In a living room east of LA on Monday afternoon, five locals who are Mythopoeic Society regulars but were not able to attend this year's Mythcon gathered to hear me, come down from NorCal for the occasion, give my paper from this year's Mythcon on one of the most elusive and atypical Inklings, CSL's pupil John Wain.
I described how he didn't fit in with the Inklings, how he didn't fit in with the younger writers of his own generation with whom he's most associated, and then described some of his novels (modern realist, decidedly not fantasy, except insofar as he's deluding himself about human behavior), all of which I've read. Some I thought casually worthwhile, others are ... not.
After the paper, and some supplementary prepared contributions to panels at Mythcon, and much discussion among the Mini-atures, we adjourned for dinner at a local roastery. And a Good Time was had by all.
I liked Wain's biography of Samuel Johnson a lot. I haven't read his novels; would you care to list any you thought good, or warn readers about duds? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFrom the paper:
DeleteI’d modestly recommend Hurry On Down, The Smaller Sky, A Winter in the Hills, and Lizzie’s Floating Shop, both in chronological order and in increasing order of enthusiasm. All of these, except Lizzie’s Floating Shop unfortunately, are available on Kindle, though you have to look them up under “Books” and not under “Kindle Store,” where most of them don’t show up under author name. I’m not raving in their favor, but some might enjoy them as interesting curiosity items.
Thank you, David. Do they benefit by being read in this order?
DeleteNo reason to do, or not to do so.
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