Posted by Patrick Dusoulier aka The Axolotl on August 09, 1998 at 04:55:00:
In Reply to: Re: Poor Reviews and Misunderstandings - A counterview posted by Elena on August 08, 1998 at 12:01:59:
.....
: : Perhaps re-reading it will be a different experience. I am currently re-reading Night Lamp and am enjoying it now as I did the first time. This story like so much of his work goes off on tangents but nevertheless the plot is always there to keep you interested.
...
: : Rich.
: Re-read it. The first time through I enjoyed it but less than I have enjoyed re-reading some of my fav's (Emphyrio, Maske:Thaery to name a few). The second time through I took my time and certainly appreciate it more. In fact, I cannot wait for the conclusion-after the second read, you really, really want Dame Hester and Marko Fassig to get their just desserts and I for one am dying to see just what Vance dishes up. Something on the scale of a Darsh face hanging over the garden wall perhaps?
: Elena
I've had exactly the same experience : I read it in May (on the plane flying back from New-York, where I'd bought it...), and last week again. Much much better this time.
Being french, I can't help drawing a parallel with two other major necessary areas of activities in life, apart from reading JV's books : Food, and Sex .
In those areas, if you've been starving for some time, or you have a very high level of anticipation, or it's a new experience, then the first taste is bound to be, at best, satisfactory only on a very primary level, it's bound to be a rush job. At worst, it may bring some dissatisfation in proportion with (or to ?) the initial level of anticipation .... But when you try it again after a suitable delay (depending on the area of interest) you're bound to get a deeper satisfaction, you go at it more leisurely, you make some new findings, you spot the more sophisticated undertones, some unexpected flavours can be discerned, you do not skip details etc !!!
For JV's books, I find no exception : I've reread them all, many times, and they've never disappointed me, they're better all the time. In fact, last analogy : JV's books reading is like a succesfull long-standing marriage ...
Patrick