Posted by Racer on April 16, 2006, at 18:55:25
Ha! Made you look!
Sorry...
Back to the book, it's by Christopher Moore, the title really and truly is "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" and it's hilarious. So far, at least. It really is quite funny. My ex and his new wife read all his books a few years ago, and recommended them highly, but this is the first I've tried. They did send me "Lamb" but I never got around to it.
Has anyone else read any of his?
Also, I just finished "A Sicilian Romance," by Ann Radcliffe, the Gothic novelist from the 18th century. It's her second book, after "The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne." I've read several of her novels, maybe all except the first? Way back in another lifetime, I majored in English Lit, so her name came up a lot. I read "The Mysteries of Udolpho," which is the best known; "The Romance of the Forest," and "The Italian," which is the last book she wrote. She stopped writing when Matthew Lewis said that "The Italian" inspired his novel, "The Monk." I always found that very funny.
Anyway, "A Sicilian Romance" is much easier on the nerves than the others, because she hadn't quite started the "Those rocks, those leaves..." bit. (Honestly, sometimes I thought I'd need a machete to get through "The Romance of the Forest.") The story is much more focussed on the female character than on the males, which is very unusual for Gothics of that period, and it started the new path she set for the development of the novel.
On the other hand, "The Italian" is well worth reading even today -- the story is truly chilling, and something so plausible it adds to the suspense.
And it felt really good to read a "real" book again. My brain actually kicked into gear over it, which hardly ever happens anymore...
poster:Racer
thread:633937
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/books/20051228/msgs/633937.html