Robin’s Comments (group member since Apr 24, 2013)

Robin’s comments from the Classics Without All the Class group.

Oh, I forgot, my most read author would likely be Neil Stephenson. Or Mercer Mayer. ;)

Hello! My name is Robin, and you can call me Boo. I like a nice chai soy latte in winter, and a refreshing gin and tonic in summer. Pumpkin pie with plenty of whipped cream in fall, and a big slice of cheesecake come spring. I live in Toronto, Ontario, where we have pretty clearly defined seasons, so you see one pick doesn't quite cover it all. I am trying to grow back the parts of my personality beyond those used in parenting, they've atrophied from lack of use over the last (very intense, wildly exhausting, achingly blissful, devastatingly absorbing) several years. I am predictably happiest in a library or book store, or a theatre. Or the great outdoors. I anticipate much delight and mental stretching as I read along with this group!

Ya gotta warm up the oven before ya slide in the meat. Lovecraft!

I was glad to see this as an October pick. Tentacled monstrosities seem just perfect for the season. I enjoyed the beginning, the set-up and narrative voice were spot-on. Although I did get exasperated at the relentless ladling on of descriptive gloom - " grotesque penguins" I ask you!?! About halfway through I began skimming and was content to make do with the gist of the subsequent narrative. Ultimately I enjoyed Lovecraft's brilliant imagination, his monstrous esthetics, but I did not have the stamina to stick with the tedium of the story. It is good to have dipped into the original classic, but it leaves me hungry for a talented re-telling to feed my modern taste with more whizz bang! Any suggestions for a good read along those lines?