Daniel Morris (2)

Surreal.

Eloquently scribed (written doesn't seem to fit the tone of the tale) in a liquid, almost stream of conciousness way, this book is hard to describe. A James Joycian horror where the thrust of the distortion is as much reflected in the real world actions as it is my the twists in the figures that move through it - or should that be the other way around?

Memorable, the density of writing sometimes hard to read, this book is probably going to get pushed onto the shelves near the show more murder/mysteries where it doesn't belong, simply because its the easiest place to put it.

The segue between murder investigation and 'something else' comes gradually, and the book might have been improved by hastening this - though that is very much a judgement call which others may disagree with, just as the love of word and phrase which so perfectly fits the internal landscape of the story and its end does not, necessarily, fit so comfortably with the crime/thriller beginning.

Overall, I doubt I'll be re-reading this - but I *will* be remembering the title and suggesting it to the few people I know who like 'horror noir' and this style of writing.

So ... I vacillate over the rating to give this. For myself, maybe one or two stars because of my genre and stylistic preferences - but that's short-changing it. Of its type, this book is good, very good, and so ... I think to do otherwise than give it four would be to judge it unfairly, like assuming tall people are stupid because their heads are too far from the ground.

If you like horror which follows you home in the well-lit streets and shimmies in while you're thinking about the day at work, instead of making an entry wrapped theatrically in hooded cloak with smoke machines and over-loud sound effects labouring, read this.

But check the door is locked first.

...oh, and make sure you have the only key... show less

The Canal is a SICK book. Sick, sick, sick. And, no, I'm not using slang here. This book, at times, made me feel physically ill.

If you've ever driven past an automotive accident, or a train wreck, or any other sort of thing that's truly, terribly horrible, you'll know that it's next to impossible to look away.

The Canal was like that accident, that wreck, but not in the way most people would call a book a "complete train wreck."

The writing was fluid. Fluid. Ugh. With a tinge (tinge...) of show more stream of consciousness. The book's voice drifts around the characters, like a lazy, psychic gnat, flying in and out of their brains before finding juicier prey. The characters, who all seem to have some extreme forms of psychosis, live in a city that has a canal. In this canal dumps, daily, all the filth and retch and badness of the humans nearby. Also dumped here are bodies after a kill.

Joe Lombardi, who is that guy who never bathes, perpetually stinks, and doesn't seem to commit himself to his job as a police officer, but nevertheless, he gets total respect, as he has an uncanny knack for solving canal-related crimes. His partner, Alan D'Angelo, is an extreme Felix Unger to Joe's Oscar Madison. His dream is to solve a Canal crime before Joe, so he can turn the respect away from the filthy man, and get it on pristine him.

When a bizarre murder happens in the Canal, it's a race to the finish: Joe uses the bizarre powers of the Canal itself, while Alan uses good old police procedural.

This book, while labeled a "horror," is more a "grosser." Sure, it has scary elements, but the true terror comes from the visceral descriptions of everyday things, and the even more everyday descriptions of visceral things. You'll probably wish you had bleach for your mind's eye after reading this book. But at the same time, you'll have read a really captivating story.

Not recommended for the squeamish, but otherwise, recommended. show less

This is a well written book, with clever and inventive use of language. The author seems to have cornered the market on the description of dirt, filth and disease. In contrast to this is the constant reminder of cleanliness of a main character, to the point of obsession. There are some clever metaphors through out the book especially linked to dirt and health.
It reminds me of those short horror stories from the 60’s with opaque characters whose existence is intrinsic to the plot. It is not show more a light read, but the momentum is fast paced. I enjoyed the plot, but did so want the book to end. show less

Morris is a craftsman and words are his medium. The Canal is subtitled “A Horror Story” but Morris’ use of words make it a fairy tale of phantasms. He is the practitioner of a lost art. Some might say it is an art best lost but anyone can write a horrible story using beautiful language. It takes skill to paint a horror story with words the way Morris has. If you like to be horrified when you read this book probably isn’t for you because it’s too beautiful to cause fear. Perhaps I show more was too busy admiring his turn of a phrase to enter into the story and suspend disbelief. If the intent was to terrify readers Morris has failed. If his intent was to engross readers by creating a beautiful story while preventing it being lovely and sappy then he has succeeded. The characterisation is profound; they have depth, they are hard and yet soft; Stereotypical and yet not. I would recommend this book to most readers but I think it needs to be marketed to early teens while cutting back on some of the profanity. show less