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Through Channels by Richard Matheson
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Tressa
(new)
Nov 09, 2010 11:41AM
Me explain? Probably not. But now I'm dying to read it. Will return when I do.
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OK. I'm on break with my bowl of orange slices and my Matheson short stories and am about to read it. I'll let you know if I'm left scratching my head. Might have to get brainiac Shawn to join in.
Hunh. I'm sort of let down. So some people sit in front of a TV that flashes "FEED" occasionally and then one night some giant worms come out and feed on them. The boy sees one of the E's fade away to show "FED." If there's a deeper meaning, I missed it.What's the "swish" noises?
Oh. I thought the "clicks" and other references to the tape and "rolling" filled that need. Not sure if I ever heard a "swish" on a tape. But what do I know?
The "swishes" were probably the tape recorder - at the time written this would have been a large, reel to reel recorder and the wheels rotate on two pins.I love this story. I don't really think there's a deeper meaning, it just perfectly captures a moment in time when people had begun to accept TV into their homes and become comfortable with it, and yet here was an open ended mechanism that pulled images and sounds from the air, that "tuned things in", and so is like a window to anywhere that sits in the middle of your home. And what if that window opened late at night and something reached through...
After thinking about it I thought the swishes might be the sound of the characters' movements and clothing moving about and getting captured on tape.I think you're right about the story not having a deeper meaning, but I knew you'd add a little something more to the discussion. You never disappoint.
Ok, I'm late to the party as usual. What book is Through Channels in?
Matheson is a master of the short story.
