The Black Veil
by Rick Moody
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 218)
Rick Moody has moments, these brief little flashes of great prose. However the overviews of most of his stories and novels tend to be far less appealing, to put it kindly.
I literally threw this book across the room once I got to the final string of paragraphs which are merely a list of things that are black.
"I oughtta punch you in the face!"
-Upright Citizens Brigade
EDIT: Ok, this book wasn't so terrible. The way it ended though just drives me up the wall. He goes fr...more
I literally threw this book across the room once I got to the final string of paragraphs which are merely a list of things that are black.
"I oughtta punch you in the face!"
-Upright Citizens Brigade
EDIT: Ok, this book wasn't so terrible. The way it ended though just drives me up the wall. He goes fr...more
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Read in August, 2007
Moody puts quotes and references in italics, braiding together his voice and often Nathaniel Hawthorne's, a lot of genealogical and literary sources, etc. I did not miss footnotes. It might be helpful to read Hawthorne's appended "The Minister's Black Veil" before the book, which I did not do, because I did not realize it was there.
Representative quotes:
Moody's introduction to the book: "If birds will describe the obsession, I will break away to describe the birds I have ...more
Representative quotes:
Moody's introduction to the book: "If birds will describe the obsession, I will break away to describe the birds I have ...more
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Read in July, 2004
recommends it for:
if you like autobiographies
When one needs a break from the contrived nature of novels, there's Rick Moody. Especially this one. Its semiautobiographical, and semi-narrative. You get the impression you're eavesdropping on thoughts meant to be private. It's deep, feels real, but is not so much uplifting for the experience. Partly I think it's fascinating to witness someone who can't hold his life together and partly its the satisfaction of his unique voice.
The veil theme played out just fascinated me.
Publisher's week...more
The veil theme played out just fascinated me.
Publisher's week...more
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I often have theories that depart quit drastically from their original subject, much like my theory about Rick Moody's message in this book. Without much evidence to prove my case, I say this book describes depression as the lack of identity whereby you take on the guilt of any history that has come before you. Even where you haven't committed a crime against your own moral conscience, you might just do so at any time without being clear how, when or why it happened. So it's a darkness brough...more
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I dislike books that make me feel like an ignorant fool - this would go on a shelf one of my friends calls his throw-against-the-wall shelf. If my temperature and blood pressure elevate enough I may come back and knock off the star - take that, Mr. Moody. And I had read the Hawthorne story. I guess Tristram Shandy is sui generis.
**Later - Hah! Michiko Kakutani reads his title clear (never thought I would use her to support my position) http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f... ...more
**Later - Hah! Michiko Kakutani reads his title clear (never thought I would use her to support my position) http://query.nytimes.com/gst/f... ...more
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Read in March, 2007
Moody did manage to tie together his memoir with "The Minister's Black Veil," but ultimately it was because of a genealogy project--the Moody in the story being, according to family legend, one of Rick Moody's ancestors.
The memoir parts of the book were interesting, and I really enjoyed those sections. The criticism of the short story I have no intention to read, not so much. And really--is a stranger's genealogy interesting to anyone besides the person doing the researching?
The memoir parts of the book were interesting, and I really enjoyed those sections. The criticism of the short story I have no intention to read, not so much. And really--is a stranger's genealogy interesting to anyone besides the person doing the researching?
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This book bordered on being a complete waste of time, not because of the presence of anything, but rather because there was really nothing in it that went beyond a general recounting of Moody's life. It wasn't unreadable, but I came out of it with basically one idea.
The one thing I got out of it: I liked the idea that (loose paraphrase coming) entire lives have been left unexplored simply out of the fear of hearing our father's angry voice.
The one thing I got out of it: I liked the idea that (loose paraphrase coming) entire lives have been left unexplored simply out of the fear of hearing our father's angry voice.
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
people searching for a 20th century memoir ghostwritten by Hawthorne
oh, Rick Moody. you continue to be one of my favorite authors. I love your novels. I love your articles and book reviews. hell, I even love your letters to the editor. but I just cannot bring myself to finish your memoir. and it's not because your life isn't interesting - it is. it's fascinating. it's more that I really don't care about Nathaniel Hawthorne.
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I've read most of Moody's books and honestly I can deal with the common accusations of 'pretension' found in his writing. As far as I'm concerned, he's a literary fiction stud who's too good to pass up or at least delve into a few stories from his collection "The Ring of the Brightest Angels Around Heaven" or his more reputable film-adapted "The Ice Storm".
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this book is a bit arduous to read at times, but if you have ever felt like you are losing your mind - this book will speak to you. my copy is marked up all over the place with notations to myself - things i liked that i thought moody said well, things i wanted to remember. i have read it more than once, so i liked it. it was just a chore at points.
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Very interesting way to write a memoir -- I really liked that way it was organized around the Hawthorne tale.
Moody tends to alternately lose or depress me though, so it took me awhile to get through.
Moody tends to alternately lose or depress me though, so it took me awhile to get through.
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recommends it for:
the groggy
I don't know why this book has received such a low rating. Rick Moody loses his mind, and lives to tell about it. Then he goes on and on about Nathaniel Hawthorne. English majors will love it.
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Read in March, 2003
"Readers in search of a tidy, well-organized life in these pages may be surprised. My book and my life are written in fits, more like epilepsy than like a narrative."
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I didn't enjoy this as much as I had hoped. It was arduous reading that I do not recommend.
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Terrible! But I have a signed galley, so it will stay on my shelf.
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Not really inclined to finish this book, but I do like it alot. Really, I can read about folks reflecting on Hawthrone to a bizarre extent. Do you have to finish every book you start to understand it?
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