No. 118 (essentialsaltes) wrote,
No. 118
essentialsaltes

People of the Mist & Two Gentlemen of Lebowski

The People of the Mist is one of HR Haggard's many African adventure stories. You've probably heard of King Solomon's Mines or She, but the reason you (or, I, rather) never heard of the People of the Mist, is that it's not that good. There are some good two-fisted scenes of action, but the overall plot is marred by more coincidences than a Shakespeare play, and of course the casual racism. One is seldom in doubt that two destitute Europeans can tackle an entire minor civilization -- with the help of one or two of the better sort of native -- while simultaneously carrying on a junior high romance. Or that our hero must ultimately be restored to his ancestral estates, which had been bought by, of all things, a Jew! And love wins in the end, which is a good thing, since, "had their feelings been much less tender towards each other than was the case, it would still have been desirable, in view of the extraordinary intimacy into which they had been thrown during the past months, that they should become man and wife."

Adam Bertocci's Two Gentlemen of Lebowski is a much more thoroughly enjoyable work. What if Shakespeare had written The Big Lebowski? I confess I'm a much bigger fan of the Dude than I am of the Bard, but I truly appreciate the cleverness with which Bertocci approached this project. And the aptness of the concept; what is The Stranger, if not a chorus? The importance of language in The Big Lebowski is supported in its translation into the Elizabethan Age, where the cable being broken is a disaster nautical, rather than telecommunicational. And I very much appreciated his use of marginal glosses for vocabulary, some serious, some quasi-serious, some ridiculous.

lance: euphemism for penis. See also most nouns in Shakespeare.

A most excellent diversion, in the parlance of our times.
Tags: book, lebowski
Subscribe

  • The Puzzle Universe, City of Stairs, games

    The Puzzle Universe purports to be a History of Mathematics in 315 puzzles. While that's not wholly inaccurate, it's more of an exercise in…

  • Polyphemus, by Michael Shea

    Polyphemus is a collection of horror-tending to sf, or sf tending to horror stories, with one Nifft the Lean tale thrown in. I wasn't a fan of the…

  • The Raven Tower ; Forever Azathoth

    The Raven Tower is another fine work by Ann Leckie. Her first fantasy novel is quite a departure from... from anything, really. At least half the…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    Help
  • 2 comments