Looking for Jake (with spoliers)

[Thadlerian]

So, here is a thread in which we can discuss the short stories in Miéville's Looking for Jake - and other stories.
I'll start out with my personal opinions of each of the stories. Needless to say, they all have in common being rather strange and disturbing, every one of them.

Looking for Jake
The title story. I liked it. It has a melancholic feel, and it seems rather diffuse on what's really going on. But there's quite some emotion in it.

Foundation
Utilizing a classic and dear title to tell a story that's certainly not nice at all. Some political motivation. Rather eerie.

The Ball Room
The most down-to-earth of them all, I think. Lots of good observation, and then there's the strange element. I'll have to read it twice, as I didn't really get it. Who was that girl in the ball room at night? Who was that woman? What really happent?

Reports of certain events in London
Very interesting, this one. Feels a little Gaiman-ish. But it is the first of several stories with a "hidden ending", so to speak. We never find out in detail what that incident in Varmin Way (though the picture descriptions give some sort of clues) was. Sometimes a good plot element, other it just feels cheap and annoying.

Familiar
Somehow, very familiar, so to speak. Very reminiscent about that construct subplot in Perdido Street Station. Rather linear, though. The whole substance is based on the inventiveness in the descriptions of the Familiar's actions.

Entry taken from a medical encyclopædia
Short and bizzarre, not really a story.

Details
I liked this one. I feel it works pretty well, both in concept, plot and execution.

Go Between
My personal favourite in the book. Excellent and mysterious, without really touching any supernatural elements. Gleefully paranoid.

Different Skies
Okay, this one verges on scariness. No, I really thought it was frightening. With the light in that window, and the kids "outside". And the ending, open as all the other endings, was nice and ambiguous.

An end to hunger
Mixed feelings about this one. Akyan is most certainly a hilarious character, not least because of his colorful language. But being a story concerning internet in 2000, it is of course very dated, and doesn't feel as strange as Miéville perhaps may have hoped. And the ending was very frustrating. Here I just felt cheated; it was so open that practically anything may have happent. So tell me, you others who have read it, is it possible to extract some more meaning from the rest of the story? What happent to Akyan? What was that big thing he planned to do? Can I find this out by rereading?

Tis the season
I think this one was published for free somewhere. OK story, felt a little demonstrative.

Jack
Return to New Crobuzon. Like Encyclopædia, not really a story, it just floats on descriptions and statements.

On the way to the front
I didn't understand squat of it. Will have to reread a couple of times.

The Tain
The main story, a novella. Will have to reread this one too, had big problems trying to visualise stuff like the imagos and their world.

So what are your opinions?

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Great idea! Hopefully caladanbrood, rune Jay, and anyone else who plans to read this book will join in too, as and when.

Here are my first impressions of the stories I've read so far:

Looking for Jake
Set firmly in a real-world location - London - I was thrilled to see Mieville continuing to mine the vein of urban horror first quarried in King Rat. Some vaguely defined yet all-encompassing event has damaged the fabric of reality in some fundamental way, and the narrator wanders through a changed city, attempting to find a friend and winding up by choosing to plunge into the heart of the mystery that has changed his city. What I liked best was the narrator's decription of the crowds in a Tube station, where the usual chaos, with its underlying fractal patterns, had broken down into something far more random, and therefore terrifying. The story seems to hinge so much on the fact that even the most random aspects of our lives have some sort of underyling patterns - and the removal of those deep patterns cna be a source of real horror.

Foundation
The idea of a 'house whisperer', a man who communicates with buildings to find out their condition, is pretty intriguing, and drew me in. The reason why he can talk to buildings unlocks a horrific progression that left me as shaken as the protagonist.

The Ball Room
This story is really creepy. A chain of furniture stores provides playrooms for their customers' young children. A nicely thoughtful bit of company policy or a sinister ploy? The narrator's voice is wonderfuly well realised and the sense of indistinct foreboding that seems to drive most of Mieville's horrific short fiction is highyl effective here.

Reports of certain events in London
This story is told in the form of excerpts from documents that the narrator (Mieville himself in a rather neat fictional device) recieves mistakenly, together with his comments and observations on them. I found the unusual form engaging and well handled. Again, there's a thrill in watching the transition from a very normal, modern city to something bizzare and threatening at loose within it. The concept of 'feral streets' is both silly and fascinating, and something only someone as obsessed with the city as a fictional character as Mieville is could have thought up or used this well. The story also has the element of 'secret history' that other stories (The Ball Room for one) in this collection share - where the story, and the horror in it, hinge on the revelation of something absolutely strange and anomalous going on just beneath the surface of mundane reality.

