Harlan Ellison nation, we need to start posting yaoi of his material other than IHNM. Do you think Peter J. Novins ever got busy with his doppelganger,
A full review of Harlan Ellison's Shatterday collection (1980) - part 1
So... um... yeah, some of you know that I was hyperfixated on I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. I'm familiar with the gameplay, I read the short story which I enjoyed, I also read A Boy and His Dog, which I enjoyed too.
Harlan is a difficult yet fascinating man. I like to psychoanalyze the living hell out of him because most of his short stories feel weirdly personal and intimate, a tour in his oddly functioning psyche. A writer cannibalizes his own life and memories, he said once, and that writing can be a personal exorcism. It's especially true for Shatterday.
I wanted to get my hands on a full collection, I failed, because Amazon somehow can't ship shit to Hungary and my father found it a nuisance to order it for himself and later send it to me from England. I was sad and disappointed, mainly in him, but I won't elaborate on it.
But luckily I found a whole pdf file of Shatterday (originally I wanted Strange Wine as my birthday gift, but I was satisfied with this collection regardless), downloaded it and feasted on it for weeks. This is the result, because my bestie was amused by my short review of each short story in the collection.
First and foremost, I do not condone any of Harlan's actions that make him reasonably controversial. He's dead, there're no ways for me to support him, that's why I allow myself to enjoy his works.
Secondly, this is all just my own opinion. If you decide to read Shatterday and you find yourself disagreeing with me, then feel free to disagree. I'm not forcing my thoughts on ya.
I occassionally include spoilers in the reviews. I'm sorry, I just can't stop myself, that's why I warn you.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this lil blurb. This is my first time to make an official review of something omg. I try my best to complete part 2 asap, but I plan to reread the missing stories and write some closing thoughts. I just really don't want this post sitting in my drafts any longer, I procastinated on it for a year already.
Overall
The main theme Harlan wants to explore in this collection is something that he calls mortal dreads. Universal fears, wretched thoughts we share but we hate to admit that we have, but regardless they're a part of our collective unconscious. Yes, I'm using the Jungian term because fun fact, Harlan and I are both big fans of Carl Gustav Jung, his theories, works and everything he did for psychology. And Jungian elements and archetypes are very much present in his writing. His ars poetica can be found in the foreword too, which is not unknown to you if you've read any of Harlan's stories. As a writer, he wants to make you uncomfortable, make you question yourself and your views on the world or, at least, have a powerful emotional effect on you. I admit that he was successful, some stories really punched me in the gut.
One example of this mortal dread is his retelling of what he experienced during the reading of Shatterday, the titular novella of the collection. Straight to the point, he wished for his mother to die. Not because he hated her, but because she was extremely ill, a shadow of herself. While he was reading the story, inside he was contemplating on that he was a selfish, ungrateful monster. After a short interview about the collection, an unknown woman thanked him for sharing this experience, because her mother was dying of cancer and she had the exact same thoughts, she hated herself for it and now, she realized that she wasn't alone with them.
That's how my reviewing is gonna go: I go through every single story, mostly in the same order you can find them in the book, give it a rating from 1 to 5, present some cool quote, write a short summary and then detail my thoughts. I love that every story has their own introduction, ranging from a few sentences to several pages, giving us a background about that particular novella. What was the inspiration, how the concept fits into the main theme, what was the writing process like (there're stories that were written under a day, and there's one that required 12 years to complete) etc.
Before you start reading, consider that this collection came out in '80. Most of these stories were finished in the late 70s. Therefore, some of his words and terms are extremely dated. There's an old character who uses the r-slur, in one story, native americans are referred to as indians, and Harlan recalls being called the t-slur once. Keep in mind that during these years, using these words weren't as unacceptable as they're today.
Jeffty is Five: 4/5
"I should have known better. I should have understood about the present and the way it kills the past."
Short summary: When Donald was five years old, there was another little kid he liked to play with: Jeffty. Donald is now a successfull business owner, and Jeffty is still five. Time bends strangely around Jeffty, he's the personification of the past. Everything around him is an anomaly and when he finally interacts with the present, it leaves him scarred and bruised.
I wanted to save this story for later. I've read countless positive reviews, each of them calling it a masterpiece, the best story in the collection. This story won numerous Hugos and with that in mind... my expectations were high before reading. Sadly, because of that, it felt a bit lackluster. I hereby promise that I'll never do this again.
