Dislocation and Horror in Gaiman's "A Study in Emerald"
I found A Study in Emerald to be an interesting exercise in what-if, of a familiar fictional universe as seen through a fun-house mirror. The known is rendered strange, much as Lovecraft’s own fiction does to scenic seaport villages and university towns.
Though in many ways the story is non-Lovecraftian in tone -- the narrator and protagonist are both alive and sane at the end of the story -- the reversal of everything the reader knows puts us in the place of a Lovecraftian hero. Though not driven mad by the twist in the story, I felt a visceral jolt when I realized the full extent of the reversal -- that the eyes through which I was seeing the story were those of a stranger.
Knowing that called everything I thought I knew about the story universe into question. Despite the story’s failures as pastiche, it succeeds in delivering a most Lovecraftian shock.
This entry was originally posted at http://kit-r-writing.dreamwidth.org/481022.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Though in many ways the story is non-Lovecraftian in tone -- the narrator and protagonist are both alive and sane at the end of the story -- the reversal of everything the reader knows puts us in the place of a Lovecraftian hero. Though not driven mad by the twist in the story, I felt a visceral jolt when I realized the full extent of the reversal -- that the eyes through which I was seeing the story were those of a stranger.
Knowing that called everything I thought I knew about the story universe into question. Despite the story’s failures as pastiche, it succeeds in delivering a most Lovecraftian shock.
This entry was originally posted at http://kit-r-writing.dreamwidth.org/481022.html. Please comment there using OpenID.