Familiar
This story seemed very slight to me - apart from describing a rather loathsome little arcane beastie, it didn't have much point. Perhaps a re-read is required?

Entry taken from a medical encyclopædia
This is Mieville's contribution to Jeff VanderMeer's The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases and possibly works best in the original context.

Details
This was very close to the sort of modern horror that I associate with Ramsey Campbell's short fiction, for example. Another tale where the surface of everyday life - literally in this case - conceals great horrors. One of those stories that makes you look around yourself with new trepidation and dismay after reading it. The atmosphere or urban (or small-town) decay is well suggested, rather than explicitly detailed.

Go Between
I'd have to agree with Thadlerian in that this is my favourite in the book so far. Another 'secret history', and containing the most effective paranoia and alternating delusions of grandeur, illusions of infamy and fears of insignificance outside of PKD.

Overall thoughts: I'm pleased to see that Mieville's definite flair for urban horror is on display here. Like HP Lovecraft, Mieville specialises in horrors that are vague and nebulous in some way. While HPL's 'terrors too terrible to describe' may seem like a literary cop-out at times, Mieville skilfully leaves our own imaginations to fill in the blanks, while keeping us just confused enough to feel the full force of the distortions he inflicts on superficially familiar reality in these stories. These are stories that disturb reality - and me!

 

[GOLLUM]

GRRR.....this sounds really good. Sadly I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive by post and now after reading these comments I'm growing ever less patient...

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Always glad to help out in spreading tension, dissension and strife.

 

[GOLLUM]

 

[Jay]

I'm writing a review this as we speak (along with Sean Wright book) - so forgive me I haven't read any of the breakdowns I saw - as I hate being influenced by what I read when in the process of writing - but will be back in a couple of days to both agree and haggle!

Always good to have new Mieville material to discuss!

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Read a few moe last night:

Different Skies
Mieville channels Lovecraft and meditates on old age as well. The ending seemed a little forced - I wasn't at all certain that the alternative courses of action the protagonist dismissed were so untenable - but I think that confronting those eerie kids had become an obsessive need by that point. Great character study.

An end to hunger
A very political piece, possibly spurred by Lefty (he prefers the term Marxist) Mieville's distrust of corporate-sponsored charities. It falls into the trap that the essential point is debatable (even if you agree with the writer's position, which in this case I largely do), which makes immersion into the story a little hard. The ending is vague, but I thought that was part of the overall pattern here of leaving the really scary stuff up to our imagination. Still, the topicality made the story feel relatively minor.

Tis the season
I read this when it was published in the Socialist Review, and it was a fun satire on the commercialisation of Christmas. Another one that's very transparently politicised, but with a willingness to keep tonge firmly planted in cheek. Mieville does have a decent hand at comedy.

 

[GOLLUM]

GRR......time to shoot the Postman...

 

[Thadlerian]

The ending is vague, but I thought that was part of the overall pattern here of leaving the really scary stuff up to our imagination.

This is what I hastily abbreviate into A.T.S.S.I.W.T.Y.W.I.I. (A Thing So Scary I Won't Tell You What It Is). Sure they are nice, but you must agree having read several stories in a row using this for the ending can get a little tiresome. After all, Miéville had already used it in Reports, and I think it's being used in The Tain too.

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Yes, it's best not to try and read the whole collection in one sitting (assuming you have a day and most of a night to spare) because of that. I've noticed the same thing with Clark Ashton Smith, who worked in a very definite horrific/fantastic vein - the stories work best if taken in metered doses rather than all at once.

 

[Spiral Jacobs]

Hi, I have been looking for info on Mr Mieville on the net and have found very little that is recent. I found this place noticed a few fans of his work and thought I may aswell join in. Just got Looking for jake Yesterday, after a months of waiting. So far I am loving it as I recently got into his books I have only read his Bas Lag stuff, I picked up King Rat yesterday aswell and had to deceide which to read first.

