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Weatherhead
Nine months after his wife's death, a man is abducted from his house by a band of violent thieves and taken to a nightmarish city called Weatherhead. There he falls under the dark attentions of the cruel, despotic ruler of the city: the wife he thought dead.
This a love story between a person still living and a person still dead. It is also a hate story between the same, a violent story populated with all manner of ruffians, crimes, running street battles between Love and Hate (a particularly nasty bunch who hang out at soda fountains and dress terribly) and knife-fights between mourning and evening spouses. It is a story of how we remember those who are lost, and how we rebuild those who shattered in life. If life is a place in which we die, what does that make death?
This a love story between a person still living and a person still dead. It is also a hate story between the same, a violent story populated with all manner of ruffians, crimes, running street battles between Love and Hate (a particularly nasty bunch who hang out at soda fountains and dress terribly) and knife-fights between mourning and evening spouses. It is a story of how we remember those who are lost, and how we rebuild those who shattered in life. If life is a place in which we die, what does that make death?
399 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 2014
62 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 3, 2015
To paraphrase Cixous, reading this novel is like walking on a dizzying silence reading one word after another on emptiness. She actually said that about the writing process itself but here it applies to this strange, savage landscape that Hushour has brought to life. Amongst the phantasmagoria and humor there is an unease, the feeling that the ground will give way beneath you or that you will fall into the maw of the sky. The author has a Kubrickian claustrophobia and his love of mazes as well, not only borne out by the topography of Weatherhead itself but in the labyrinth's of his character's souls. This is a big work that invites you to live in it a while, to try on its weird garments and act differently in the face of the world's chaos
Remember when you were just outside Barstow in Bat Country? Remember when you suckled on Mugwump jism in Tangiers or peeled the layers of Calvino's Venice? Remember getting caught in the geometry of Pynchon or the poetry and meditation of Lispector? Remember discovering the gentle melancholy of Georges Perec? Remember Weatherhead. Relish the terror of existence.
To quote Cixous more directly, "I learned infinity limits love. One must never stop giving it limits to devour."
Remember when you were just outside Barstow in Bat Country? Remember when you suckled on Mugwump jism in Tangiers or peeled the layers of Calvino's Venice? Remember getting caught in the geometry of Pynchon or the poetry and meditation of Lispector? Remember discovering the gentle melancholy of Georges Perec? Remember Weatherhead. Relish the terror of existence.
To quote Cixous more directly, "I learned infinity limits love. One must never stop giving it limits to devour."
January 13, 2016
I can't, in its entirety, exactly explain what happened in this novel and what it's about. It was trippy and bizarre and really rather sad.
There were parts of the book (flashbacks) about the protagonists and their doomed marriage that were clear and beautiful. These were dispersed between surreal scenes with unnerving and distorted characters.
This it not something I'd normally claim to have loved reading, but, despite getting a little lost and confused during the longer abstract scenes, there was also an awful lot I did love, especially the slow build. Full marks from me!
There were parts of the book (flashbacks) about the protagonists and their doomed marriage that were clear and beautiful. These were dispersed between surreal scenes with unnerving and distorted characters.
This it not something I'd normally claim to have loved reading, but, despite getting a little lost and confused during the longer abstract scenes, there was also an awful lot I did love, especially the slow build. Full marks from me!
September 14, 2017
I don’t typically like to give low ratings, and I tried to find some way of justifying a higher rating for this book, but unfortunately I felt Weatherhead was deserving of 2 Stars. Which may come as a surprise for some people, given the generally high ratings. So, while this may come down to taste, I’m going to try to give a more thorough explanation of why I gave this book the rating I did.
To check out more of my book reviews, please visit my blog: https://isaacalder.wordpress.com
Pros:
- More a very long, abstract poem than a traditional novel (frankly, nothing about this book is a traditional novel), Hushour’s strongest skill is artistic writing. Alternating between strikingly surreal and horrifically beautiful, the vast majority of the novel is composed of lengthy descriptions of the setting, emotions, interactions, or just abstractions of seemingly little relevance. While these will be touched on as a con as well, objectively speaking they are remarkably well crafted gems of poetry.
