Brian Evenson: The Open Curtain

[Mirabell]

This novel is about the power of religion, even in those who do not think themselves religious. Religious upbringing or knowledge of intimate religious ideology can be enough to propel your forward on a path into the night. There are no farmhouses near that path and no possibility to rest once one embarks upon it. The dread the reader feels upon watching the characters hurtle down that path stems from Evenson?s mastery in drawing characters and setting situations and moods. Except for the teacher a character I felt slipped from his control, everybody is fleshed out and real to the extent necessary. So are the moods. There is humor, banter, as well as dread, irritation and fear, in the necessary doses. Because, above all, it is an accomplishment in that it does not waste a word. It is first and foremost a thriller and it succeeds admirably within its own genre, a rare feat for literary forays into genre.

It is a superbly well crafted thriller, which is not weighed down by pretension. It has a serious side to it as well, showing what can happen if the violent elements in our culture suddenly surface and create a huge swirling vortex of madness.

Hidden: Brian Evenson’s "The Open Curtain" shigekuni. (http://shigekuni.wordpress.com/2008/11/22/hidden-brian-evensons-the-open-curtain/)


Highly recommended.

[titania7]

An excellent review, Mirabell. The book sounds riveting. I have several relatives who are Mormons and who have even served as Mormon missionaries. In addition, my great-grandparents were married in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, and had bizarre Mormon funerals, according to my mother. Therefore, the characters' involvement with Mormonism is of particular interest to me.

Again, splendid work.

Cordially,
Titania ;)

[Mirabell]

thank you.

it is a riveting book. and incredibly well written with a perfect eye for the necessary.

Next month I'll be checking out some of his other work.

[e joseph]

incredibly well written with a perfect eye for the necessary.

Agreed. This is my first Brian Evenson book and I really enjoyed it. So true about the "eye for the necessary"; the details Evenson leaves out of his novel I can already imagine filling a much more gruesome, overly detailed more typical horror/thriller. As it stood, it was well crafted and tough to put down.

Thanks for posting your review/introduction to the author as well. I wouldn't mind seeing this one (and it sounds like many more of his books as well) drawing more attention.

[Mirabell]

on a different book:

http://www.worldliteratureforum.com/forum/americas-literature/22720-brian-evenson-last-days.html


and yes. he deserves more fame than he has been able to get so far.

[e joseph]

have you had a chance to listen to the bookbabble episode where we talked to Brian?


I'm very glad someone is following up on my incessant Evenson raves.
Nope. Thanks for pointing out the bookbabble episode because I would have missed it. I'll check it out shortly when I'm less distracted/lazy.

I'm a sucker for incessant ranting, so keep it up. Someone else out there may be following up on it as well as I know I've seen others praise his work, or maybe you've just been raving so much that I assumed there were legions of fans. Either way, well done.

Read any others aside from The Open Curtain and Last Days?