O For Obscurity, Or, The Story Of N

by Andrew Hook

"O For Obscurity, Or, The Story Of N" is a biography of The Mysterious N. Senada, the Bavarian musician who influenced the early music of The Residents, drawn from material discovered in the band’s archives long after Senada’s death. Working from encrypted diaries, Andrew Hook has managed to piece together Senada’s life from his beginnings in the Bavarian forest to his death in a nondescript hotel room. Focusing on the creative development of “Pollex Christi” whilst also illuminating the inspiration behind “Eskimo”, this book forms a unique insight into the mind of the man and his theories of Obscurity and Phonetic Organisation which so heavily influenced and defined The Residents.

132 pages, Paperback

First published September 19, 2020

About the author

Andrew Hook is a European writer who has been published extensively in the independent press since 1994 in a variety of genres, with over 170 short stories in print, including notable appearances in Interzone, Black Static, and several anthologies from PS Publishing and NewCon Press. His fiction has been reprinted in anthologies including Best British Horror 2015 and Best British Short Stories 2020, has been shortlisted for British Fantasy Society awards, and he was longlisted for the Commonwealth Writers Short Story Prize in 2020. As editor/publisher, he has won three British Fantasy Society awards and he also has been a judge for the World Fantasy Awards. Most recent publications include several noir crime novels through Head Shot Press, a novella written in collaboration with the legendary San Francisco art collective known as The Residents, and his tenth collection Candescent Blooms (Salt Publishing) which received a 5-star review in The Telegraph and was recently shortlisted for a British Fantasy Society award for best collection.

Andrew is currently working on three separate short story collections.

Reviews

[Des Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

To obviate our lives today in front of mindless screens like this one — a conduit for truth, though, being true to oneself, when exploited via the nothingness of cyberspace…? And so much more here to dwell on before I become a resident in a home called death. But that singular tree in a forest of selves, will it be finally felled? The caligatio beginning to demystify or demistify at last.
A major read for me, this book, as you can already tell.

The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here.
Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

'O for Obscurity, Or, The Story of N' is a perfect compliment to the legend of The Residents. The best way that I can describe this book is densely written, with intermittent references to the bands mythos,
other under noticed writers, poets, and musicians, German culture and Eskimo life. The irony is that you will need to research (Google?) most of these references, but John Cage's 4'33" is fully explained. The book is both enjoyable and informative.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this biography, The Mysterious N Senada emerges as Nigel Sinatra shaped philosophically and artistically by upsetting political changes in early Twentieth Century Bavaria and birdsong. The uncompromising, anti-fame composer in meeting Snakefinger and coming to America allows for dropping hints to books, recordings, and art formative for The Residents. This culminates in N embedding with Eskimo natives and sending back to The Residents inspiration for Eskimo (Ralph Records, 1979).