serves me right

[greygirlbeast]

It does absolutely nothing for the prospects of having a productive writing day when first thing in the morning, while — admittedly — ego-surfing, I come across something like the following:

i am reading a terrible but entertaining book called "silk" by caitlin r. kiernan this book is only for lovers of trashy recent gothic novels

No capitalization. Hardly any punctuation, and of the two examples of punctuation used, one is used incorrectly. But, I'm told by this gleet, Silk is a "terrible" and "trashy" novel. I don't know. Maybe it is. But at least it's generally frelling literate.

Comments

[eldritch00.livejournal.com]

Well, let me counter that by saying that Silk began a seven-year long love affair with your work that was only "consummated" last year when I got most of your books, barring the earlier collections.

[eldritch00.livejournal.com]

And it just occurred to me how odd that statement was...it's still "entertaining," s/he says.

[headhouse.livejournal.com]

On the bright side, they took the time to spell your name right. No such thing as bad publicity, and all that?

[styggian.livejournal.com]

And at least they remembered the R and didn't just say "Caitlin Kiernan".

[mellawyrden.livejournal.com]

okay.. I'm actually going blind with anger now.

How anyone (no matter how stupid) can read anything of yours & group it in with anything else in literature today is utterly beyond me. Especially SILK, which is beautiful and wrenching, and made me fall hard in love with your writing as an artist in a realm I couldn't hope to approach myself.

If this person is too dim to appreciate it, that's one thing, sad as it is. But to actually have no ear with which to hear your language, no tongue for tasting the interactions between character/scene/time, no empathy, no sensuality... and to then blame your work for these things.. well, I really do pity them. To stand before a work of art and not even see it.

[blubeagle.livejournal.com]

Your work is beautiful and haunting. Nobody writes like you, Cait. I'm proud to say that you're my favorite writer. Obviously, they didn't read Silk, if they couldn't see how beautifully terrifying it is.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

I have had some terrible reviews on Amazon - I can handle it if they don't like the novel, but some of the comments are, as you suggest, sub-literate. This is probably the same person who reviewed Poison Master and put in virtually no punctuation whatsoever.

Heartfelt sympathies.

[pierced-tinks.livejournal.com]

just gonna say that i found silk to be one of the most life changing books i have ever read! as have so many other people that i have made to read it.

[docbrite.livejournal.com]

I located the journal in question, and noted that she lists "drinking" and "driving" as two of her LJ interests. Perhaps she'll combine the two soon.

[aoniedesade.livejournal.com]

One can only hope.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Oh goodness, so I'm not the only one who finds the name of that liquor store (in your icon) totally absurd? I'd never seen those before moving to Massachusetts, and can't fathom why in the world someone thought, "Now, that's a good name ~ let's do it!". It gets me everytime we drive past one.

[docbrite.livejournal.com]

I understand why they did it (a "bunghole" in its pre-Beavis-&-Butthead incarnation being a hole for filling or tapping a cask of alcohol), but I can't quite believe they did. On the other hand, if I saw a Bunghole Liquor store, I would totally stop there and buy something.

[styggian.livejournal.com]

One would hope that the establishment pre-dates Beavis and Butthead or you would think they were just asking for it.

[aoniedesade.livejournal.com]

Gleet is a good word for that sort of person. During the awful process of choosing which books to take along with me during evacuation from the hurricane, Silk was one of the books that made it.

Facts like Deadwood is kicking off it's third season cheer me up, and that I can take a college course online and not have to be jammed into a desk alongside a bunch of kids fresh out of high school who cannot put their cellphones down also makes the day a little more bearable.

[cacophany.livejournal.com]

Y'know, "Silk" is my favorite novel. I already had a significant love of your work through the comics you wrote and some of your short stories i ran across from time to time, but "Silk" was the first novel of yours i read. After that, i was addicted. I just had to track down and order anything i could of yours, and for my birthday, my boi bought me a signed edition of "The Five of Cups".. i was overjoyed.

So hearten. "Silk" is most definatly NOT terrible, nor trashy, and most assuredly strange and wonderful.

[tarots.livejournal.com]

What, exactly, is 'ego-surfing'?

And a pox upon the twat that wrote such lies.

[docbrite.livejournal.com]

What, exactly, is 'ego-surfing'?

It's a foolish activity that writers really, really, really, really, really need to train themselves out of, because the 270 nice things you find about yourself will never, ever make up for the one stupid, shitty thing. I've sworn off it, and on the rare occasions when I break my vow, I punish myself severely (after the Internet has already done it for me).

[eldritch00.livejournal.com]

I'm not a writer but a teacher, and since blogging has become popular with my students, I have to confess I do a lot of ego-surfing at times myself. And yes, it's definitely a habit I should rid myself of, based on what you said about how all the nice comments never make up for reading the one (usually more) nasty comment.

