THE CIPHER | 
bailedI started this weeeelllll before Halloween - I‘ve gotten more into horror books in the past few years, and this was recommended on a Reddit thread I found. The idea was intriguing, and yeah, a lot of it was downright creepy and, in a way, scary. Like, I see how it gave people “the feels”, both in a psychological and physical way. But I was not into the writing, or the ambiance, setting, whatever. It felt so so old school, not in a good way. Nope.
so-soThis 1991 cult classic takes Nietzsche‘s “If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you” to its inevitable conclusion. Nicholas and Nakoma, starving artists living in grungy existential despair, discover a black hole of pure nothingness in an apartment storage closet. Experimentation, chaos, and madness ensue as these bitter psyches meet their own nihilism face to skull. Koja swings hard, asking (but not answering) some big questions.
pickTruly, a weird and visceral experience. This story of terrible, and doomed, people really isn't for everyone.
I wouldn't say this was horrifying, more gross and mildly unsettling (with the added bonus of trashing on early 90s art snobs lol), but it definately dipped into those primal, everyday sorta fears. The prose here is so razor sharp.. I'm very interested in checking out more of Koja's work!
Could Nicholas be named for the narrator of The Great Gatsby? Both are passive viewers of the greater story around them, themselves ciphers. Without Nick we wouldn‘t have Gatsby‘s story, & that authority of the nearly invisible viewer is magnified in the case of Nicholas: nothing would happen around the Funhole without him, yet he remains determinedly inactive.
Image of Francis Bacon‘s “Small Study for a Portrait”
pickLike a novelized Francis Bacon painting, The Cipher is grim & gritty, nasty & gross.
Nicholas is a slacker poet & his narration is rambling, self-deprecating stream-of-consciousness. It‘s disorienting and occasionally lovely. His selfish companion Nakota quickly becomes the most frightening thing in the book as the black hole they‘ve found in his apartment building inexorably distorts them.
panApparently this is a horror classic. I didn‘t know that when I got the book. I had read a review of the book that sounded interesting. A mysterious hole is discovered in a closet and two friends start to experiment with it.
The book is boring and tedious. All of the characters are horrible people. Too much detail is spent on how things smell, and they usually don‘t smell good. Truthfully this felt well written but I just didn‘t like it much.
Happy Halloween! This was a fantastic read. Dark, dramatic, not sensible, but felt deeply real and meaningful.
I am enjoying the melodrama of this book and thought this photo captured it nicely on this gray morning.
Book is unfortunately not pictured but we spent some quality time reading in the park today and it was enjoyable.
a good morning is still a good morning, even if it leads to apocalypse at night.
