What I am is the Indian who can’t die. I’m the worst dream America ever had.

This book was so good. The vampire lore feels fresh in ways that are particularly horrifying for the characters involved. Each storyteller has a unique diction that fits perfectly with their character, and the stories they tell others (and themselves) are both interesting and heartbreaking. The event at the centre of this book is never far away from the action, even before you know what it is. I found one event near the end a bit silly in execution, but overall another hit for Stephen Graham Jones.

There’s little I can say about this book, with about 2000 posts (let alone comments) and hundreds of reviews, which hasn’t been said before.

While I generally enjoyed the first half of the book, it seemed to lose the plot for a time in the second. I frequently found myself drifting off and having to “rewind” the book back to an earlier points, particularly when there were long passages on Alice’s conscience and other thoughts. I didn’t mind some of the philosophical stuff though I didn’t think they added much to this story, and sometimes they, too, set me adrift. Fortunately, the story did manage to revive itself in those last few chapters. But while my sentimental side enjoyed the rather sweet happy ending, the longer I sit thinking about it, the less satisfying I find it.

Published in 1911 I read this for my chronological reading project, one publication for each year of the 20th century

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie:

A "precautionary tale for those who fear the responsibilities of living, and the uncertainties of dying", which "explores concepts like the inevitability of death, freedom to create our lives, alienation, and the notion that existence lacks any obvious or inherent meaning." (Peter Pan, Existentialist Fairy Tale? - Jeffrey Howard)

What a different experience it was for me to reread this as an adult and even more so as a parent. I loved this story throughout my childhood, both the book and its film versions. I still think this is a great adventure story for children, but as an adult you'll see some darker themes and deeper meanings in it. I also realised that Peter Pan is a bit of a creepy character compared to his portrayal in a lot of the adaptations.

At its core this is a story about the unconditional love of mothers. It shows a mother losing her children and the painful grief experienced afterwards. It is also about children's innate desire to be comforted and loved, the longing for a mother (figure) and the belief that all truly loving mothers will always leave their windows open for their children.

In the year 1911:

Publications:

• Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton
• The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Devil's Dictionary, satirical dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
• The Lair of the White Worm, by Bram Stoker
• The White Peacock, by D. H. Lawrence
• The Chronicles of Clovis, by Saki
• Wellen (lit. Waves), by Eduard von Keyserling
• Moving the Mountain, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Born:

• William Golding, British author (died 1993); novel "Lord of the Flies"
• Tennessee Williams, American playwright (died 1983); play "A Streetcar Named Desire"

Died:

• Henry Abbey, American poet (born 1842); poem "What do we plant when we plant a tree?"
• Howard Pyle, American children's author (born 1853); novel "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood", notable for taking the subject of Robin Hood in a new direction that influenced later writers, artists, and filmmakers through the next century

Art:

• I and the Village, by Marc Chagall
• Blue Horse I, by Franz Marc
• In the Munich Hofgarten, by Albert Weisgerber
• Frühling, by Hans Baluschek
• Dreams, by Heinrich Vogeler
• Simplon Pass: The Tease, by John Singer Sargent
• Femme Joyeuse, by Ferdinand Hodler
• Nonchaloir (Repose), by John Singer Sargent
• Cranes in dunes, by Friedrich Lissmann
• Winter in Southern Louisiana, by Ellsworth Woodward
• Feeding the Poor, by Wilhelm Gause
• General view of the island Neveranger, by Adolf Wölfli
• States of Mind III: Those Who Stay, by Umberto Boccioni
• Gray Tree, by Piet Mondrian
• Grotto in an iceberg, photograph by Herbert Ponting
• The Riders of the Sidhe, by John Duncan
• Melpomene, by Alexander Rothaug

Music: "Let Me Call You Sweetheart", a huge hit for the Peerless Quartet in 1911; Patti Page covered it in 1958; the song was sung by a character in a scene of the tv series Downton Abbey

Film: David Copperfield; silent film, oldest known adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens

You can check out my other chronological project reads on my shelves "project 1800-1899" & "project 1900-1999"