The Primal Screamer

Rating:
Summary: Ignorant Reviewers
Review: I am pleased to see that word is spreading (if slowly) on Nick Blinko's amazing artistic/writing/lyrical abilities, but it seems that all of the reviewers seemed to miss the most crucial detail of the book...Although the book was written in the form of the pyschiatrist's journal, it is an autobiography about Nick's own life. He is writing a NON-fiction piece about his life, from the view of his doctor. Although the entire novel may not be non-fiction, the majority of it is entirely true. I do not want anyone to reply and ask me how I can be so sure of this, but I have personally met with Nick, and I have asked friends of his in the UK about the history of Rudimentary Peni. I also own EVERYthing released by them, 2nd pressing or better. His artwork is quite hard to come by, but with some drudging through the internet doldrums, I'm positive that one may stumble upon some peices. If you haven't read this book, or heard of anything that I have mentioned above, find this book at any cost. It is incredible to say the least. Oh, and for those of you that HAVE read the novel, reread it, and see if what I tried to explain makes any sense...

Rating:
Summary: One of the most unforgettable books I have ever read...
Review: I finally managed to obtain a copy of this masterpiece yesterday, and stayed up all night reading it. It's absolutely enthralling, right up to the mysterious and abrupt conclusion!

I know that I will never be able to forget the bizarrely surreal scenarios that I have experienced in "The Primal Screamer." I also can't help but wonder exactly how dissimilar the horrific (yet strangely beautiful) Nat Snoxell is to the infamous author...

Rating:
Summary: Compelling--until the very end
Review: WARNING: Spoilers in this review!

I was pleasantly surprised with this, Nick Blinko's thinly-veiled autobiography-cum-horror novel. Turns out he's a pretty great writer when he wants to be!

This book is told from the point of view of a therapist treating a recent suicide attempt (Nat Snoxell, who is really Blinko's representation of himself). The novel is told in the form of therapist's notes, in fact, which is an effective narrative choice on Blinko's part. To cure the troubled young man, the therapist convinces him to undergo primal scream therapy. It's like hypnosis, but the patient regresses to a primal, almost fetal state, and begins screaming out all his/her pent-up anger, rage, and despair.

The therapy doesn't seem to work. Blinko--er, I mean Snoxell--begins hanging out with vegan anarchists (the Crass Records group in real life), forms a band (aka Rudimentary Peni), and continues with his death fixation. The suicidal thoughts continue. The therapist has a very droll sense of humor; Blinko's writing here excels. In fact, it can be quite humorous, and one wonders if Blinko isn't really simply taking the piss out of his whole experience with the world of therapy in writing this book. One wonders how Blinko's real life therapist felt about how Blinko portrayed him. "Must record this in my sex diary tonight," the therapist scribbles to himself when thinking of some of the young man's problems. Little touches like this reveal Blinko's cynical wit.

My complaint: About 1/3 of the way through the book Blinko has set the tone for a good psychological horror novel. Just what is this disturbed young man up to? What is he really involved in that he isn't revealing to his therapits, his confidant? Is he manipulating the psychiatrist somehow? What is the story behind the secret compartments in his family's ancient house that he keeps his morbid playthings in?

After 120 pages, one gets the sense Blinko simply wanted to end the book, however, without playing up any of these potential directions for the book. A fan of HP Lovecraft, Blinko forcesa lot of Lovecraftianisms into the ending, and after some verbal pyrotechnics the novel abruptly ends, leaving many questions frustratingly unanswered. Instead of a purely psychological tale, therefore, we are left with the idea that there had been supernatural influences at play in the Snoxell character all along. But even these are not explained -- instead there's passing mention of cosmic evils, black magic, etc. To me, that's less frightening than the psychological stuff hinted at before, and much less tangible. It's also less interesting than what Blinko actually went through as a real mental patient and vegan anarcho-squatter who hung out with Crass and others.

Like most of Lovecraft's narrators, the therapist simply "goes mad" at the novel's conclusion. I found this to be a bit disappointing--although, to be honest, Blinko pulls it off better than Lovecraft ever did in the majority of his stories! If you're as big a fan of Rudimentary Peni as I am, this novel is a must. If you like Crass, Britpunk, etc, you should get this, too. And if you like psychological horror, or are an HP Lovecraft nerd, again, this is a must. Blinko's writing talent is impressive. If he put his mind to it, he could probably write even better stuff than this.