Did you ever read a book that was so good you wanted to re-read it immediately?
I’ve been a Clive Barker fan way back. I’ve read his Books of Blood, Imajica, Weaveworld, and countless others. I never read The Hellbound Heart until recently, and now I’m wondering what was I thinking. This is the book that launched the Hellraiser movies. I’ve seen most of them, kind of fell off after the fourth, mostly because I either didn’t know they were out or didn’t know they existed. The fourth one was truly intriguing, as was the fifth one. The second one was messed up, with Frank still trying to escape, and Julia doing her evil thing. Oh, and the Surgeon, he was off the hook! I’ve got half of the action figures, all of the ones from the first movie and several from later movies, including Angelique and The Twins! Cool, right?
But I digress. The Hellbound Heart was spooky, eerie, sadistic, violent, awkward, focused, strange, creepy, a host of other adjectives I can’t think of, but most of all one of the most well written books I’ve ever read. For a horror story that’s really impressive. Or maybe not, after all, good writers exist in the entire spectrum of genres, so why not horror? I guess I didn’t expect such expertise with words. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I owed it to myself to read it, knowing full well the reason I haven’t is because I’ve seen all the movies. And, I didn’t know there was a book. And having read it, I’m filled with an awe that is best reserved for the best writers, one of which is Clive Barker.
He wrote a passage, a few paragraphs, on the passage of time that I had to re-read two or three times just because it was constructed so well. It was just so perfect, so vibrant and colorful. In fact there were several parts in the book I had to re-read right then and there. Partly because of how it was written, partly because of the subject matter.
Which is another thing. He described beings that escape normal interpretation. I mean, have you ever seen or heard something you didn’t understand, that was so fundamentally wrong that it was hard for your brain to come to grips with? Mr. Barker’s imagination needs to be checked, or imprisoned, or even quarantined, I don’t know, something that restricts movement, like some sort of jacket. I mean it’s insane the things that come from his mind. I wish I had that kind of imagination. Or maybe not, I’m pretty strange as it is, but then I think of the writing, the writing is all that matters, but no, but YES!
Ahem, excuse me. The way I’m going on you’d think I was going a little crazy, such is the reality of the Hellbound Heart. But I’m not. And neither am I.
Now that I’m calm again, I would like to end this review with a big thumbs up. I’m planning on reading it again. It’s the kind of story that made me feel. It reached into me, touched me in places that are private. And other places that are, well, best left to the imagination. Isn’t that what books are supposed to do? Reach into your very soul and make you a part of its world? But this was a scary world. The suffering was everywhere, the blood and gore veritably dripping off of the pages. I didn’t know at times if I wanted to be there, but was drawn in anyway. I couldn’t stop reading, and when it ended I wanted to go back. I haven’t read so much about gore and viscera since Midnight Meat Train. I think I have to get his other books, ones that I’ve already read, but it was so long ago I’ve forgotten. Just to stay in that world, fully knowing that I won’t be harmed, but kind of wanting to feel what those characters feel. But in knowing what they feel, wanting to have nothing to do with it. This is paradoxically wrong, and I do feel dirty. Don’t judge.
If you’ve never read this and seen the movies, I would suggest you read it. If you’ve never heard of Clive Barker, you should read it. If you’re looking to learn how to write, you should read it. If you’re a fan of horror, a fan of prose, want to impress your friends, want something new to read, want to go crazy, read this book. In a nut shell, READ THE BOOK!
Thank you.
Arid Testimony 