Nightmare on Main Street: Angels, Sadomasochism, and the Culture of Gothic

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Summary: Searching for Redemption in the Gothic 1990's
Review: Professor Edmundson's book explores some of the darker issues in our culture and the various ways some artists and others have tried to cope with gothic "forces". For an academic book, it is very clearly written and witty. I learned a lot from it and found it very thought provoking. Edmundson notes that a few years ago he went on a prolonged horror movie binge, so his "culture" is probably slanted in a direction others may not find so familiar. However, I think that readers interested in horror and of an intellectual bent will love the book. I also think that psychotherapists might find this book quite worthwhile. There are some exceptionally clear presentations of some of Freud's concepts and, in my view, the book also is a meditation on trying to deal with human suffering and our attempts to find hope and redemption as individuals, both psychologicly and spiritually. I found this to be a rewarding book and highly recommend it.

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Summary: Very aggravating book
Review: The best part of this book is the blurb on the inside jacket cover, which draws you in to Edmundson's fascinating premise that Gothic influences are pervacious in modern American culture, and promises to illuminate those influences and outline their implications. Once you're persuaded to read the book, however, you are disappointed to discover the author has drained the topic of all its potential charisma, replacing it with his own idiosycratic take on the social and cultural mores of late 20th century society. About the best that can be said of the book is that it illustrates Edmundson's command of the English language - how often is one treated to the use of the words 'ephebe' or 'trope' in a single book, let alone in a single sentence? If highbrow cultural elitism is your bag of tricks, this book is for you. Otherwise, leave it on the shelf and move on.

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Summary: Great concept wrecked by tedious, pretentious execution
Review: The best part of this book is the blurb on the inside jacket cover, which draws you in to Edmundson's fascinating premise that Gothic influences are pervacious in modern American culture, and promises to illuminate those influences and outline their implications. Once you're persuaded to read the book, however, you are disappointed to discover the author has drained the topic of all its potential charisma, replacing it with his own idiosycratic take on the social and cultural mores of late 20th century society. About the best that can be said of the book is that it illustrates Edmundson's command of the English language - how often is one treated to the use of the words 'ephebe' or 'trope' in a single book, let alone in a single sentence? If highbrow cultural elitism is your bag of tricks, this book is for you. Otherwise, leave it on the shelf and move on.

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Summary: Divine prophesy falls flat
Review: The first exasperating aspect of this book is its overambitiousness. Through some divine insight, it purports to explain ALL of American culture (almost) through the trope of the gothic. Forrest Gump, Tonya Harding, Walt Whitman, Wordsworth. They're all in there. Moreover, it uses broad brush strokes that hide more than they reveal. Its second offensive characteristic is a tone that's self-righteous. It stands far above the foibles of all these pathetically mortal characters.

Rating:
Summary: Very aggravating book
Review: This is a book I would recommend to be left on the shelf. Edmundson sees a society hurtling toward overt sadomasochism ans completely obsessed with the Gothic. His view is very narrow, and poorly supported. His opinion that Scar, from Disney's The Lion King, was a gay child molestor who killed Mufasa because of Simba's Oedipus complex is evidence that he does not truly know what he is talking about. If you are interested in a book full of pessimistic ideas and obscure references, by all means read this. If you would prefer a more complete explanation of a valid idea, try something else.