I WANT A DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF THE THING: "He dismembers so that we may all re-member."

Friday, July 11, 2014

"He dismembers so that we may all re-member."

"Lafferty’s workings are always grotesque; like the Laestrygonians, he delights in bloody slaughter, whether of his own characters or of the conventions of his genre. But his destruction is also always in the context of carnivalized creation—whether as writer, bard, or pseudo-ursine, he dismembers so that we may all re-member." -Andrew Ferguson

(I'm finally reading his dissertation; love his reading of Space Chantey on pages 39-48)

1 comment:

Kevin CheekJuly 17, 2014 at 12:37 PM
The quote "He dismembers all that we may all re-member" reminds me of the opening line of "The Six Fingers of Time:" "He began by breaking things."

Yes, Lafferty did.
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Q: What do you look for in books?

RAL: I read books to hear what people are up to. This is the only approved and organized form of eavesdropping. I listen for whatever interests me. If I don't find it, I put the book away and go to another book. Eavesdropping is about as close as we can get to the quintessence of people. They fumble it when you encounter them directly, but they reveal a lot when you hear them in this or any other way. People, that is what I read for; to get the marrow out of their bones and to enjoy it.