“The history of art is littered with Great Men and the Muses they use as stepping stones to brilliance. In this shockingly lyrical, endlessly rich and luxurious nightmare of a novel, the Muse turns.” AuthorJayaprakash Satyamurthy, on Anonyma.
And… we’re back in the saddle. Which isn’t quite true, because we fell out of the saddle when we were about fourteen, due to a grumpy horse and a faulty girth strap, and never rode a horse again. But never mind. Our real meaning is that, after being a bit busy elsewhere, we have some terrific articles, reviews and interviews lined up once more. And probably a ‘Lurchers for Beginners’ piece on our twenty years with a lurcher pack, further down the line.
But weird fiction, spiced with peculiar detectives and classic supernatural tales, is one of our staple food groups, so today we have a brand new review of Farah Rose Smith’s Anonyma (2019).
We can also report that the campaign for Sherlock Holmes & the Occult Detectives was a massive success. This chunky two volume anthology, edited by old greydog, will be out early Summer from Belanger Books (details another time). Occult Detective Magazine #7 is almost completed, and should be ready at the start of May, and more of John Linwood Grant’s own strange tales are due out as the year stumbles on. Resistance is futile (but if you do resist, please do it quietly and try not to leave stains).
Another anthology in Belanger’s new Great Detectives series is going through the campaign stage right now, including JLG’s slightly tongue-in-cheek novelette ‘The Curate’s Curious Egg’. Should you be interested, this features the meeting between Holmes and Professor Augustus S F X Van Dusen, ‘The Thinking Machine’. Created by Jacques Futrelle at the start of last century, this irascible logician manages both to amuse Holmes and infuriate poor Dr Watson.
Other authors have highlighted classic detectives such as Carnacki and Father Brown, so this should be well worth a look. The project is fully funded, but you can check out the details and rewards here:
It’s worth adding that during these troubled pandemic times, it’s hard for authors and publishers to get their work noticed – book launches have been cancelled, as is only sensible, and physical bookshops are struggling – even online book delivery is at the back of the priority list. Jim Mcleod and the folk at the Ginger Nuts of Horror site are doing their best to alert readers to new weird and horror stuff through their Pandemic Book Launches, and you’ll find a lot of news there in safe Interwebby form.
https://gingernutsofhorror.com/index.html
Totally unconnected with any of the above, the mice are also back, running around our decrepit kennel, feasting in the fruit bowl and gnawing behind the bookcases. Our dogs can face rats, but mice are too small and quick, the little imps. Whilst we do act if things get out of hand, we rather like seeing a little dark-eyed wood mouse cleaning its whiskers by the back door. Some say infestation and mouse urine; we say life does its thing.
Although devoid of small cute rodents, today’s main piece is by author Dave Jeffery, who has kindly joined us as a reviewer to help plough through our backlog of review material, and to highlight some brand new works as they appear – which may even make us seem more current than we usually do. On with the show…
ANONYMA by FARAH ROSE SMITH
Reviewed by Dave Jeffery
“Compelling, disquieting, and beautifully constructed.”
A young woman finds herself at the heart of a surrealist cult, its enigmatic leader – Nicholas Bezalel – following the doctrines of an isolated and esoteric occultist architect in order to build a new artistic, transgressive movement. The titular ANONYMA becomes both muse and sacrifice. As she is offered up in a ritual to connect this world to the next, she begins her journey into the twisted, depraved landscape of the after world.
The basic premise of Smith’s 2019 novel is deceptively simple and does not give a hint of the quality and complexity of writing that awaits the reader within the pages that follow. Smith employs an engaging narrative that flows like a bitter stream through themes of abuse, dysfunctional love, and the dark nature of humanity.
The imagery is lyrical and profane, a contradictory literary landscape where beauty and decadence are entwined to evoke deep rooted emotional reactions as the story ebbs and flows. Just as the eponymous ANONYMA charts her quest through the underworld, so too does the reader share this experience, as though taken by the hand – a companion – so that the protagonist does not have to suffer alone.
The strength of the book can also be its weakness. Its surrealist, transgressive nature is bound to lose readers who prefer a linear narrative; thus, it is not likely to ever go mainstream. But that is not what is important here. Smith has, just like Bezalel, set out to create pure art through the sequential, negative experiences of its protagonist.
Many view this book as an unsubtle metaphor for feminism’s battle against gender status quo, and – in some part – I can understand this perspective if ANONYMA is taken in and analysed on a superficial level. But the book is way too complex to relegate its content to a quick scan, it must be placed beneath the microscope, its sum part studied and understood.
ANONYMA is about personal growth in adversity, it is about retaining the essence of personality and being, despite what challenges are brought to bear on a life. Despite its disturbing content, the book has uplifting themes as it draws to its conclusions, giving hint to the constructs of rebirth into better times, the trials of a heinous experience giving a fragile sense of hope.
Overall, ANONYMA is compelling, disquieting, and beautifully constructed by an incredibly talented writer.
Highly recommended for those who enjoy surrealist, transgressive horror and bizarro fiction, or those who would like to read something a little different from conventional genre literature.
Anonyma is available now:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N497CPL/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_GqxNEb120VW15
Dave Jeffery is an accomplished author who writes Adult/Young Adult horror and contemporary fiction, and screenplays for award-winning films. You can find him at his website, below:
Do be careful, stay safe, and we look forward to seeing you again in a few days. You may not be here – maybe the cat needs ironing, or that leaking roof needs fixing – but we just like looking forward. It’s a hobby…