Jewish Gothic

Alrighty folks [whoever is reading this blog...lately I wonder if I'm simply talking to myself], I was curious to know what Jewish structures might be Gothic. We've got people from a spectrum of religious [or quasi-religious or no religious] persuasions who embrace Gothic. As architecture goes, it only stands to reason that in Europe there were Jewish Gothic structures. I found 5 via Google images, although one seems to have a Christian saint (statue) before it, but the pic is small and it's difficult to tell. The first image of a long tapered serrated roof is a synagogue. The last image is my favorite and it's a tomb (not because it's a tomb, but simply because it's so ornate and elaborate). Enjoy:

(\*/) Roberta & Michael (\*/)

To Roberta, my very best lifelong friend: Congratulations on this your wedding day! You have my love and prayers always.

Movie: Suddenly, Last Summer [1959]

Googling for additional information will
likely result in a spoiler.

Here's a partial synopsis from Wikipedia:

***
PLOT - The story features Catharine Holly, a young woman who seems to go insane after her cousin Sebastian dies on a trip to Europe under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian's mother, Violet Venable, tries to cloud the truth about her son's homosexuality and his death, as she wants him to be remembered as a great artist. She threatens to lobotomize Catharine for her incoherent utterances relating to Sebastian's demise. Finally, under the influence of a truth serum, Catharine tells the gruesome story...{SNIP}
***

I recently mentioned having seen this film once, probably twice, years ago. It's harrowing and unforgettable. Tried finding it for sale locally to no avail; will have to mail order.

The "old" song by The Motels of the same title comes to mind as well. Seems fitting.

The Devil's Daughter by Daoma Winston [1971]

Cover scan obtained from Fantasticfiction.com. Isn't that a pretty cover? Love the big black cat especially; its eyes are green and yellow. This novel is as good on the inside; I give it 5 Stars on 1 - 5. Trixie gives it an unprecedented 12 Paws: 4 each for the cat on the cover and the 2 kittens in the story. She advises all feline readers of this blog they WILL love this novel. ;-p

Sharon Benedict is a 24-year-old career gal who lives in Washington, D.C. She has a steady boyfriend, John, and a nosy roommate named Bix. A letter arrives from the mountains of central New Mexico, near Albuquerque; it's from May Dailey, an elderly woman who is Sharon's adoptive aunt (mother's friend). May resides in Dead Dolly Creek, a nearly abandoned town which was formerly part of a gold rush. Sharon spent carefree and idyllic summers there as a child and teenager; she and Cal were an item and had enjoyed a teenaged love. In her letter May sounds troubled and frightened. Sharon, against John's wishes, decides to take a leave of absence from her desk job and visit May -- who is elderly and alone.

When Sharon arrives at Dead Dolly Creek she instantly re-embraces the place and her memories. Later she recalls not all memories were good; there were odd incidents and near accidents then. Dead Dolly Creek is even more rundown now: Shamrock's (grocer) is closed, the elderly are dying off, only the mortician and post master and gas station owner are busy. May, formerly a pretty and fastidious older woman, is now a bit disheveled and slovenly. She's also noticeably frightened and keeps two large watchdogs. Something prowls the night, scratching at her door...trying to get in. Dora and Sarah, her old friends, have recently died; May believes they were killed. Dr. Baker tut-tuts this fancy notion; does everyone in Dead Dolly Creek think they will live forever?

Sharon keeps a watchful eye on May, steps in as caretaker. She restocks May's forlorn kitchen, dusts and straightens up. She listens sympathetically to May's night-time terrors, comforts and consoles her. Dr. Baker says it's all due to the breakdown of small blood vessels in May's brain as she's aging. But Sharon suspects something evil is afoot in Dead Dolly Creek, particularly after mysterious fires start in two of the household fireplaces and May talks about "The Devil's Daughter" being after her.

Sharon's childhood friends come around, re-welcome her to town: Hetty, Cal, Beth, Art, Avel, Ed.

