Is there joy in Joyland? It depends…

Joyland

For me, reading Joyland was like buying a bag of regular potato chips and finding a baked, “healthy” alternative version inside. The new chips may technically be better, but If it’s not what you are looking for, they won’t satisfy.

Joyland is a coming of age novel. A young man is heartbroken when his girlfriend (who, goshdarnit, would never have sex with him) leaves him. To get over it, he takes a summer job at an amusement park – Joyland. While there he makes friends and thrills the hearts of children.  Oh, by the way, a woman was murdered in Joyland some time ago–and it’s rumored that her ghost makes random appearances in the haunted house ride.

Will the young man get over his (ex)girlfriend? Will he ever get laid? Will he ever see the ghost? Will he give up the normal life and go full time as a carnival man? Will he figure out who turned the ghost into a ghost?

The problem for me is that the murder mystery takes a big back seat in the story. It’s almost an afterthought–with the solving of the crime coming to a rush at the end.

Joyland is written in first person, from the point of view of a middle aged man looking back on his young adult years. Great for a coming of age tale. Not so good for a mystery, since the narrator casually reveals the fate of his friends (they survive the summer) before getting around to solving the crime. It’s a suspense killer.

Joyland was published under the Hard Case Crime imprint which, according to its website, “brings you the best in hardboiled crime fiction, ranging from lost noir masterpieces to new novels by today’s most powerful writers, featuring stunning original cover art in the grand pulp style.”

Joyland definitely has the cover of an old fashioned, hardboiled crime novel but everything else…

Karen Black (July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013)

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After providing us with decades of entertainment–and a few years of grappling with cancer, actress Karen Black has passed away. Below are a few of her movies that I enjoy.

House of 1000 Corpses

I had no interest in seeing this movie; I’d had my fill of obnoxious “kids” run into “deadly” family type films. Then, I found out that Karen Black was playing Mother Firefly. I’m not saying that her presence in a horror movie means it’s a high quality film, but I knew I would enjoy her performance.

~

Burnt Offerings

A family of moderate means rents a huge, Victorian mansion for the summer. Why is the mansion so cheap? Well, the owners explain that their mother lives on the top floor and tenants are required to provide the elderly lady with meals–though they will never see her. That’s a very strange proposition and it raises red flags for the husband (Oliver Reed). However, the wife (Karen Black) is so in love with the mansion, it’s in their price range and she promises to handle the feeding of the mother.

What could go wrong? Everything.

~

Trilogy Of Terror

Zuni Fetish Doll – what else is there to say?

 

Want to know what movies moments were her favorite? Check out Karen Black’s list of the top 10 favorite moments from all of the scifi/science-fantasy/horror films she’s ever seen.

Notes From Conjure Rim!

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*Suspect that someone in your group is being possessed by a demonic, child killer? Do not leave this person alone with the children.
*Do research before buying that dirt cheap house. (The Warrens were able to piece together the history of the house–without Google!)
*Ghosts are really keen to learn new games.
–Speaking of games, leave the magic mirror to Romper Roomconj2
*Find a boarded up secret room? Perhaps, you should be curious about why.
*New house? Don’t use the last owners furniture.
*From a USA Today article about the “true story” the film is based on: Andrea Perron, the oldest of the five Perron girls, now 54, says the film is “a beautiful tapestry” with “many elements of truth to it, and some moments of fiction.”
*Actor Patrick Wilson betta never look behind him

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—-

*If I have to go on a mission that requires self-sacrifice, I want Idris Elba to give me that midnight hour pep talk.pacrim13
*Jaeger(robot) vs Kaiju(monster) often resembles a WWF match.
*The Cloverfield monster is like a bratty teenager. Kaiju are like fully formed adults. Really angry adults.
*Are they beating each other with train cars? WTF?
*Oh my God! Did you see that? It went up in the air!
*Kaiju anatomy confuses me…
*What if you drift with somebody and inadvertently find out how nasty/perverted they are in private? What if the other person finds “sees” where you buried all the bodies?
*Gremlin Stripe has been reincarnated as a kaiju:
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Verdict: Both movies were highly entertaining and worth seeing in theaters.