These are the best books I read in 2021.
Links to my posts about them below:
1. A Brief History of Creation
3. The Battery
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Phenomena (1985) : Another of Dario Argento's classics.
I recently watched Dario Argento's 1985 Italian horror movie 'Phenomena'. After watching 'Suspiria' by the same director, which became one of my favorite horror movies ever, I am slowly checking off all of his movies. Dario has a unique style of horror. Something about it reminds me of gothic horror short stories. Phenomena is a story of a girl who realises she possesses a sixth sense of communicating with insects and uses this ability to track down a serial killer on the loose. If Suspiria created a sense of dread with exquisite, claustrophobic set pieces then Phenomena does the same with wide open spaces. Set in Switzerland, the stunning locations and pretty towns are shown in an eerie light. Especially the bit about the ever blowing wind. And as always the soundtrack by Goblin is perfect for the theme. The combination of Dario Argento and Goblin has to be one of the best in the industry. This was my third movie of Dario Argento and I am now a 'pakka' fan.
Mary Shelley : One of the women in history that I admire the most
Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, is one of the women in history that I admire the most. She is often credited with creating the genre of science fiction as we know it today. The story of how this masterpiece came about is legendary.
In 1815, Lord Byron, PB Shelley, Mary Shelley and John Polidori gathered together to spend some days in a hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. How these famous got together for a trip is altogether another story. To spend their time, Lord Byron suggested a competition to see who can come up with the best ghost story. This simple weekend challenge resulted in the renaissance of two separate genres, science fiction and horror. Mary Shelley came out with the groundbreaking Frankenstein and John Polidori with The Vampyre, which strongly influence Bram Stoker's Dracula. This whole story itself has a gothic quality to it and ranks up there with all my other favorite horror stories.
To be in the company of such great people and then trump them all with a book that has cemented its place in human history is no mean achievement esp. for a girl who was just 19 at that time. She was largely overshadowed in her lifetime by her more famous husband PB Shelley but over the years she has been recognized as a major figure in the romantic movement of that era.
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