Marcus James

Rebecca Solnit gets back to her roots by writing about walking, only brings it together with her current concerns by writing about walking and fear of men. That was sort of the highlight here, that and Masha Gessen talking doom about Reichstag fires and creeping military rule in America, oh and Zadie Smith writing about a movie about white people vampiring black bodies. All fine, but I find more and more a house style and narrow perspective from Harper's that just ... I don't have a cottage, OKAY? If I did I'd read Harper's at it but I don't.… (meer)

The main things I will remember from this Harper's are, from Rebecca Solnit's eloquent-as-always article on anger, a reference to Ta-Nehisi Coates's working definition of an asshole: "a person who demands that all social interaction happen on their terms" (think on this! It is causing me to look at very many things differently!) and, from James Marcus on the Snowden leak, confirmation that, apparently, the NSA can spy on you using your cellphone even when it's turned off, despite the fact that we were all just making fun of Randy at camping for insisting it was so.

Oh!!! And the story by Joy Williams, the image of Death just behind you at your shoulder but as a buddy:

'"Bobby thinks Death’s behind us, an arm’s length back and to the left. And he says that’s a good thing because when you feel real blue and think everything’s going wrong for you and you’re being crushed and wrung out by life, like if you have to clean up the mess they make around the waffle maker one more time or you go flip the rooms and they’ve left glasses of piss all around the bed, if you think your life just hates you and is trying to kill you, you can turn to your death and ask him if this is so, that you’re crushed and wrung out and finished.”

'“And your death will tell you that you’re wrong,” Bobby said in a melodic voice. “That you’re not finished because nothing really matters outside his touch. Your death will tell you: ‘I haven’t touched you yet.’ ” His face brightened and relaxed."'

That's really extraordinary, right?… (meer)

**This book was reviewed for Manhattan Book Review**

*Explicit sexual situations*

Storythreads spanning generations, and eras, come together in this neo-gothic work by Marcus James. Symphony for the Devil is a novel of the mysterious, the supernatural, and the wondrous, both magickal and mundane. It is a tale of lasting legacy, and a cursed family. At present, the Blackmoore family curse is held abay, but proper homage must be paid. This is the second book in the Blackmoore Legacy series, and I would recommend reading them in order!

This tale revolves around several of the Blackmoore clan. There are Trevor and Braxton, far-distant cousins, and lovers. There is Mary-Margaret, another distant cousin, come from Ireland to go to university in the States. She is staying with Mabel, another of the clan, in a grand old home. Mary-Margaret is quite out of touch with her extended family's views on their gifts. She is blindly religious, and steps on many toes by condemning the gift, and Trevor and Braxton’s relationship. There is Kathryn and Francesca, working to improve the family standing and fortunes. And there is Michael Donovan, the spectral violinist.

This is a long novel, with lots going on. I particularly liked Donovan's storythread. Violins enchant me, as do those who play them. I admit, it was the cover that drew my attention to this work, precisely because of the violin. But the cover works well for the story as a whole.

James does a masterful job of keeping the threads together in the complex storyweaving. I loved the themes of tolerance throughout, and the not-so-subtle chastisement of organised religion’s persecution of things 'different’. Kathryn had a great point with the quote:

“God is not the church, and you cannot find him in there. God is in each and every single one of us, and if you believe that God is perfect, and that God doesn’t make mistakes, then you have to believe that each and every single person on this planet is exactly how God planned them to be.”

I love that quote, and feel its truth.

Another proofing would not be amiss, and a bit more showing vs telling is recommended. There is a lot of narrative vs dialogue here, and a lot of description, which is good, though sometimes it felt stifling to the story. Great amounts of narrative makes sense, as a descendent of the same lineage that gave us such classics as Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Also, lotta use of pronouns, though I was able to suss out who was speaking/ being referred to, etc. I look forward to seeing James’ continue to grow as an author!

🎻🎻🎻🎻 Recommended. So reminded me of Grimm and Sleepy Hollow. The shows, that is. And Supernatural.… (meer)