- Despite the cons, this book is uniquely captivating, with special emphasis on both words. Unique in the sense that there are very few novels I have encountered which set out to do what Hushour did and manage to do so without just creating senseless drivel. Even if it is difficult to follow, his novel still contains plot and characters that help maintain its shape. And that shape is, without a doubt, captivating. It may have been a struggle at some points, but I did finish the novel, because the writing and those elements of story and character made me want to reach the end.
Cons:
- In both of my pros, I reference the difficulty in following Hushour’s writing and the lack of cohesiveness and sense of relevance. While the pros were enough to keep me from giving up on the book, they were heavily tainted by the simple fact that the book doesn’t make a lot of sense. A defensive fan of the book may say I just didn’t “get it,” but I think I did. I even appreciated it. But the usage of excessive metaphors, insanely high-brow/superfluous/possibly made up vocabulary, and downright painfully intangible descriptions detracted from all of the good things about the book.
- Book length is not something I usually consider in my reviews, but in this case it has to be noted. Especially given the above con, the length of the book (400 pages according to Goodreads) is outrageous. The difficult style could be forgiven as poetics if the novel was shorter, but so many pages is just frustrating and makes the novel all the more difficult to get through. It doesn’t help that, if much of the unnecessary verbosity was removed, the story could be the same, with no sacrifice of artistry, and be half the length.
Would I Recommend?
This style is like Faulkner through a meat grinder. The novel is long, and the content is difficult to get through. The story is good, but lost in the chaos. And yet, many people like it. So, I recommend that if you are thinking of reading this book, read a sample. The first couple chapters in a preview will suffice. If you think, “yeah, this is good,” then read the whole thing. If you think, “eh, it’s okay, maybe I’ll get used to it,” or, even worse, “wow I can barely read this,” then you will not like the book and I highly recommend you do not force yourself further.
To check out more of my book reviews, please visit my blog: https://isaacalder.wordpress.com
Pros:
- More a very long, abstract poem than a traditional novel (frankly, nothing about this book is a traditional novel), Hushour’s strongest skill is artistic writing. Alternating between strikingly surreal and horrifically beautiful, the vast majority of the novel is composed of lengthy descriptions of the setting, emotions, interactions, or just abstractions of seemingly little relevance. While these will be touched on as a con as well, objectively speaking they are remarkably well crafted gems of poetry.
- Despite the cons, this book is uniquely captivating, with special emphasis on both words. Unique in the sense that there are very few novels I have encountered which set out to do what Hushour did and manage to do so without just creating senseless drivel. Even if it is difficult to follow, his novel still contains plot and characters that help maintain its shape. And that shape is, without a doubt, captivating. It may have been a struggle at some points, but I did finish the novel, because the writing and those elements of story and character made me want to reach the end.
Cons:
- In both of my pros, I reference the difficulty in following Hushour’s writing and the lack of cohesiveness and sense of relevance. While the pros were enough to keep me from giving up on the book, they were heavily tainted by the simple fact that the book doesn’t make a lot of sense. A defensive fan of the book may say I just didn’t “get it,” but I think I did. I even appreciated it. But the usage of excessive metaphors, insanely high-brow/superfluous/possibly made up vocabulary, and downright painfully intangible descriptions detracted from all of the good things about the book.
- Book length is not something I usually consider in my reviews, but in this case it has to be noted. Especially given the above con, the length of the book (400 pages according to Goodreads) is outrageous. The difficult style could be forgiven as poetics if the novel was shorter, but so many pages is just frustrating and makes the novel all the more difficult to get through. It doesn’t help that, if much of the unnecessary verbosity was removed, the story could be the same, with no sacrifice of artistry, and be half the length.
Would I Recommend?
