65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Madness In Miniature, July 28, 2002
This review is from: Whalestoe Letters (Paperback)
The book is short, but it really keeps your attention.
Danielewski does a brilliant job of portraying a woman on, and over, the edge. The first person authoress of the letters comprising Whalestoe's text is a mother in a madhouse, writing to her estranged son, John. She seems a nice enough woman to begin with, if a bit dramatic and given to airs - what is she doing locked up in a loony-bin?
That, of course, is the story. As the letters progress, the institutionalized woman's state of mind becomes more apparent, as does her history. Eventually, it all spills out - and quite memorably, at that.
I'm especially impressed with this book for a personal reason, which is that I knew a woman with a near-identical history in what was then our local mental hospital, over thirty years ago. Like the woman narrating Danilewski's book in her epistles, you wouldn't have had any idea there was anything wrong with her upon first meeting. Once you got to know why she was locked up, it chilled you. I was less than ten years old, and it made the blood drain from my face, even then. But I couldn't help liking her and feeling sorry for her, at the same time.
And that is the real beauty of Danielewski's character portrayal: the writer of the letters remains sympathetic, despite her past. The reader feels genuine pity, once the reason for her incarceration is understood and its effects on her become evident. She's a sometimes frightening woman, but very sad at the same time. Her life has been spent in a sort of penance, and her letters to her son are sometimes heartwrenching. In a number of words amounting only to a glorified novella, Danielewski convincingly tells an entire life story, and makes you feel it with surprising depth.
I haven't read the author's House of Leaves, but will now that I've read this remarkable tour de force of minimalist writing and psychological portraiture.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nothing so black... as the inferno of a human mind., September 5, 2006
This review is from: Whalestoe Letters (Paperback)
One of the most compelling parts of the brilliant "House of Leaves" was Appendix II, Part E -- the "Whalestoe Letters."
But is it worth getting the novella, if the original book already has the "Whalestoe Letters"? Yes, frankly -- Mark Z. Danielewski did a brilliant job expanding the letters and characters in the original appendix, where a mother's devotion turns out to be the tip of the iceberg.
The book compiles the letters from Pelafina H. Lièvre to her son Johnny Truant. Pelafina is in the Whalestoe psychiatric clinic, although at first it isn't clear why. She sends doting, poetic, adoring letters to her young son, who is being raised by an abusive foster father.
But when Pelafina stops taking her medication, her mental state deteriorates. She becomes paranoid, hallucinates, and sends bizarre nonsensical letters and limericks to Johnny (including a jumbled one that is made up almost entirely of "forgive me"). But even when the doctors manage to pull her back from the brink, Pelafina's desperation consumes her.
"Letters" books are usually disasters, because the authors cannot put enough feeling and energy into the letters. Mark Z. Danielewski is definitely the exception. This one-sided correspondence is enough to inspire plenty of pity and horror -- all the worse because this sort of thing happens in real life.
Danielewski plots the story almost like a mystery, dropping little hints during Pelafina's more sane moments. At first she seems normal if a bit overdevoted. But as she spirals into madness, we see just how mad she is, the things she has done before her institutionalization, and the terrible event which caused Johnny's father to have her locked up.
This edition is somewhat different from the original "Whalestoe Letters," since Danielewski added in some new letters. These flesh out both Johnny and Pelafina, and give background to her mental illness.
Danielewski is brilliant not only with plots, but characters as well -- Pelafina is the proof. She seems normal at first, but her chilling insanity comes out in little spurts until we find out what she did. And yet, you can't help feeling sorry for her, no matter how disturbing her manic love for Johnny is.
Disturbing and bittersweet, the "Whalestoe Letters" are a good accompaniment to "House of Leaves," and a good illustration of just what a great writer Danielewski is.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Whalestone Letters, October 6, 2007
This review is from: Whalestoe Letters (Paperback)
An awesome complimentary to House of Leaves. This book really helps you to get inside of Johnny's head and know why he is the way he is... if that makes sense. If you have read House and need more, try this out.
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