Eddie's Shelter-in-Place Reading List #2

A Gentle Creature and Other Stories, by Fyodor Dostoevsky.  This book comprises three psychological narratives of "dreamers" thwarted in their relationships.  The writings of Dostoevsky, the 19th century Russian novelist most famous for Crime and Punishment (1866) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), are noted for their "deep-dive" cerebral explorations of protagonists' emotional, philosophical, and religious motivations.  Considered a top-tier classic author, Dostoevsky does have his detractors, most notably fellow Russian literary icon Vladimir Nabokov, celebrated for Lolita (1955), who found Dostoevsky's works tediously over-populated with "neurotics and lunatics".  This was my first exposure to this author, and though appreciative of the sampling, I don't think I'll explore further.

The Dunwich Horror and Other Stories, by H. P. Lovecraft.  I have mixed feelings about Lovecraft, early 20th century American author of "weird tales".  While some of his short stories strike me as flimsy, even silly, others are a big WOW, truly chilling and genre-defining.  My favorite aspect of Lovecraft is his transportive prose which, though antique, effectively oozes visceral cosmic terror.

The Wreck of the Cassandra, by Frederic Prokosch.  Inspired by The Seven Who Fled (see List #1), I decided to take another excursion in the Prokosch oeuvre.  This novel, written in 1966, is another exploration of man vs. geography, this time with protagonists facing shipwreck survival on a southeast Asian beach.  The party of 9 gradually devolves from an initial "new eden" bliss to a savage denouement.  It held me in thrall from beginning to end.  Like Gore Vidal, a vocal Prokosch champion, I find it rather unjust that he is mostly out of print and nearly forgotten.  Born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1906, Prokosch was something of a Renaissance man, who in addition to his literary pursuits became a champion squash player, cultural attache to Sweden, and passionate lepidopterist.  

The King Must Die, by Mary Renault.  Renault, a WWII nurse, emigrated in 1948 from London, England to Cape Town, South Africa to pursue a more visible relationship with her girlfriend, also an English nurse, among the burgeoning gay expat community there.  It was in South Africa that she honed her writing skills and become a highly successful novelist, her most beloved books being a sequence of historical fiction focusing on ancient Greece, starting with 1956's The Last of the Wine and ending with 1981's Funeral Games.  These novels are truly immersive in their skillful recreation of the ancient world.  I've recommended Renault to John and he is currently enjoying The Mask of Apollo (1966), the story of a professional actor in the time of Plato.  The King Must Die (1958) is a mythology-based tale, of Theseus, legendary King of Athens, and his fantastic adventures, at Eleusis in Attica and at Knossos on Crete, on his way to inheriting the throne.