Jeffty is Five is still a wonderful story. It perfectly encapsulates the essence of the 40s, what was it exactly like to be a child in this decade of american history. It's highly nostalgic, but also criticizing nostalgia itself at the same time. If you read it now, it won't work as much as it did when it was published, I'm sure, but it's historical value only increases with time.
The relationship between Jeffty and Donny is close, loving and warm in opposition with the parents who are very neglectful, borderline abusive towards the poor kid. Donny can relive his own childhood when he spends time with Jeffty, but he can't escape the reality of his adult life and he must face the fact that he must leave the past where it should belong since they can't coexist in the same space. Literally.
I only give it a 4 because as a young european woman whose grandparents weren't even alive during the 40s, it's hard to relate to the time period Harlan tries to describe with so much detail. I can imagine it, but I can't relate and I think it's a crucial part to immerse yourself into the story completely. But it's still a good story about growing up and dealing with the loss of childhood innocence and wonder.
How's the nightlife on Cissalda?: 4/5
"It had just occured to him that his only consolation in bearing the knowledge that he had destroyed the human race was that for a little while, in the eyes of the best fuck in the universe, he had been the best fuck in the universe."
Short summary: Temponaut Enoch Mirren encounters an alien lifeform with such erotic capacity that once they start fucking you, you just can't stop until you die. Literally.
This story is very fun to read. I can assure you there were several parts where I bursted out laughing. You shouldn't take this story seriously, I think even Harlan wrote it just for shits and giggles. Well, I can just guess, because in the introduction, he explains that this story came to life just because somebody accused him of being, well... a womanizer. And apparently he isn't, he's just a slave of love (says the man with the alleged body count over 400).
Because tumblr is the gay website, let me ask: wouldn't you read a short story about genderless aliens giving the best orgasms of your life while rendering right wingers, dictators, Salvador Dalí, homophobes, the Dalai Lama, nazis, Roman Polanski and Elizabeth II into kinky sex pests?
I'm giving it a 4, because some celebrities and politicians who appear in this story had to be googled to have an idea who the hell they are. Still, they deserved what they got.
Flop Sweat: 3/5
"And now her worshippers had come to sacrifice their very own prophet."
Short summary: Radio talk show host Theresa Ketchum is locked up in a booth with an enigmatic cultist and a psychiatrist who works for the police. You can add the Hillside Strangler and a good amount of suspense to the mixture too. It'll go fine, right? Right?
There's only one problem with this story. The whole background of the novella, the process it was created is much more interesting and engaging than the story itself. I'm not saying that it's a bad story, or that it is badly written, but it's not particularly memorable compared to other pieces in the collection.
In today's term, this story would count as a commission. Specifically for Carole Hemingway and her show on ABC. It was supposed to go like this: on that day Harlan would appear on the radio show, Carole would call him (as early as possible) and give him a specific idea he can use as the core of the story, trying his best to complete it in one single day.
Carole failed to call him as early as possible. And her idea was this:
"Write a story about a female talk show host."
That's it. I'm not joking, this is a direct quote from the book. Nevertheless, Harlan had a very vague concept and only 7 and a half hours to write a coherent story. 4.5k words long. I can never pull off such a feast. And with these details in mind, I must say that it's still a wonderfully structured and paced story, with beautifully built up tension and some subtle elements of gothic horror like the claustrophobic sensations and the looming threat of something unknown to the main heroine. It's a nice horror story, but there're others that I find more memorable.
Would you do it for a penny?: 2,5/5
"Stay. I'll be good. Word of honor."
"I know about your honor. Tarnished."
Short summary: Arlo, Great White Hunter felt very horny in the middle of the night and he's willing to make a desperate fool of himself for the first pretty woman he sees. Luckily, he has nice coin collection and some carefully scripted lies that can aid him in getting laid.
I... have some problems with this particular story. This one was written in collaboration with Haskell Barkin. Harlan liked the idea and despite his initial dismay of collaborating, he accepted the draft written by Barkin and managed to complete it. And later called out Barkin for being a sexist. I completely agree, there're some parts in the story that just reeks of sexism. But maybe sexism is the secret ingredient to make your writing featured in Playboy, which was actually a long-time dream for Harlan but until this story was finished, every work he submitted was rejected (one novella was rejected because "the female character was stronger than the male character", I know, ew).