 

[Oxman]

I got this for christmas and I've been reading each story in between other stuff. This is my first taste of Mieville and I've read up to "Go Between".
Thus far I've been pretty impressed. Some of his writing has massive potential and is thoroughly enjoyable and original, but other bits leave me a little cold.
On the evidence of this collection of stories, I'll certainly be investigating his work further, delving into his novels. I think his style is better suited to a longer tale and "King Rat" sounds ever-so intriguing.

 

[rune]

Ive not got a copy yet, but will add my thoughts once I get one

 

[littlemissattitude]

I got this a couple of months ago and haven't had time to read it yet. I guess I'm going to have to make time.

 

[GOLLUM]

I got this a couple of months ago and haven't had time to read it yet. I guess I'm going to have to make time.

I've recently got hold of the book and so far so good. I was tryting to get this passed as a Book Club discussion but maybe no need with this thread now...

 

[Oxman]

Well, here's my brief opinions on the stories I've read.

Looking for Jake
My very first experience of this writer, so I was unsure what to expect. The lack of quotation marks immediately irked me, but the storytelling won me over. I was curious about the situation and what had caused it (which never became apparent). I wanted the narrator to feel more afraid, and to share this with the reader, but his loneliness and inquisitive nature were the predominant emotions. A good opener, from which you can invent a thousand different conclusions of your own imaginination.

Foundation
Fantastic. I've loved the idea of "eternal punishment" ever since I read some of the Greek myths as a child. Sinister and desperate, I literally couldn't tear my eyes away from this.

The Ball Room
Solid for its conveying of the human character and personal feelings. The events take a back seat, but remain ever present in a mystifying and slightly chilling way. I've been to IKEA recently too and don't think I'll look ath the children's area in quite the same way again.

Reports of certain events in London
Totally original. Takes some getting into, but worth it. As Knivesout has previously mentioned, Mieville incorporates himself into the story very cleverly and, while the subject matter is probably too bizarre to find uncomfortable, the authour does a very good job.

Familiar
I like the POV and the development, but the concept itself is a little bland. At least it's concise

Entry taken from a medical encyclopædia
Intersting, once you remove this piece of work away from it's surrounding story. I liked it, but found my self scanning through bits of it, rather than actually reading it.

Details
I liked this. A lot. Horror concealed amongst normality, showing how people can be desperate for things and how far they will go to get them. The direction of this tale didn't quite go as I expected either, so I was pleasantly (or should I say unpleasantly) surprised by the outcome.

Go Between
This has an Intriguing premise. The should he/shouldn't he aspect is very well done, prompting a would you/wouldn't you discussion inside your own head. the justification that the central character gives for whatever action he takes is always counterbalanced by a niggling doubt, which is a great for the reader. Kept me hooked and the open ending once again leaves you to draw your own conclusions.

I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of the book.

 

[Nesacat]

I just finished with all the stories bu the novella. It's the Mieville I've read and I have GOLLUM to blame/thank for this.

Looking For Jake
I loved the tale, especially the way it was written. It's a quiet melancholy sort of tale and it has a gentle rhythm. he paints a clear picture of the city from the roof and the loneliness as well as ultimate curiousity of the narrrator is tangible. The story ends well and yet offers the reader many alternatives.

Foundation
One of my favourites since it struck a very deep chord. It is an old belief that blood in the foundations of structures will give it strength and in many places this is unfortunately still a practise. And even when it is not bloody accidents seem to happen on construction sites claiming lives and spilling blood. This tale brought to the fore all the memories of such tales and in the end I found myself as unnerved and shaken as the protagonist and greatly sympathised with his plight. How terrible to come up against such a thing, that wants nothing.

"They are not there to taunt or punish or teach him, or to exact revenge or blood-price, they are not enraged or restless. They are the foundation of everything around him. Without them it would crumble. They have seen him, and taught him to see and they want nothing from him."

The Ball Room
You know I've always thought there was something not quite right about those glass rooms filled with coloured balls. They lie there in drifts and piles and you can't see below them or through them. Children come and they go spilling their joy into the room and then they go, leaving the room and all those balls alone. Who knows what it feels then and what it might do to keep the laughter and the bright playfulness. For me this tale definitely has the creep factor and preys on old fears perhaps.