[mercydelerium.livejournal.com]

i have 2 copies of silk, one i got from you, and one i got from a friend who was leaving who read it, thought it was awesome and thought i should read it.
i know that criticism is hard to take in any form. but, and i dont know how you are going to take this, if this person didnt like the book, then maybe he just didnt fit the book.
try not to take it to heart darling, i wish that i had your talent with words:)

[stardustgirl.livejournal.com]

Ouch. I found the journal in question as well and there are no caps anywhere. Vassar must be needing warm bodies, never mind their writing skill.

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, just tossing out "terrible" with no further details, no analysis of the work to say why the blogger thought it was terrible is silly and should be taken for what it is: yammering without substance.

[cillygirl.livejournal.com]

I thought Silk was a wonderful novel, and a superlative first novel. So there!

I have to say that I've never read any "recent gothic novels" previously; the "gothic novel" with the latest publishing date which I'd read previously was "Frankenstein".

Good writing is good writing, and Silk was excellent.

[setsuled.livejournal.com]

Maybe the person meant "terrible" in a positive way? As in "it inspires terror?"

I know, probably not. You'd think with things like Pulp Fiction around, the old snobbery about entertaining art not necessarily being good art would go away. Maybe this means your work is the noir of the 2030s?

I'm going down a bit of a fantasy route here, though, because I can't even imagine why Silk would be called "trashy." It's not like it's a string of action, sex, and torrid romance. I can only imagine the person finds something trashy about nuanced characterisation and mood.

I finally saw The Proposition, by the way. You were absolutely right about it--I wrote about it in my LJ. The setting was like a more oppressive version of the places in Leone films. I, too, wished it had more of John Hurt.

Oooo! Fighting words! That's my favorite book!

[seph-ski.livejournal.com]

I had a dear friend hand me his copy of Silk several years ago. He said, "You're going to love this book I just read." He was so right. I read his copy, and then I went out and bought my own copy, wanting to support such a fabulous author and to have a copy available to reread when the mood hits. My friend is kicking up the daisies now (and he'd giggle if he heard me say it like that), so every time I sit down with Silk, I have the added enjoyment of remembering him.

When Poppy auctioned of one of her hardbound, slip-covered personal copies of Silk on ebay, I told my husband he was going to have to grant me this splurge, because I was going to have that book at whatever cost. Now I have two copies, and I won't be parting with either of them.

I love your writing. I'm not very gifted when it comes to words, so I'm not sure how to describe it, but most books read in a linear fashion, "...and then he... and then she... and then..." Your work draws me in, transports me. It's like I can feel the words wrapping around me and changing my reality.

I can see how Silk might not be everybody's cup of tea, I can't see my mother enjoying it or even understanding most of it, but it is an excellent book. Anyone who took the time to read it all and then trash-talks it is just suffering from some kind of inferiority complex, IMO.

I'm actually just getting ready for another read. I was going to start reading it to my husband a little at a time. I know he'd like it, but he's too much of a sci-fi thriller geek to make room at the top of his list for horror, so I was going to do it for him. ;) I wanted to start him with Silk, where I started, and then give him Murder of Angels and Threshold, and well... if I can't make him into a Kiernan Krackhead like me (gotta have my fix!), then at least I can get him to understand why I'm such a fangrrl.

And with that, I should probably stop gushing like an idiot. Even if I haven't embarrassed you, I've embarrassed myself. But maybe some of this makes up for that terrible review at least.

[brokensymmetry.livejournal.com]

You can lead a gleet to beauty but you can't make it think.

[sovay]

But, I'm told by this gleet, Silk is a "terrible" and "trashy" novel. I don't know. Maybe it is. But at least it's generally frelling literate.

It is, and many other things besides; including, miles more worth reading than this person's opinion.

[throughthefire.livejournal.com]

I bought Silk in ninth grade (paperback) and read it until it fell apart, and then taped it back together and read it some more. Your writing has opened up worlds to me.

[meghann-vampy.livejournal.com]

I must confess that I am just now reading Silk, and I think it's wonderful. Your style is fluid and entertaining. One person can't change that for me, so it should be no different for you. Also, as you pointed out, they clearly have lost their grasp of the English language as soon as their fingers touched a keyboard. So at least feel proud that you've got that over them.

[stsisyphus.livejournal.com]

How old is this post? Does something published nearly ten years ago still consider itself "recent"? And what is "Recent Gothic", anyway? The term summons an image of some kind of either first-person shooter or survival-horror video game.

I support the statement that someone who enjoys honestly-trashy horror novels might like Silk, in so much as someone who enjoys trashy Harlequin romance novels would probably also enjoy Pride & Prejudice, put one wouldn't go calling Austen "trashy" (Well, you could, but it would be a pretty damn snarky literati thing to do).