Second problem: as somewhat of a writer myself, I'm confident enough to tell you that dialogues are my forte. I like dialogue heavy stories, sometimes I find them more important than the setting or the plot itself. You can make a wonderful story of two characters having a conversation in a plain white room. I'm not saying that the dialogue is shit in this story, I'm saying that real people don't talk like that. Luckily, there's an emotional peak between the characters and their conversation gradually improves from then on and made me start rooting for them getting together.
Another problem is Anastasia as a character. Not gonna lie, she's very much like a manic pixie dream girl. She's unbelievably quirky for no reason, sometimes she's really getting on my nerves, a bit childish and of course, she forgives the she was being lied to. Not my particular brand of a female character that I can relate to.
Fun fact: I just recently realized, when (possibly) Harlan's descriptions of Anastasia compares her to Helen of Troy, it can be a reference to the stages of eroticism in Jungian psychology. Helen in the anima development describes a view of women as self-reliant, insightful and intelligent individuals but still fails to perceive other internal qualities. Which tells a lot about Anastasia's character and Arlo's attraction to her. Could it be that I spotted a carefully hidden criticism or am I just making things up? Probably.
I still have conflicting thoughts about this one, just like how the writing style of Barkin and Harlan clash in this story.
The man who was heavily into revenge: 5/5
"I'm sixty-two years old. My God, I'm an old man. A moment ago I was just only middle aged and now I'm an old man... I never felt old before. It's good Betsy never lived to see me like this; she would cry. But this thing with the bathroom is a terrible thing, an awful thing, it's made me an old man, poor, in financial straits; and I don't know how to save myself. He's ruined my life... he's killed me... I'll never be able to get even, to put away a little... if the thing with the knees gets any worse, there could be big doctor bills, specialists maybe... the Blue Cross would never cover it... what am I going to do, please God help me... what am I going to do?"
Short summary: William Weisel designed and built a new bathroom for retired studio musician, Fred Tolliver. The ordeal ends in a disaster, and Tolliver is so far gone in his own suffering that the universe finally listens, and sends divine retribution. Sadly, revenge brings no satisfaction for Tolliver and the cycle of misfortune continues.
In my opinion, this story is just simply outstanding. When I finished it, I was just sitting around, shaken, and it's still hard to put my thoughts and feelings about it into words. At first, I expected that Harlan intended to use this story to justify revenge (if you heard the story about the dead gopher, you know what I'm talking about). But as I mentioned above, Tolliver remains consumed by his feelings. Mainly because he has no idea about the series of misfortune he brought to Weisel. I admit that some of those misfortunes are written in a sort of funny and enjoyable way. But sadly, Tolliver is set up as the next culprit for the universe to be kicked in the ass because he simply can't stop contemplating on his problems and instead, start thinking about solutions, or even reaching out to others for help. And for some reason, I felt bad for both of these characters, it was sad to see how their lives are getting ruined.
I'd define this novella as a horror story. It's the horror of adult life with all it's responsibility and how it can crumble after one bad decision.
Django: 4/5
"I have no choice" he said. "It is the music. It was always the music. Forgive me. You understand, perhaps you won't understand, but you died for something you loved, and I would do the same. But to live for it is even better."
Short summary: Michel Hervé, a jazz musician volunteers as a soldier to kick some nazi ass. He lost his newfound friends in a strange accident so he travels alone at night, waiting for the perfect moment to offer a new tune for them. When he finally plays his guitar, there's a major, life changing decision for him to make.
As a history nerd, I love ww2 stories. Especially those stories that doesn't glorify war. Especially those wartime stories where our main characters are mostly underdogs, who are nameless, unremembered by historians. War stories are perfect to explore that humanity is capable of greatness and simulteanously some of the most vile things imaginable. We're not inherently benign or malign, it's completely up to decision.
Michel's journey is a lonely one with a slight touch on survivor's guilt and sticking to the one thing he loves and excells at, which is music. Harlan's descriptions about the scenery during the night, the strange creatures gathering around Michel, the ruined, abandoned altars are absolutely remarkable with beautiful metaphors, allegories and sensory experiences.
