian). Let us not forget the ghost stories of Edith Wharton. I found them eerie and naturally well written-see the Portable E. Wharton for these and other excellent stories. And also see some of the unsettling and excellent stories in William T Vollmann's Last Stories and Other Stories.
I haven't read Weirdstone, but Alan Garner's The Owl Service had a really great plot and setting
Great book!
Oh you already read it, awesome!
I just read The Dream of the Red Chamber and am crazy about it.
I'm looking forward to this!!
I just finished the first volume in the Penguin edition and it's become an obsession.
yes yes yes
Tolkien was spot on, ‘critics read Beowulf for its historical allusions and sniffed in disdain at the dragons, when the dragons were by far the most important bit’ — the dragons are what got me reading and rereading Beowulf (Seamus Heaney’s translation rocks btw)
I'd like to suggest the addition of A High Wind in Jamaica.
I was actually just pondering that one! I may add it.
Yes! It’s utterly brilliant and extremely strange.
This book needs to be read by more people, just saying.
This is fun! I was astonished by how much I loved Metamorphoses when I read it a couple years ago. I then recommended it to a friend who's a fan of the weird, who was in turn astonished by how much he loved it.
If you like The Beetle, you may enjoy this book (which includes it, if I recall correctly) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3854742-victorian-villainies