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Atmosphere
Okay, I thought I'd start a new thread that's actually about literary things.
From a very early age, I think what has most fascinated me about books is atmosphere. I remember becoming almost taxonomic about this as a child. I say 'almost' because I wasn't so interested in having fixed categories as I was in being able to recognise different nuances in atmosphere and being able to compare and contrast them. In my experience, it is relatively infrequently that people discuss atmosphere in literature as a thing in itself. To me, atmosphere is probably the primary literary experience. That is, incident serves atmosphere. (I do, especially in more recent years, ask other things of what I read, too.) I thought it might be interesting to have a thread to discuss atmosphere in particular, and especially works that have a unique atmosphere. I'll go further and say, I'm particularly interested in works that achieve atmosphere without explicit supernaturalism (which raises the question, is 'atmosphere' directly linked with the supernatural, and, if so, how?). As an example of this kind of work - atmosphere without the supernatural - I would like to start by citing Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier. It's years since I read it, but I remember it cast a strange spell over me. |
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To me atmosphere in a book is what is unquotable, what takes place around the words rather than in them. I remember Sarban's The Sound of his Horn as a very atmospheric non-supernatural story.
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I might suggest Zafon's "Shadow of the Wind" with its secret libraries, antiquarian book dealers, etc.
Amazon.com: The Shadow of the Wind (9780143034902): Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Lucia Graves: Books |
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Not long ago, I watched The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. And one of the beautiful aspects of early, silent (particularly those films that fall into the category of German Expressionist pieces) films is that because they are, in fact, dependent to a large degree on visual aesthetics, the concept of the shadow becomes a central character. These extremely moody, unsettling, image-dependent films evoke incredible atmosphere. And in the case of TCoDC specifically, which utilizes plot elements such as somnambulism, unreliable narrators, questionable mental states (insanity?), human puppetry, mesmerism, and so forth, the concept of atmosphere does, to a degree, take on a rather meta-physical/supernatural tone. Just thought I'd mention this since I've been watching these older, silent fims, as well as some Noir pieces, which stylistically, are largely and inherently dependent on atmosphere. A finely crafted plot line is also critical, but atmosphere is hardly playing second fiddle to plot in such film offerings. Just thinking aloud, here. In a discussion with Tom lately, he was discussing the thematic influences of films like TCoDC on his works. In that discussion, the book called Caligari's Children came up, which is worth seeking out if such things interest you.
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Alain Robbe-Grillet, to my mind, produces an atmosphere which can only be termed unique, at least in some cases. The two works that come to mind are Topology of a Phantom City and Recollections of the Golden Triangle. In fact, they can almost be said to consist solely of atmosphere, all other elements being stripped away. (To a lesser extent, I'd include Djinn and La Maison de Rendez-Vous, whereas many of his other works strike me as a little dry and over-analytical).
Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet might be mentioned. I found Julien Gracq's King Cophetua to be one of the most deliciously atmospheric non-supernatural books I'd ever read. His other works are not lacking in a similar element, but that one is nicely compact - a refreshing, if haunting, dip into the pool rather than a total submersion in the vast ocean. |
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Both Poe and Ligotti are very atmospheric writers. Both share a nightmarish and even gothic quality. It has been too many years since I have read Ligotti's "The Music of the Moon" but I remember being struck by its atmosphere. HPL's "The Outsider" is also a fine example.
In Conrad's Heart of Darkness the atmosphere thickens and grows more oppressive as it moves along. Bruges La Morte by Georges Rodenbach is dripping with atmosphere. Ligotti introduced me to this novella in one of his interviews. I'm sure he studied this aspect of fiction. Bruno Schulz is another. MTC chose a good one in Sarban's The Man with His Horn. Not especially dark, but very distinctive, which reminds me I have to reread Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" or "The Hounds of Zaroff." I know the movie has a similar atmosphere. I am glad to see Tim mention The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I have long been a fan of this film. I have Caligari's Children and have read quite a bit of it. There is also an interesting collection of essays on the film edited by Michael Budd published by Rutgers University Press that discuss various aspects of the movie. I also have the screenplay by Robert Wiene. I would love to see an oversized art book done for Caligari composed mainly of photos from the film interspersed with quotes. I would also mention Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Apocalypse Now, I Walked with a Zombie, Carnival of Souls, and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre as films that are saturated with atmosphere |
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Durrenmatt accomplished this "evoking the supernatural without invoking it" (Ligotti's phrase when describing Heart of darkness) in many novels. The early novels are described as "evil fairy tales" but The Execution of Justice is horror, pure and simple. McCarthy eat your heart out.