But the decision Michel must make... I'm still unsure about that I'm on board with it or not. Michel is presented with the opportunity to bring his fallen friends back to life but in return, he must die and take their place in the afterlife. Michel chose to live and to live for his music. For a short while he became a jazz legend. And we're told that this was an honorable decision. I think it's a selfish decision. But again, in stories about war it's not an unusal thing. It's a frequent dilemma for characters to sacrifice themselves for their comrades or self-preservation kicks in and they decide to keep the memories of their friends alive.
Or maybe I'm interpreting the whole decision in the wrong way. Maybe it's about what has more worth, dying for something you love or living for something you love. Harlan is in the grave, he can't correct me if I'm wrong. Even though I very much need to be corrected.
Until I figured it out, the rate should remain a 4 instead of 5.
Count the clock that tells the time: 4,5/5
"Invisible motes of their selves were drawn off and were sent away from that gray place. Were sent where needed to maintain balance. One and one and one, separated on the wind and blown to the farthest corners of the tapestry that was time and space. And could never be recalled. And could never be rejoined."
Short summary: Ian Ross wasted his own life. And when he finally travels to Scotland to make his life more memorable and meaningful, he feels out of space. An alien. Time and space tries to balance itself so he ends up in a place where only those go who wasted their time. There's apparently no way out, but he keeps going, and finally begins to live.
In the introduction, Harlan recalls a short stay in Scotland with his fourth wife, Lori Horowitz and how they spent a whole day with wasting time. This was apparently the first sign that their relationship is falling apart. This is the second time, Lori is mentioned, and she continues to appear as a source of inspiration for other stories as well. Even though their marriage was short and has ended years before the publication of this collection, she's still credited as Lori Ellison.
This story fits very well into the overall theme of the collection. I think all of us is afraid that we're just wasting our time on Earth. It's especially true for me. I take away half a point because it made me a little sad. The story itself is hopeful, maybe a little bittersweet but it still made me sad. I could relate to Ian to some degree. I do feel out of place sometimes, if not all the time, and I did have a birthday party that ended up so shitty I never wanted to arrange another ever again. Catherine is also a relatable character, to me at least, and she has some subtle dimensions compared to other female characters of the collection. And she's probably of hungarian descend, which means an extra point.
I love that some of Harlan's stories have a sort of... glimpse of hope, it doesn't matter what horrors his characters had to endure, they can somehow overcome the obstacles if they make the right sacrifice.
In the fourth year of the war: 5/5
"You're not alone, chum." Jerry Olander said softly. "I'm right here with you. And I've got a long, long memory."
Short summary: The wounded inner child of our protagonist takes control over him. Jerry has only one goal: making everyone who ever wronged him suffer.
Not gonna lie, this one broke me a little. This short story is straight up bone chilling psychological horror accentuated with different themes of psychoanalysis. Have you ever wondered about your inner child? Have you ever looked inward, unpacking all the destructiveness inside your subconscious? To get a bit professional for a minute: Freud believed (he didn't know, didn't measure, he simply just stated stuff and it was settled) that outside of the Libido, there's another instict that drives humans, which is the Thanatos. The urge to destroy, ruin and die. And when children are wronged, when they experience intense emotions, they can't regulate them on their own, that's why they need an external source, usually a caretaker or things that provide comfort. When this regulation is denied or neglected, the ways to soothe themselves usually become unconventional, and sometimes even destructive, autoagressive or even heteroagressive.
Our unnamed narrator is completely at the mercy of his vengeful, uncomforted inner child who enacts revenge in the most destructive way: killing everyone who hurt him, and our protagonist can't do anything about it. He's controlled by Jerry, a puppet of his, a marrionette, witnessing all the horror, taking life with his own hands. Jerry's last target is the ex wife of the narrator, and despite begging to Jerry to leave her alone, he forces him to find her. What happens next? We may never know, we can just guess.
I'm slowly getting convinced that even though Harlan was a petty man, who sued everyone left and right and pulled different pranks on people just to annoy them, he really despised revenge and never believed in divine retribution. And given how many autobiographical elements are present in the collection, straight up telling us in the introduction that he still can't let go of that old woman poisoning his dog, who knows what kind of skeletons we can find inside his family's closet.