And then there's golden girl Evangeline with the long black hair and mysterious golden eyes. She definitely has an aura of power about her and reads tea leaves. Evangeline is not a childhood friend. She's wealthy and beautiful, a relatively recent newcomer who "just HAD to have" the village's grand old mansion. It's been refurbished. Money is no object for Evangeline, who offers to buy property from the families of the recently deceased. A friend of hers comes around, named Tom: He's allegedly an archeologist interested in the tunnels and shafts of nearby old mines. Cal does some investigating; it turns out Tom's a banker in Denver.

Meanwhile May and Sharon both continue being stalked by a big black cat. May twice succumbs to night terrors. But what terrifies Sharon are the large cougar-like track marks on the floor.

The story unfolds at a consistently fast clip. Good descriptives. There are a couple of surprising twists and turns. Very satisfying all around.

The cast of characters as I visualized them:

Sharon Benedict: Barbara Feldon
May: Ellen Corby
Cal: As described - tall, dark, handsome.
Evangeline: Julie Newmar
Dr. Baker: David Ford
Others: As described

Cover Scan: The Shop on Threnody Street [1971?]

I did begin reading this novel then set it aside. It's well written in its own way, but just wasn't my thing. It starts out with a young woman abruptly departing a college dorm out East to be reunited with friends in Chicago. We're then treated to her reminiscing about girlhood and her two best friends, one of whom was the dominant of the three; the leader. In my experience girls don't pal around in 3's; they pair off -- both in childhood and adulthood. I'm the (apparently rare) sort of female who likes a number of friends around (both genders), and 3 or 4 lady friends talking over lunch is most welcome. Anyway, the heroine's reminiscing carries on a bit too far and the doll shop factor (the owner makes every doll) is odd, as is the fact that the story supposedly centers around two characters who were of importance to the heroine, one of whom was supposedly killed (or died), but now might be alive. Yet there's no lead-in to this and her other two friends are the focus. It's so obscure and leaves you wondering why she's so anxious to return to the doll shop and find out news about these other two peripheral characters who seem entirely unimportant to the opening chapters. Maybe someone else would enjoy it. I'll defer "rating" it because my reaction to it was entirely subjective. The cover scan is from a bookseller. Lovely and unique cover art, particularly of the dolls. :-)

Cover Scan: Silence Is Golden by Elsie Lee [1971?]

This is the most gorgeous cover art. :-) The scan is via Fantasticfiction.com. I saw the book online last summer and fortunately the local used bookstore had a very good copy; I snatched it up the same day and for the cover art alone. The deeply warm hues of gold, crimson and her green dress are simply smashing, darling! And I love lit candles [and lanterns].



























Have yet to read it [many dozens of others are also waiting]. The back is half black and the girl/piano/candles are reproduced [that's from memory, as is the date of publication; my copy is stashed away in 1 of 4 metal boxes and I haven't the time currently to rummage around].

It's been 3 months since I browsed the Gothic section of that used bookstore. I've made a list of 4 or 5 others I'd like to obtain, and will search for them prior to placing a mail order [why pay $6.00 per when I can get them locally for 60 cents to $1.00 apiece?]. I've waited this long for the stock to circulate and replenish a bit.

Mansion of Smiling Masks by Daoma Winston [1967]

I think this model might be the same as the one who posed for the bor-ing cover of "Goddess of Terror" which I reviewed below [no scan]. If not, they're practically twins. In this scan [obtained from Fantasticfiction.com], she reminds me of Alexandra Moltke. If that name doesn't ring a doomsday bell...! She played Victoria Winters on "Dark Shadows" [1966-71].

I give it 1 Star. Trixie gives it 0 Paws. I don't know if Ms. Winston was trying to appeal to the Psychedelic LSD crowd with this novel or what. The opening chapter is not easy to visualize [except for the heroine's LSD-like description of cloud imagery during the airplane ride], she wonders why she married a virtual stranger [I *really* dislike that ploy], the first chapter is also long and draggy, there are too many peripheral characters. Right: I didn't like it.

This novel is a serious disappointment for the simple fact that otherwise I've enjoyed Ms. Winston's storytelling. I'm just about finished with another novel of hers, which will get 5 Stars. Her "Carnaby Curse" [reviewed months ago] was another 5 Star story imo. Not sure what happened here. If it'd been the 1st novel of hers I'd read, I'd be chary of anything else penned by Ms. Winston. But she is a *good* novelist otherwise, aside from this dud.