Saturday, March 10, come meet Chris Curry, author of Completely In Blue: Dispatches from the Edge of Insanity at Collected Works Bookstore and Coffeebar from 2 - 4 p.m. Come have a latte and talk crazy. Also in attendance will be Nathalie Holmes, author of Anna's Tears.
You may recall my having the Nightface signing there last summer, so needless to say that this is my favorite bookstore in the entire universe. Right now, Completely in Blue is my favorite book. Wanna know why?
My various reviews of the book may have a hint. Full disclosure, I met Chris for real (as opposed to in passing) on about the last page of this book, while he was standing back to watch the Can-Change festival he helped organize. A few shows later, some book talk this year, and we became fast friends.
That is not exactly why I adore this book though, that Collected Works sums up as, "a memoir of a complex and unprecedented madness."
The book has audio accompaniment in the form of Chris' Bohemian Cove album Completely in Blue... but that's not really all of it either.
In conversation with Sonsey about this event, topic and blog entry, he figured why psychological horror may appeal to us so much. "Because we can comprehend it," he said. "A guy in a hockey mask chasing you around and chopping up your friends has probably not happened to you, and if it has, you are probably not watching horror movies." Some moments in Curry's book; being drugged up and tied down, trying desperately to escape from somewhere, locked in a room screaming for release, questioning exactly who the 'bad guys' are here, being doubted by those closest to you... the list goes on... these are all tangible and terrifying prospects. It could (have already) happen(ed) to you. It could (or may have already) happen(ed) to people you know. Where mental health can be affected in 1 out of 5 people in Canada, I would say our odds of having this sort of internal horror play out are pretty high. A scary idea, really.
Even scarier if you have walked those same hospital halls.
Sorry if I sound like I am sensationalizing the topic, but mental health and the field Curry is employed in (concurrent disorders) is my bag, baby. When it comes to my non-fiction reading and documentary film-watching this is the sort of thing I devour. Come have a bite with me.
You may recall my having the Nightface signing there last summer, so needless to say that this is my favorite bookstore in the entire universe. Right now, Completely in Blue is my favorite book. Wanna know why?
My various reviews of the book may have a hint. Full disclosure, I met Chris for real (as opposed to in passing) on about the last page of this book, while he was standing back to watch the Can-Change festival he helped organize. A few shows later, some book talk this year, and we became fast friends.That is not exactly why I adore this book though, that Collected Works sums up as, "a memoir of a complex and unprecedented madness."
The book has audio accompaniment in the form of Chris' Bohemian Cove album Completely in Blue... but that's not really all of it either.
In conversation with Sonsey about this event, topic and blog entry, he figured why psychological horror may appeal to us so much. "Because we can comprehend it," he said. "A guy in a hockey mask chasing you around and chopping up your friends has probably not happened to you, and if it has, you are probably not watching horror movies." Some moments in Curry's book; being drugged up and tied down, trying desperately to escape from somewhere, locked in a room screaming for release, questioning exactly who the 'bad guys' are here, being doubted by those closest to you... the list goes on... these are all tangible and terrifying prospects. It could (have already) happen(ed) to you. It could (or may have already) happen(ed) to people you know. Where mental health can be affected in 1 out of 5 people in Canada, I would say our odds of having this sort of internal horror play out are pretty high. A scary idea, really.
Even scarier if you have walked those same hospital halls.
Sorry if I sound like I am sensationalizing the topic, but mental health and the field Curry is employed in (concurrent disorders) is my bag, baby. When it comes to my non-fiction reading and documentary film-watching this is the sort of thing I devour. Come have a bite with me.
More Completely in Blue at amazon, goodreads, twitter and the Collected Works event page. You can find more on Nathalie Holmes at twitter too~
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