Overall, again, revenge doesn't bring you satisfaction, it won't make the pain go away. It just makes you more miserable.
Alive and well and on a friendless voyage: 3,5/5
"No. Never her. I loved her. I couldn't kill her, so I wanted to kill everything else in the world."
Short summary: Moth is presumably in the afterlife. As he ventures through the lobby, he recounts every traumatic event he ever went through. Sometimes he receives comfort, sometimes it's judgement. But in the end, he remains completely alone.
This is the second story where Lori appears as the source of inspiration because this novella was written in a direct response to Lori leaving Harlan for another man. The impulsive, all over the place kind of writing explains it a lot, this story is just straight up coping with the feelings.
Moth, the author insert delivers an intense dialogue about the situation with Lori. Getting into the uncomfortable nature of their relationship, the other character, as the voice of reason is ostracizing Harlan how he could take advantage of a 19 year old girl, brushing off all the excuses. Harlan is basically at war with his own thoughts. But the other unfortunate events in Moth's life in the later parts are a bit of a lackluster, and in a structural point, the whole story would flow better if all the tension would lead up to what happened with Lori. That conversation is still outstanding, very raw, painful and emotional, but the rest just doesn't compare. That's why it deserves to be rated at 3,5.
All the birds come home to roost: 2/5
"The mood was tainted now. He could feel himself split—one part of him here and now with the naked Martha, in this bedroom with the light low—another part he had thought long gone, in that other bedroom, hunkered down against the baseboard, hands over eyes, whimpering like a crippled dog..."
Short summary: Michael Kirxby somehow gets involved with all the women in his life, but in reverse order, all the deeds of his past slowly catching up to him. But there's one woman, only one, the very first that he wants to escape at all costs.
I'm very sad about this story and the rating that I had to give, because this one has such a good premise. In the introduction, Harlan explains that the inspiration for this novella was a brief period in his life where he got in touch with some of his ex girlfriends again. There was nothing overtly dramatic about it, but it was a scenario that he wanted to reflect upon through his writing. He later added another personal detail to the plot, which was none other than his own disastrous marriage with his first wife, Charlotte Stein.
Harlan explores themes of regret, accountability, and retribution through this story, but sadly the execution is not the best. It gets repetitive quite fast. Michael bumps into one of his exes, they talk a bit, have sex and then they never see each other ever again. All the women have the personality and character of wet cardboard, with only a bit of a momentum given to the third to last woman, who's a stereotypical rendition of a kind hearted individual, who wants to help our protag. We never encounter the first woman in Michael's life, we never know what happens, how could she ruin him or what he can learn from it. Instead, the story just cuts off when he meets the second to last girlfriend. It feels like it's just unfinished. And I have no idea what's the meaning behind it.
Harlan, you can do better.
Opium: 3/5
"We all want to be entertained all the time. And when it doesn't work, when none of it is enough, we try to kill ourselves to escape."
Short summary: Anne Marie is a very lonely woman with a very unhappy life. When she finally commits suicide, however, everyone tries to save her and convince her, that the real world is, indeed, a wonderful place.
I... I saw that video of him reading this story to his audience while wearing a really tight blue shirt. That's how I ended up here, in the Harlan rabbit hole. I have eyes, and I like me some intellectual short king, you know.
Prior reading this story, or even watching him reading it out loud, I saw that interview for 90 minutes live where he basically summerizes the plot and the overall thoughts and themes for Opium. Sometimes, he's directly quoting himself through the dialogue. So, all in all, this story didn't say anything new to me that's why I rated it a 3.
This is one of the more absurdist stories I read from Harlan. Instead of the very well structured story lines and smooth flow which is a trademark of Harlan's writing style, this one is hard to take apart, to have a good grasp on it. I suggest that you should look for the main message of the story instead of trying to make sense of the scenes, especially around the ending.
I still recommend to go and watch that interview with him. He gets more in depth about the themes of Opium: alienation, escapism, loneliness, growing distant with each other and how we cope with it with mindless entertainment. And how that mindless entertainment is used to distract us from very real and major problems of the world and rewires us to reject anything that is thought provoking or even disturbing. Still very much relevant topics to have a conversation about.
And with Opium finished, it is time to have a breather. Stay tuned for part 2 :))
