Gothic: Four Hundred Years of Excess, Horror, Evil and Ruin

Rating:
Summary: more about tim burton?
Review: This book was excellent, and would have had a fifth star had it not been for the last horrible chapter. Lacking the structure and finesse of the previous text (deadline panic?), the final chapter, which covers the most recent gothic trends, overlooks much obviously important contemporary gothic work. Perhaps the most overlooked item is Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic, a highly intelligent and powerful work of art that elevated the gothic genre higher than most any other piece in recent history. And focusing on the imitative, excremental writing of Poppy Brite, whose emotional infantilism employs gothic's worst tropes, undermines much of Davenport-Hines' previous text. Film-wise, much was passed over from Freaks up until David Lynch. Even Blade Runner, though sci-fi, emphasizes gothic conventions. And musically, where was the mention of the likes of the Damned, or the Misfits, or even Skinny Puppy, who upped the ante on Alice Cooper's theatrics, who himself was heavily influenced by the non-theatrical reality of Iggy Pop's nihilism? Artwise, the Surrealists--and the Dadaists--questioned the value of life and society in ways that perpetuated gothic ideas. What about Artaud, and the Grand Guignol theater? Mentioning Damien Hirst and the Chapman brothers reeks of name-dropping and filler more than it does the gothic aesthetic. Although these artists are fascinating in their own macabre fashion, they hardly embody the very gothic qualities the author himself spent the rest of the book building (excepting perhaps the Brothers' recreation of Goya's drawing). Do we really need to know about Hirst's restaurant? The last chapter should have been the strongest considering its temporal proximity to the present, but instead was its weakest. A book like this can't be expected to detail everything, but the closer the timeline came to contemporary culture, the bigger the gaps. The rest of it, however, was so strong and fascinating in its own right that the sins of the end can be forgiven. Avoid the last chapter and remain satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Don't finish this book
Review: This book was excellent, and would have had a fifth star had it not been for the last horrible chapter. Lacking the structure and finesse of the previous text (deadline panic?), the final chapter, which covers the most recent gothic trends, overlooks much obviously important contemporary gothic work. Perhaps the most overlooked item is Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic, a highly intelligent and powerful work of art that elevated the gothic genre higher than most any other piece in recent history. And focusing on the imitative, excremental writing of Poppy Brite, whose emotional infantilism employs gothic's worst tropes, undermines much of Davenport-Hines' previous text. Film-wise, much was passed over from Freaks up until David Lynch. Even Blade Runner, though sci-fi, emphasizes gothic conventions. And musically, where was the mention of the likes of the Damned, or the Misfits, or even Skinny Puppy, who upped the ante on Alice Cooper's theatrics, who himself was heavily influenced by the non-theatrical reality of Iggy Pop's nihilism? Artwise, the Surrealists--and the Dadaists--questioned the value of life and society in ways that perpetuated gothic ideas. What about Artaud, and the Grand Guignol theater? Mentioning Damien Hirst and the Chapman brothers reeks of name-dropping and filler more than it does the gothic aesthetic. Although these artists are fascinating in their own macabre fashion, they hardly embody the very gothic qualities the author himself spent the rest of the book building (excepting perhaps the Brothers' recreation of Goya's drawing). Do we really need to know about Hirst's restaurant? The last chapter should have been the strongest considering its temporal proximity to the present, but instead was its weakest. A book like this can't be expected to detail everything, but the closer the timeline came to contemporary culture, the bigger the gaps. The rest of it, however, was so strong and fascinating in its own right that the sins of the end can be forgiven. Avoid the last chapter and remain satisfied.

Rating:
Summary: Hines investigates why we love to be afraid of the dark!
Review: Using all his powers of perception Richard Davenport-Hines draws the black curtains back and reveals why humans have this odd fascination with anything gothic. Though insightful and often thorough to a painful degree, Hines seems to hit all the highlights in what is a most difficult topic to cover completely. Far from objective Hines gives his opinon on the greater and lesser talents of the Macabre, from Lord Byron to Poppy Z. Brite, Hines speaks about his subjects with passion or with ambivalence, depending on his preferance. Though the start is slow, tracing the history of English Gardens the book gradually builds up steam until the end, in which with great love he speaks of English modern artists. Throughout Hines is insightful and his style of writing mixed with the sordidness of the subject matter leads to a good informative book with plenty of appeal for those interested in the Gothic tradition.