Book review: The Painted Darkness
Horror genre is one of my latest favourites, and there is indeed a wealth of different titles to explore, discover and be fascinated by, in this rapidly moving genre. While in the Bengali literary sphere, this once-celebrated genre now seems to be drying up, and giving way to, as well as making room for, science fiction, the story is something else in the international sphere. And after reading Brian James Freeman's wildly thought-provoking book 'The Painted Darkness', I can honestly say that I find myself spellbound.Before plunging into the depths of this review, let me share with you all a personal view, rather a theory, of mine. I guess, since the reach of English is much wider when compared to local languages such as Bengali and Hindi, every genre can find its dedicated readers. This wider reader-base appears to the primary fuel driving the ascent of various genres steadily.
What is it about? A brief summary.
'The Painted Darkness' is primarily a horror novella. Written mainly to explore the effect of of imagination in magnifying the magnitude of our latent fears, the novella simultaneously reveals more about the life of the protagonist, Henry, as we dive more into the setting. Henry is an artist, and his illustrations feature darkness and fears of the human mind as their primary theme. Often questioned about it, Henry's only response usually is "I paint against the darkness". This was something his father told him, when he was younger.
It is revealed at the beginning of the novella, that Henry had witnessed something terrible and frightening when he was young. But now, he could no longer remember what it was that made him so afraid of darkness. However, it is revealed, gradually, that whatever the incident was, it was the main source of creative inspiration for Henry. After being instructed by his father to paint his fears away, and thus use his artistic capability to practically erase his fears, Henry gradually turned into the artist that he is today.
Glimpses of the past are used to reveal Henry's experience to the reader, and to Henry himself, as it seems. Since his mind had apparently blocked the original event from his memory, he could no longer recall what it was all about. But as his wife leaves with their son, following a bitter quarrel, and Henry finds himself stuck inside his lonely farmhouse alone, a snowstorm follows. And while trying to project his fears onto his canvas, Henry faces a creativity blockade. What follows is his frightening experience with an old boiler of the house's heating system. Henry himself can not distinguish between reality and his imagination, which causes his fears to gradually escalate. Ultimately, a very strange turn of events follows, revealing what the actual incident was, and how Henry developed into a painter.
The author's summary and discussion can be found here: http://www.brianjamesfreeman.com/books/the-painted-darkness/
Merits of the novella
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| If you're into haunted houses ans monsters, chances are you won't like the story. However, there's no harm in trying something new |
Psychology is the principal element of the story. We don't have any ghost or monster trying to break into the house, or an undead spectre haunting the place, or even a zombie outbreak (which is one of the most common themes in horror stories today). In fact, even after reading the whole length, it remains unclear to the author what it actually means. There can be multiple explanations, and each one of them is more wonderful than the other. Fear-provoking experience of Henry is beautifully described, and yet we don't have a climax where Henry has to confront the monster.
Another artistic feature of the story is its beautiful blending of the past and present. The past life of Henry, his experience on that snowy day, is narrated along with his present-day experience. Simply his experience on these two days are related an interlinked to one another. The message of the story remains somewhat unclear as well.
And yet another plus point of the story is its short, but thought-provoking discussion about the human mind and creativity, as well as the delicate link between the two. Fear is what drives Henry to become a painter, and even his painting is a way of escaping his fears. Painting is something he wields like a weapon, a shield if you may, to ward off his own dark fragments of imagination. One plausible explanation to the whole event might even be that the whole thing was nothing more than his own imagination, a craft of his fears. It could well have happened inside his head, totally.
Demerits of the novella
Well, for a short novella of this kind, it is difficult to be too skeptical and go on criticizing around. However, one really disheartening feature of the novella is that, nothing much is revealed. After completing it, one seems to remain hungry for more. While a pleasant read otherwise, it certainly irritates us by not revealing what actually happened, and what was fantasy. However, that might well be just an aim of the author himself, to leave the reader freedom to derive theories of every kind regarding the story. If the aim had been to make a thought-provoking, artistic story, it certainly is a success.
Final verdict
While 'The Painted Darkness' isn't a mainstream horror story, it is quite fitting for a good read anyway. Intertwining reality and fantasy together, it does keep us wondering about the very theme itself. If you are into stories that are really, really hard to understand, and would like to challenge yourself a little more with one of its kind, be sure to give it a shot.
In fact, after reading the novella, I was reminded of my experience with the poem 'Listeners' by Walter de la Mere. Both the poem as well as this story leave us craving for more, not fully revealing the details. Both are darkly written, and beautifully described.
I would like to give it a 4/5 rating overall.
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