A little tea, a little chat

One might wonder why a collection described as ‘Fundamental’ would contain stories that even the author sees as at best adequate. But maybe this simply makes the collection unusual for its determination to reflect reality. Let’s say there is some drivel in this book. So there should be, for Disch was an arrogant person who didn’t need to bother writing at his best. Why would he when he could churn out stuff with a modicum of effort that sold? But what an unsatisfactory life he had as a consequence: Disch always thought he should have been recognised in some fabulous way that he was not. And yet he considered his audience to be idiots who’d be satisfied with his secondbest, consequently delivered. It seems obvious that one can’t have it both ways but Disch was maybe so up himself that he thought he could. Not only should he be more famous and successful than he was, but that his secondrate stuff should be adequate to that task.

It turns out, however, that his audience aren’t idiots.

There are lots of stories in this book that I found hard to put down, and I’m grateful when I decided to give it away at some point after a bad patch, that I was talked into continuing. At his best – the stories resulting from his obsession with death and his ‘our world, near future’ stories - are terrific. At his worst – when he is trying for a certain type of humour which I’m going to try labelling ‘silly’ and when he is doing science fiction – he is really weak. It is evident that he doesn’t respect the idea of writing science fiction and I don’t really see how you can write well if you don’t respect what you are doing.

I’m not sure that I trust him at his best, either. He thinks his stories don’t have to end with an ending. On the one hand, I want to think this is quite effective in an unsettling way. On the other, I feel like what if that is part of his treating me as an idiot, that he doesn’t have to bother with stories making sense, being tied up, having a conclusion?

Some of these stories get four stars. Some get none. Well worth reading for the former.