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So, I'm in a Mood to consider these two books, by writers who wrote often brilliantly and usually well, who both furthered the art of at least several sorts of fiction (and Disch, poetry), which are in large part about why this stuff matters. It doesn't hurt that these two are among those whose critical work helped shape my own approach to such activity, along with the similar work of Anthony Burgess, John Simon, Joanna Russ, Dorothy Parker, Damon Knight, Gore Vidal, James Blish, Vivian Gornick, Le Guin, Barry Malzberg, Harlan Ellison, James Agee, Spider Robinson, Anthony Boucher, Judith Merril and others...almost all of whom were at least some of the time writers of fantasy (and not a few also of crime fiction, and I'm making no apologies)...Gornick and Simon, the major exceptions, were not averse to the fantastic (nor the criminous). For that matter, one of the few Budrys short stories published when he was busy writing ad copy and critical essays in 1960s won the Edgar; Disch wrote some notable crime fiction, in collaboration with John Sladek and on his own, the latter with usually some fantasticated elements, and the last set of novels from him were notable, linked horror volumes. Both were underappreciated in larger literary world and perhaps taken for granted even in the spheres where they were most productive, and both died horribly. I've written a bit about that last here on the blog.
But before that, they did the critical writing gathered here, which I still haven't completely crystallized my thoughts about these two brilliant, wide-ranging books, that deal in large part about the significance of fantastic fiction in the larger world, and will hope to return to the subject sooner rather than later. Budrys's is a collection of his review essays from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the first of three volumes collected those (and all three follow, some years after, a single volume of his similar, earlier work for the magazine Galaxy), and the Disch is spun out from essays published in Harper's and elsewhere, and to some extent his work in F&SF. Both books are brilliant, the Budrys slightly moreso since it was Budrys at the height of his abilities, the Disch lessened only slightly by the breadth of its ambition...but even though I'm still putting off the head-on look, yet again...life is not cooperative.
However, Patti Abbott is, and is collecting today's book review links at her blog.
8 comments:
I read and very much enjoyed the first Budrys collection and have this but have not yet gotten to it... it's in a stack somewhere, I think I saw it a week or so ago.
It's a great book, and the Disch is within shooting distance (and conceived as a book). The work didn't stop long enough for me to write more than a bare bones yesterday, it turned out.
Just about to start reading BLACK ALICE on your recommendation Todd :)
Hope you like it, Sergio. Disch and Sladek both wrote (even) better novels on their own, but I liked it pretty well.
I read all three volumes. Budrys is an underrated writer and critic.
All four, including the original BENCHMARKS, George?
I've read a few Disch novels and really enjoyed them. I've never been much for poetry and would periodically check for new novels by Disch. I never knew Disch but his suicide was a shocker to me.
It was a terrible thing. Gerard.
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