Summer Reading: The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

Thanks to a slow week administering exams and the need to close-up shop in advance of the impending summer school break, my personal summer reading season has begun early. Truth is, I live in a yearlong reading cycle, and with current events being what that are, this has never been so true or vigorously adhered to. My "Must Read" table overflows with books awaiting opening. Ironically, I continue to cleanse my mental palette of orange, homicidal, lying monsters by mixing in cosmic horror. The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron, published in 2013, is the third of his collections, after Occultation (2010) and The Imago Sequence (2007) I've read.

Both collections of short stories were a terrifying, uncomfortable pleasure to read and The Beautiful Thing is no different. When I recommend Barron's stories to others, it is often with the with the suggestion that Barron's short story work (I've yet to read his well-regarded novels) are perfect for those who appreciate the literary stylings of H.P. Lovecraft. (I also share that the dread and discomfort that comes with Barron is much more visceral, at least for this reader.) If anything, this most recent collection brings Barron's vision into more direct alignment with Lovecraft's. There is little need for me to formally review this collection, there are plenty of reputable reviews online to be read if that is the desire. I do have a couple of thoughts however from the perspective of the "guy sitting on his porch after having been given a good fright."

Lovecraft's influence is most overt in the collection's seventh story "Vastation" (which means "the action or process of emptying or purifying someone or something, typically violently or drastically"), a collection of reminiscences from the perspective of self-ascribed "herald[s] of the Old Ones" (199). Here, a timeless entity of sorts recounts experiences from the distant past, present and future as he prepares our world for cleansing. The unique point of view shifts from the Dark Ages to the future of robot cats adding a layer not explored by Lovecraft (whose Cthulhu mythology was only made more concrete after his passing). Balancing grotesque imagery such as the Mushroom Man's mission to "liquify our insides and suck them up like a kid slobbering on a milkshake (200) with light humor in the form of the unnamed (maybe "McCoy" as in the real McCoy?) narrator's affection for Fat Elvis and his own robo-cat, Softy-Cuddles.

Beyond the fantastic imagery, cosmic horror and scary "magical realism" in The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All, this collection does two things I always appreciate in writing:

Saturn Devouring His Son 

by Fancisco De Goya

1. I really dig when author's prompt me research in order to fully grasp what's happening. Each of Barron's stories includes a cultural allusion or use of diction that had me going to the smart phone, not so much for basic comprehension but for a sharpening of understanding. This especially rewards when considering the titles  The previously mentioned "Vastation" for one or the need to refresh my visual memory regarding Francisco De Goya's painting Saturn Devouring His Son. Doing so only brings into even greater clarity the creepy image created by Barron's words at the conclusion of "Jaws of Saturn". 
2. Despite the collection nature of short stories, Barron weaves symbols and motifs throughout. In both the narratives and publishing artwork the ouroboros makes appearances. I also found it cool to come across the image of staring at a single red dot against a wall as a portal to other worlds a number of the stories. Again, this is not meant to be mind-blowing observation on my part, but a recognition of the care taken in selection and creating a tone (and message?) for the text as a whole.

I continue to enjoy the short stories of Laird Barron. My past experience with Barron suggests that he is the rare horror writer whose work benefits from re-reading (Occultation remains on my "Must Read" pile despite having been read and re-read). A quick note for any of my high school students still reading: there is R-Rated imagery and activity throughout Barron's stories. As I say in class when discussing "adult-ish" content, I can't recommend it to you yet, but as soon as you turn 18... check it out!