But Cormac's Outer Dark is also a wonderful example of a work redolent of supernatural atmosphere but without ever fully committing to it. |
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I especially remember the passages describing the snow in the streets, such as this one: Quote:
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Maupassant's later works ("The Horla", "The Hand") to my mind achieve a supernatural ambiance without there necessarily being anything supernatural present.
Much of the time I think weird fiction writers (and some filmmakers) achieve a pathological sort of supernaturalism better when they use pathos and derangement than when there's an alien or ghost floating around. (Emilio Tegui did just that in "On Elegance While Sleeping.") |
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I'm also focused (or fixated, more like) on atmosphere although I don't see it as a primarily literary phenomenon, nor do I see it as being connected with the supernatural - or at least not the explicit supernatural of most ghost stories and horror novels. In fact, atmosphere and the supernatural cannot coexist anymore than a light sponge cake can be baked with lead. The moment the supernatural enters, atmosphere is destroyed. A "weird atmosphere" is equally destructive of atmosphere.
I think atmosphere results from an enlarged/expanded sense of possibility that is nevertheless inherently and/or terminally interrupted - in the same way that upon awakening, people seem able to remember only the last scene of the epic dream saga they were involved in, without being able to remember the beginning, middle or most of the context. Along the same lines, I think children are more sensitive to atmosphere because their experience of the world is terminally lacking in context; they've entered the play in the second scene of the last act, as it were, and so the reasons for the great movements and emotions around them are obscure. The world hasn't yet been reduced to mental shorthand. The most atmospheric artworks I can think of are random fragments of anime I saw on TV as a five year old, the endings of films whose names I don't know now, video games whose names I also can't remember, etc. I think consistency is the enemy of atmosphere. As far as writing goes, words are already weighted (contaminated?) with associations. To quote the Turkey City Lexicon: Pushbutton Words Words used to evoke a cheap emotional response without engaging the intellect or the critical faculties. Commonly found in story titles, they include such bits of bogus lyricism as “star,” “dance,” “dream,” “song,” “tears” and “poet,” cliches calculated to render the SF audience misty-eyed and tender-hearted. Fortunately language is still relatively young and most people haven't done much with it so it's easier to pull off atmosphere than most people think...it just takes an awareness of all the places the words have been. Robbe-Grillet's project involved this, which is why the Mark Tansey painting is explicitly called Robbe-Grillet Cleansing Every Object in Sight. Put the words in your own mouth to clean them off, then spit out atmosphere. http://i61.tinypic.com/ndox3.jpg |
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Maybe you have a better word for it but I'd certainly use "atmosphere" for my favourite supernatural spinechillers (maybe part of the reason it's hard to discuss is that people use it to describe any number of moods and places, like clubs, bars and restaurants).
Although the revealed terror moments are a sort of interruption of the atmosphere, I wouldn't say it stops or dissipates, I feel like I'm plunged deeper into the atmosphere covered in a distinctly different feeling and it then resumes to something similar as it was before with little aftershocks wriggling about. Like the terror is the nucleus that is different but important to the overall atmosphere. Not that you need terror to create atmosphere, I'm just talking about my desired spell found in terrifying moments that makes you feel like you're in an alternate reality (sometimes I think life feels more real when you're spooked and goosebumped), it's one of my goals to feel like this as often as possible but it's harder to come by as you get older. Have to confess that I love pushbutton words. They're very cheap, hucksters can use them but just thinking about a title like Terror Creatures From The Grave gives me more pleasure and inspiration than so many actual stories. See also black metal titles. I didn't feel much atmosphere as a child except regularly being terrified at night, it was age 13-23 when I was really able to notice and savour atmosphere. Getting desensitized was a bummer. |
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This somehow seems relevant:
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Thanks for all the comments. I've been meaning to get back to this thread with some thoughts, but haven't had time. I hope I can do so before long, however.
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Testimonial: As for the the half heard song lyrics and endings to films you caught 3/4 of the way through---utter fact: to witness them whole is to rent them asunder. One instance that readily comes to mind: I caught the ending of Cronenberg's Shivers as a child (the pool scene) on late-night tv in unfamiliar surroundings (atmosphere conducive all/on its own). I thought it must surely be a great horror film. I can now apprehend that it was the possible context of the scene--not knowing same, that--built up in mind as the years went by and then, one day, I blundered upon Shivers in a discount VHS liquidation place. I viewed it in all its grainy, seedy, seventies entirety and it did irretrievably lose the eeriness and disjointed fascination the child's mind had imbued the scene (I had originally caught out of context) with. |
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Kafka. For me Kafka's creation of atmosphere has always been highly ignored despite the many graduate theses written on him. I remember reading In The Penal Colony, the first Kafka story I ever read, and thinking that the atmosphere he created was downright suffocating and choking. It was so brilliant and powerful. I see this across his works, especially his longer ones like The Trial and The Castle. It's the best thing about Kafka in my opinion.
