Natalia

The plot of the Golden Gizmo is pretty far-fetched. Con artists and schemers behind every corner! A talking, singing doberman! Cars, booze, and gold galore! And of course, one good-for-nothing dame with an express ticket to hell. It was gritty, but not as dark as some of Thompson's other works. Fun, fast-paced, and easy to read in a sitting or two.

Lisa Tuttle is a master of the short story. Why haven't more people heard of her? She's brilliant.

The tragedies Quiroga experienced during his life certainly influenced these stories, which feature death, love and loss as major themes. The collection grew stronger in the latter half of the book (there were a couple I felt indifferently about). But the prose shines. See here:

”Cinematography sets, those film studios around which millions of faces rotate in an orbit of insatiable curiosity and unrealizable daydreams, inherited from defunct painting studios the legend of lavish orgies on art's altar.

The free spirit characteristic of great actors, on one hand, and the bloated salaries they show off, on the other, explain those festivals whose sole objective is more often than not to maintain the vibrancy of public awe, before the fantastic, distant Hollywood stars.”

I felt underwhelmed by this book. It was uncomfortable and strange as promised but I was expecting more suspense.

One of those books where nothing much happens but you breeze through it anyway, and at the end you feel simultaneously satisfied and wanting more. Lovely!