Boek

Essential Clive Barker, The

Essential Clive Barker, The

Auteur Clive Barker , Armistead Maupin
Eerste Uitgave1999
Uitgave1999
UitgeverijHarper Collins Publishers Ltd.
Vormbundel
TaalEngels
Bladzijden576 bladzijden
Gelezen2007-12-26
Score6/10

Inhoud

"I wonder if the reverse is not also in some way true. That the artist is constantly working on anelaborate and fantasticated self-portrait, but at the end has drawn, unbeknownst, a picture of the world."
-- Clive Barker, "Private Legends: An Introduction"

Clive Barker, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, playwright, artist, producer, director, screenwriter, and one of the world's master storytellers, writing in the haunting and moving traditions of Poe and Dickens, invites us to join him on a dazzling, wondrous journey through the worlds of his imagination and to experience visions, dreams, love, terror, heaven and hell, and revenge.

As we read, we discover and explore the dream-sea Quiddity and the islands of Ephemeris; the five Dominions of the Imajica, of which the Earth is but an imperfect facet; the rapturous world woven into an ancient, threadbare carpet in a derelict house in Liverpool; Hood's Holiday House where each day contains four seasons and children's wishes may come true; the Sky Room of Galilee, where the creation of the universe may be witnessed; and the clubs and bars of San Francisco and New York, in which all manner of sexual adventures lie in wait.

In these stories, the real and the miraculous are within a breath of one another, life gives way to death, and death to life; doorways open into other states of existence, and each doorway leads us back to our own dreams and fears.

The Essential Clive Barker is an irresistible narrative compendium that superbly represents the impressive quality and range of Barker's fiction, spanning more than twenty years of writing. It contains more than seventy excerpts from novels and plays and four full-length short stories, all personally selected by Barker, and offers a privileged insight into a remarkable writer and his art.

Bespreking

A complete rip-off

There are many things wrong with The Essential Clive Barker. For starters, the title is simply incorrect. This book does not give you an overview –or even a hint for that matter- of what Clive Barker is all about. At best it gives you a set of teasers that hopefully will entice you to read the full novels. But why not start by picking up a real novel and explore the craftsmanship of the author yourself. Indeed, a concise version of The Essential Clive Barker should read: close this book, go to the bookstore, buy Imajica and enjoy. If you have never read any of his books, this collection is only going to annoy you to death. Right at the moment you are really getting into the flow of a story, it breaks off and leaves you to crave for more.

So if beginners are not supposed to buy this book, should the avid Clive Barker fan invest some dough in it? Why should he? Any self-respecting fan will own all Clive's books anyway. Ah, but there's a catch, indeed. The Departed, a short story that previously only appeared in The New York Times, gets its book premiere in this tombstone of a collection. Sounds like a rip-off? Well, it definitely is. The only real extra's are Clive Barker's explanations for why he selected these particular stories, but these short interludes do not give you any better insights into the stories themselves. This book was clearly only published because the publishers needed some quick money. Just read the real stuff, you won't regret it.