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For Lovecraft, as he often pointed out, successful atmosphere was always cumulative. Every carefully chosen word, incident, character contributed to it. In The Dunwich Horror, it would seem, we have two main characters: the wonderfully realized Wilbur and the hamlet itself. But as we learn more about Dunwich, with its history of unspeakable crimes, foul odors, occult traditions, surrounding hills with hints of human sacrifice, we begin to suspect that these two entities are really one. And when Wilbur passes, something even more terrible takes his place...
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"Japanese music is above all a music of reticence, of atmosphere. When recorded, or amplified by a loudspeaker, the greater part of its charm is lost. In conversation, too, we prefer the soft voice, the understatement. Most important of all are the pauses. Yet the phonograph and radio render these moments of silence utterly lifeless."
"And yet, when we gaze into the darkness that gathers behind the crossbeam, around the flower vase, beneath the shelves, though we know perfectly well it is mere shadow, we are overcome with the feeling that in this small corner of the atmosphere there reigns complete and utter silence; that here in the darkness immutable tranquility holds sway. The 'mysterious Orient' of which Westerners speak probably refers to the uncanny silence of these dark places. And even we as children would feel an inexpressible chill as we peered into the depths of an alcove to which the sunlight had never penetrated. Where lies the key to this mystery? Ultimately it is the magic of shadows. Were the shadows to be banished from its corners, the alcove would in that instant revert to mere void." - Junichiro Tanazaki, In Praise of Shadows (trans. by Harper & Seidensticker, 1977) |
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I think that atmosphere in literature might be relatively easy to recognize but very hard to define. For example, it is obvious to me that HPL's dream-cycle and Dunsanian stories all share a certain kind of atmosphere: they take place at the intersection of longing and melancholy and under the illumination of a perpetually setting sun. If you ask me to explain any better, I will probably find another poetic formulation that will appear bombastic or pompous to someone who has not read the stories but that will immediately be understood by someone who has.
In the same vein, I offer that Borges, Eco, Calvino and Paul Auster breath within the same atmosphere in many of their works, an atmosphere I would designate as one of intellectual wonderlust or delight. I would then go a step further and state this atmosphere to have a tangible equivalent in the Wunderkammer or Cabinets of Curiosities of the Baroque Era naturalists. The novels of the existentialist philosophers also have a shared atmosphere, one that is saturated by the insidious indifference [often perceived as hostility] of the inanimate. And perhaps the best example of this is to be found not in something written by Camus or Sartre, but in The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, where the manifestation of the natural is always hostile, alien and suffocating. There are two collections of short stories by Michael Ende [of the Neverending Story fame], the Mirror in Mirror and the Prisons of Freedom, the former having the additional distinction of being somewhat illustrated by the author's father who was a surrealist painter of some renown, which might be exercises at retelling a dream in the form of a parable or perhaps recasting a fable in the form of a prose-poem or indeed turning a painting into a tableaux of words. I could go on but I don't want to bore you to death. |
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Both collections are extraordinary. If you like Schulz or Borges or you enjoy the kind of story you would find in the Arabian Nights , or you like optical illusions or philosophical paradoxes or architectural curiosities, well, you get the idea, you will love these stories. I remember most of them as if I read them last week and not 20 years ago. The story of the man who takes the same bus to return home after work every day until the day the bus takes a different route, all the way to the sea. The story about finding your dream home painted on canvas and not knowing where on earth - or beyond it - it is. The story about free will and the impossibility of choice. The story about lovers crossing a desert to meet each other only to walk past each other, both in time and space. All of the stories have a dreamlike iconography, it rains indoors, frame-less doors are bizarre gateways to other worlds, a strange minotaur lives alone in a vast, edible edifice...truly great stuff, I am filled with nostalgia just writing about them. |
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Guy De Maupassant's later stories suffocate me in a way i've never been suffocated before in terms of atmosphere. I don't believe, though, that he was choosing every word and sentence carefully. I think it was a genuinely rare admixture of his previous training as a writer combined with his incipient mental illness/syphillis.
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