A Night in the Lonesome October (20) (Rediscovered Classics)

After a long rough year slogging through disappointing and mediocre novels I have just completed one of the most satisfying pieces of work I have ever experienced. The whimsical narration and characters of this book slowly peel away as each chapter which is set on a different night in October, reveals increasing shades of darkness. This was my first Zelazny novel and it will definitely not be my last. When I finished the final page I actually cheered with delight. Books have made me cry, angry, bewildered but I don't know if any piece of written fiction has ever made me this jubilant at its end and I absolutely needed it. The only perplexing part of this experience was that I hadn't discovered this book decades earlier. It will be one that I anticipate revisiting every year for as long as I live.

I love this book. I read it every October, one day at a time.
Zelazny has a way of creating amazing characters that just pull you in. If I ever get a watchdog, I am going to name him Snuff.

There is, quite literally, too much to say about this wonderfully charming book to pack it into one review. As to the plot, other reviewers have covered that well enough. Suffice it to say there are no weaknesses, no failings whatsoever in this book. It is fun, delightful, witty, intelligent, quirky, and more. It brilliantly connects quite different genres, from Sherlock Holmes, to Lovecraft, to romance, to the Universal Studios monster movies, and more, in a way which does justice to them all. Yet despite all of the familiar elements, Zelazny manages to bring a lot of surprises to the story; nothing is ever quite what one would have expected. Each chapter is a single day of the month of October, and so for many years it has been my custom to read one chapter per night each day of that month, culminating with the last, exciting chapter on Halloween night. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. To anyone who has not yet read it, I can only envy your opportunity to delve into the twisted story for the first time.

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I had looked for this on my Paperwhite but couldn't get it in an ebook format. So, I finally ponied up and bought the trade paperback on Amazon. I'm glad I did. My 63 year old eyes adjust better to ebooks these days but this was easy on my eyes and well worth the journey. It's formatted October 1st through the 31st and some people traditionally read it a day or night at a time through the month of October. Finishing up on Halloween night. But, around the 27th I decided to go ahead and finish. Now, I kind of miss my nightly rounds with Snuff and Graymalk and the other characters. Highly recommended.

This is a day-by-day recounting of an annual conflict between practitioners who want to open a gate to cosmic horrors, and those who want to keep it closed. It's delightfully told from the perspective of the faithful dog familiar of a notorious gentleman who has a certain way with a knife. I started reading this in October as many of my friends have a tradition of reading it day by day through the month, and well ... I appear to have stopped on October 25th and then picked it back up New Years' Day! Maybe I'll do better next year, since I definitely will be rereading it. It is funny and charming and witty and stands among the best animal-narrated stories, and it's perfect cozy reading for the Halloween season.

Picked this up from the library after I read a glowing review at BoingBoing.com. I didn't care for it as much as he did, but there's a lot to like. Apparently, full moons on All Hallow's Eve are pretty rare, and when they occur, a battle between "openers" and "closers" to decide the fate of the world takes place. The openers and closers are comprised of some of history and literature's great baddies (Jack the Ripper, Dracula, Rasputin, etc.) who take sides to either open or close the portal to where the real baddies lie.

And they all have animal familiars, including Jack's faithful demon dog Snuff, through whom the tale is told, one day at a time, through the month of October. Snuff interacts with other familiars (owl, rat, squirrel, cat, etc.) to complete his own tasks leading up to the big event.

This was a fun, odd little gothic mystery with a few surprises here and there, but I didn't love it, and it took me forever to get through my my standards. As a reader, I found myself frequently flipping back and forth to figure out which familiar was which...I knew which baddie had which animal, but could never remember what each animal's name was, except where the name made it obvious. Also, found the ending rather abrupt, though that might've been the point.

A fine book to get from the library.

Yes, we have a book nicely segmented into 31 chapters so you can read it, as so many people do, a chapter a day in October.

Yes, it’s narrated by a dog. Not just any dog — Jack the Ripper’s dog.

Yes, Frankenstein and his walking lab project and Dracula show up. Larry Talbot the Wolfman does too.

There’s a witch, a Russian monk, a bit of Yog-Sothethery. You can throw in Gypsies, grave robbers, and a vicar too.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson even show up though here only known as the Great Detective and his sidekick.

Most of those characters, except Holmes and Watson, have animal familiars who often talk to each other — which I found the most amusing part of the book.

And most of the characters are jostling for position (figuratively and literally) to make the best of the magical rite on October 31st — at least the Halloweens with a full moon. There are two camps — the openers and the closers. One camp wants to open a dimensional door so the Elder Gods can come through. The others want to keep it closed.
The whole thing is referred to as the “Game” which put me in mind the Great Game, the covert conflict between the Russian and British Empires in the 19th century, and a spy novel in general. The characters mostly know who the other actors in the Game are. They spend a lot of time determining if their fellows are openers or closers, allies or enemies, possible allies or enemies. It’s like a spy story where characters urbanely try to discover identities and incite defections. And, like a spy story, things get violent on occasion.

It’s a quick read with many Gahan Wilson illustrations, and I didn’t dislike it. I just didn’t get the enjoyment the book’s reputation led me to expect. A novel story told in a novel way but, ultimately, kind out of phase with my emotional wavelength.

31 chapters. Read 1 chapter each day in October.

Mr. Zelazny went out on a high note. I thought writing the story from the dog's point of view was very witty and the story flowed seamlessly. A very pleasant read for a cold October night.