Dunno but I think it was King Solomon that asked two mothers who disputed parenthood of a child to have a tug of war against each other with the baby as rope to see who wanted it more. In his wisdom he decided that the child belonged to the mother who didn't pull because she obviously was less willing to harm the child. Presumably the Carver short story references that."The last one was just too fucked up to even recommend. Was it Carver that had that short story about the fighting husband and wife that tugged at their infant child, essentially quartering (halving?) their baby? That came to mind, but it was the reverse of this, the two parents attempting to help their burned child, but the result being Epic Fail."
A "re-write" of it sounds interesting, what's it all about then?The Monk (Matthew Lewis and Artaud's "re-write")
Dunno but I think it was King Solomon that asked two mothers who disputed parenthood of a child to have a tug of war against each other with the baby as rope to see who wanted it more. In his wisdom he decided that the child belonged to the mother who didn't pull because she obviously was less willing to harm the child.
ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB
Two women claimed to be the mother of the same kid. So the king said, "Since you're both the mom, I'll rip him into two strips". The women happily agreed. So the king walked over to the kid who said "Give it to me. I'm crazy". But then, the king looked toward heaven and realised that this kid was AWESOME. So he took him as a pupil and together, they beat the crap out of both moms.
you will enjoy the Bros K no doubt
i just grabbed Murakami's Wind Up Bird Chronicle from the library
i need something to soothe the brain after cyclonopedia has been punching ( )holes in it
A "re-write" of it sounds interesting, what's it all about then?
Just about to start Obscene Bird of Night by Donoso, sounds as though it ought to be good. Finished Moscow to The End of The Line by Venedikt Erofeev this morning which was leant to me by a friend - it reminded me trivially of a Russian Bukowski but with a lot more poetry and wit and sadness.
Yeah, I've read the original which was why I was interested in Artaud's rewrite. Never knew about it. I'd be interested to hear what it's like - think I'll check it out myself if it's any good (what's the book actually called? Is it just The Monk by Artaud or what? Cheers)."it's somewhere between a re-write and a translation. Not sure if you've read the original Gothic novel, but it is about a monk who develops a sexual obsession with one of his students (a young girl pretending to be an apprentice monk) who torments/seduces him until he finally rapes her. As it turns out, "Matilda" is actually a demon in the form of a young girl (pretty common theme in early gothic/exotic lit), and she continues to seduce him. She convinces him to rape another young girl, Antonia, who he kills in the act of raping. Ambrosio later finds out that Antonia was his half-sister. I think he kills his mother also. Really inspiring stuff, i wanted to read something appropriate for the Christmas holiday
i haven't started Artaud's version (his only novel) but apparently it's darker, more perverted, more violent, and more fragmented/schizophrenic than the original."