This style is like Faulkner through a meat grinder. The novel is long, and the content is difficult to get through. The story is good, but lost in the chaos. And yet, many people like it. So, I recommend that if you are thinking of reading this book, read a sample. The first couple chapters in a preview will suffice. If you think, “yeah, this is good,” then read the whole thing. If you think, “eh, it’s okay, maybe I’ll get used to it,” or, even worse, “wow I can barely read this,” then you will not like the book and I highly recommend you do not force yourself further.
October 25, 2019
This is one of the most difficult reviews I have written, and yet the book is undoubtedly a work of genius and can't possibly be awarded less than 5 stars. And yet I am at a loss who to recommend it to, because it is most definitely not for all readers.
Let's start with the basic scenario (there'll be no spoilers here). A cop's wife is killed when she is hit by a speeding truck on a lonely stretch of road. Months later, he is abducted by four bizarre thugs who take him through a weird landscape to a peculiar city, which is ruled over by a tyrant who is the spitting image of his dead wife.
That's the scenario, and the (very, very lengthy) book seeks to unravel the mysteries, as well as affording frequent and detailed flashbacks to life with his wife before he was bereaved.
The writing style is as bizarre as the setting and situation, with continual shifts in meaning, puns and plays upon words. Sentences mean one thing, then suddenly shift to mean another. Reality shifts and changes. The reader as much as the cop must learn to speak the 'language of Weatherhead' if there is to be any hope of following what is happening. Expectations are subverted at every turn. The laws of cause and effect are utterly different in this strange city, and its language expresses this. It is fascinating and addictive once you allow it into your head, but I must confess that it is as likely to infuriate as many readers as it bewitches. Perhaps you have to want to be bewitched in order to read this book?
It is a book of puzzles and maps and crosswords, where the rules are as mutable as the answers, and as such I found it a delight.
The whole long affair is a rumination upon life and death, upon relationships, upon love and hate, upon knowledge and ignorance, about how near impossible it is to ever truly know another person, how idiosyncrasies are precious.
Ultimately, it is beyond life and death, and it ends as a new puzzle and a new game begins. Sad and yet joyous, defeated and yet triumphant, betrayed and yet saved. It is beautiful beyond words in a profound way which is beyond even the language of Weatherhead to express.
Yes, I DO recommend it. You can chastise me for it later if you wish, but read it first.
Let's start with the basic scenario (there'll be no spoilers here). A cop's wife is killed when she is hit by a speeding truck on a lonely stretch of road. Months later, he is abducted by four bizarre thugs who take him through a weird landscape to a peculiar city, which is ruled over by a tyrant who is the spitting image of his dead wife.
That's the scenario, and the (very, very lengthy) book seeks to unravel the mysteries, as well as affording frequent and detailed flashbacks to life with his wife before he was bereaved.
The writing style is as bizarre as the setting and situation, with continual shifts in meaning, puns and plays upon words. Sentences mean one thing, then suddenly shift to mean another. Reality shifts and changes. The reader as much as the cop must learn to speak the 'language of Weatherhead' if there is to be any hope of following what is happening. Expectations are subverted at every turn. The laws of cause and effect are utterly different in this strange city, and its language expresses this. It is fascinating and addictive once you allow it into your head, but I must confess that it is as likely to infuriate as many readers as it bewitches. Perhaps you have to want to be bewitched in order to read this book?
It is a book of puzzles and maps and crosswords, where the rules are as mutable as the answers, and as such I found it a delight.
The whole long affair is a rumination upon life and death, upon relationships, upon love and hate, upon knowledge and ignorance, about how near impossible it is to ever truly know another person, how idiosyncrasies are precious.
Ultimately, it is beyond life and death, and it ends as a new puzzle and a new game begins. Sad and yet joyous, defeated and yet triumphant, betrayed and yet saved. It is beautiful beyond words in a profound way which is beyond even the language of Weatherhead to express.
Yes, I DO recommend it. You can chastise me for it later if you wish, but read it first.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews