Note: Some of you probably know that I have been studying German. (a rather wise thing to do if one is living in Germany) I wanted to chronicle the books I was reading during this linguistic journey, but since such posts would be somewhat OT for this blog, I resorted to making The German Book List Page, that my friends and readers could click on if they desired. Well, now it’s nearly June, and that page has become rather long with all the updates and comments. So rather than have those interested wade through that bog, I decided it made more sense just to write normal posts.
My adventures in Deutsch began with Agatha Christie. After learning terms for all things related to murder, death, suicide, poisonings, stabbings, and confessions, I segued into various authors ranging from Charles de Lint to Steinbeck.
For all the different genres I read- the authors had one thing in common: their native language was English.
Being familiar with their work had been a great starting point. At least I knew what the gist of the story entailed. But this April, I decided it was time to discover all the native German language authors that I’d been missing out on.
Having decided to hold off on the luminous, classic German authors until I could more fully appreciate the beauty and power of their prose, I began my venture with the popular horror pulps.
Thus, for two months I have been curled up, devouring the devilish world of John Sinclair.
Who? Most of my fellow Americans are probably asking right now.
Ah, John Sinclair is the main protagonist (a Scotland Yard inspector of supernatural crimes) in a series of best- selling novellas by Jason Dark. The series which began in 1973 and continues to this day, are slightly creepy but without gore, and may be likened to the 19th century penny dreadful. To date, Mr. Dark has penned nearly 2,000 of these gruselromane featuring witches, vampires, demons, and werewolves.
Mr. Dark (pseudonym of Helmut Rellergerd) writes three to four novellas per month on an old-fashioned manual typewriter, and has been quoted as saying as soon as he finishes one, he sticks in another sheet of paper and begins the next.
Needless to say, the stories contain little literary merit. Oftentimes, they are even unintentionally hilarious, sprinkled with such lovelies as: “Du verdammte Hexe wirst sterben. Ich werde dich zu Tode quälen.” (“You damn witch will die. I will torture you to death.”) . Lady Laduga war auch fast eine Katze. Manchmal sanft, dann wieder leidenschaftlich, zügellos. (Lady Laduga was also almost like a cat. Sometimes soft, then again passionate, unbridled. ) Not to mention a penchant for exclamation points: Ein Totenhemd! (a burial tomb!), Er wandte den Kopf…und sah in das Gesicht seiner ersten Frau! (He turned the head… and saw the face of his first wife!)
So what is Mr. Dark’s secret for such successful longevity? Simple. There’s no pretense. There is a sense that the author is winking at his readers, and that he, himself, accepts the stories for what they are: a quick, easy, enjoyable read.
*excerpts from, Das Leichenhaus der Lady L ( The Mortuary of Lady L)
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