Status Updates From The Ceremonies

The end is nigh…

Things move to a conclusion. Doesn’t make too much sense - why does Deborah die? What kills her? Why does she have to be naked? Why bother with possessing Deborah at all? All a bit shonky and seedy. Still, it’s pacy enough as it moves to the climax.

Ending much better. There is a psychedelic feel to the narrative now - things are unhinged. Deborah’s sexuality makes more sense now too. Dunno how no-one has connected the change in Deborah with the cat attack though…

The earth as an egg. Enjoyed the increasing size of the spider threat to Friers and the inhuman hatchling in the coop. Much pacier now.

The Cleansing ceremony. Reminiscent of the sewing ritual in Jim Crace’s Harvest - a much better book. Something’s wrong with Deborah…

Deborah is attacked. Don’t get all the sexual stuff with Deborah at the beginning of the novel - seems nothing but titillation at this point. The first person stuff is poor - don’t know why Klein does it, it’s laboured. The narrative voice makes Carol even more stupid. But looking forward to the huge beast arriving soon…

Unrest amongst the Brethren. Earth tremors. Badwa thwarted. God knows how ‘Rosie’ is going to explain why he’s lying naked on a bed in a filthy apartment…

Better pacing here. Like the swarm of snakes, like a Biblical plague, and the trance of the Old One. Also good rising tension around Friers’ presence with the Brethren. Definitely bubbling up to something.

There are some unpleasant thoughts expressed (particularly by Carol) regarding race. Is this meant to reflect her innocence? Hard to like her, as she is written as weak, pathetic and malleable. The dances are ridiculous. And now there’s a killer cat. Will finish, but this is bollocks.

Disco horror.

The cat is possessed - I liked the night visit with the flash of lightning. Also like all the references to old folk horror tales like Algernon Blackwood - going to give them a go.

Carol is pathetic. Klein has not done enough to convince us that she would trust the old man sufficiently to accept his guidance all the time - why would she wear the dress and, worse, change her underwear for him? Why would she go on a rollercoaster? Is it supposed to be some kind of hypnotic power he has over her? Cat’s cool though.

Honestly, this is nothing more than an American Folk Horror potboiler. The graphic sex is embarrassing. The Old One is laughable. No one is at all likeable, least of all Jeremy. But it is building some momentum and at least has its roots in some genuinely interesting arcana such as Machen’s ‘The White People’.

Second night in Zurich. That bit was great! Sexual tension over the dinner table, weird religious and arcane sects interlinking and waking u naked on the roof, shouting at the moon. All in a Saturday night…

Read on first night in Zurich. Sarr’s experiences of the city. Quite atmospheric and the old man was chilling.

Carol arrives. Nicely built, through intertwined narratives.

Thoughts on Book 2: Slow pacing so it doesn’t feel that we’re too much further on from Book 1. But I shouldn’t complain - at least Klein is taking his time with the story, in a world where everything is rushed or boiled down to essentials. The only character I actually like is Sarr. Jeremy seems a little smug and patronising and Carol is just weak.