Reports Of Certain Events In London
I liked the idea of Mieville being in the tale. Gives it an odd spin but I do believe it could have been a much deeper, more enigmatic story. It was too disjointed in places and in the end you're left not quite knowing what is happening though the photos do give some idea. It's a good premise and could certainly have been developed further. I liked the idea of renegade streets wandering across the world fighting each other for some strange kind of dominance and I really liked that the people did not notice. It had me looking around carefully in the streets as i walked wandering what I'd been missing.

Familiar
I like the way the story grows and the tight structure. But it's probably one of the weakest stories and is really rather bland and pointless. What I liked best were the descriptions of the creature and the uses it put things too. All in all i was glad it was as short as it was.

Entry Taken From A Medical Enclyclopaedia
An interesting way to tell a tale and it proffers a short sharp shock. I find myself skipping through some portions but on the whole it read pretty well.

Details
Definitely one of my favourites. The horror concealed among mudane, everyday things. Waiting and watching but going unoticed in turn. Very Lovecraftian in that here is someone who has looked perhaps too closely at the underlying details of the universe and has seen the terrible truth. And it brings out that old truth. Sometimes we never notice a thing but when you finally do it, you realise with a deepening dread that it's really everywhere. The story is built well and the feeling of horrow grows in tandem. I could see the faces in the trees, in the wave of cloth, in the cement between the bricks of the garden wall. Funny how they've always been there and been taken for granted. And yes, I too found myself paying more attention to the details of my surroundings.

Go Between
A very intriguing tale and very fitting the times we live in. Should he do it or should he not. And if he does what then? Or perhaps it's better not to? It's very real the emotions and the swing between the delusions of importance and grandeur and the sheer fear of not knowing but always, suspecting, always fearing what might or might not be. Far easier to believe in the existence of fire-breathing dragons and fairies at the bottom of the garden than to exist in this state of perpetual doubt.

Different Skies
I loved this tale for the resemblance to Lovecraft. A window that looks out upon a different place and time. And yet it is a time and place that is also somehow not only able to see us but encroach upon our world as home. The old man's home is no longer his sanctuary. It's familiar walls and angles hide a menace. The window draws out long forgotten fears and hurts. The characters are well developed and alive. I wish he'd not ended it the way he did though. It seemed terribly abrubt somehow and out of character for the old man. But perhaps in the end it was all he could do or perhaps it was something he felt he simply had to do to somehow wrest his home and life back.

An End To Hunger
The premise was a good one and I personally distrust such online organisations. However I felt that the story rambled on for far too long and much of the colourful language was really unnecessary. The language gave the story a very disjointed broken feel and while I understand that it gave shape to the character of Aykan, a great deal could have been trimmed. The ending was pretty vague but that does work in the sense that anything the reader imagine is probably going to be so much more terrible.

'Tis The Season
We may not be there yet but if the speed at which commercialisation is moving keeps up, we might end up having to own stock before we can celebrate Christmas. I like the tonhue in cheek manner in which the tale is told and found it an entirely believeable tale. A fun read this one though rather scary to think about.

Jack
More of an idea than a story I think and it carries itself on it's very descriptive language. Feels like it is a part of a bigger whole and got cut out and turned into a short story. What caught me was the acknowledgement that "people need something, you know, to escape. They need something to make them feel free. It's good for us, it's necessary. The city needs it. But there comes a time when it has to end."
I sometimes feel that this is indeed frighteningly true.

On The Way To The Front
I like the artwork but I'm not quite sure what's going on. Will give it another read and see.

Am going to read Tain tonight.

 

[j d worthington]

Very nice capsule views of the stories, Nesa... And I agree wholeheartedly with most... I did like "Jack", but I held off reading that particular story until I'd read PSS, so it had more impact for me. But some of your own phrasing of things here is rather impressive, as well. Keep the reviews coming... they are always insightful, intriguing, and quite beautifully written. As Gollum once said to me: "Post often, and post long".....

 

[the smiling weirwood]

As for "Go Between", all I can say is, WHY DID HE NOT OPEN THE PACKAGE?!?!?

 

[GOLLUM]

Hey Nesa, that's a very good review of this Mieville compilation you've created.

You seem to have a natural flair for this kind of thing, keep up the good work I'm sure it's appreciated by many members here.

I'm glad you liked my recommendation to read Mieville. Now if you have not read anything by Gene Wolfe, there's a master of the SFF Genre you will very much want to become accquaunted with.