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A review by znnys
Wasteland: The Great War and the Origins of Modern Horror by W. Scott Poole
5.0
This was such an interesting read! I really don't know a lot about WW1 besides the basics and this really taught me a lot about that time period, through the lens of something I find genuinely interesting - horror. I've seen a lot of criticisms for this book addressing the fact it's more focused on the fiction than the historical facts of WW1, but I found the author's framing very engaging and accessible for those of us who do not usually read about war history.
I learned so much from this book. Leonara Carrington and Otto Dix were entirely new names to me, and they were so fascinating to read about. I learned things about Salvador Dali and TS Eliot that shocked me. Kafka has been a longtime favorite of mine, so I was delighted to read about him. I discovered a lot of new literature and movies through this book.
Some people have suggested it has a disjointed structure, though I disagree. I didn't really have any difficulty following it.
I will say that I wish there had been further exploration on more "modern" horror. By "modern", what Poole really means is 20s/30s. Which technically is modern, considering world history and all, I guess. I nonetheless liked reading about this post-WW1 horror, though the Lovecraft sections were a bit exhausting. Towards the end of the book, Poole does touch on some slightly more contemporary works, but I do wish he had spent more time expanding a bit further. For example, he briefly touches on how the image of the gas mask has become a pretty iconic symbol of wartime horror. I would have loved to see his take on how enduring that symbol is throughout so much modern media.
I learned so much from this book. Leonara Carrington and Otto Dix were entirely new names to me, and they were so fascinating to read about. I learned things about Salvador Dali and TS Eliot that shocked me. Kafka has been a longtime favorite of mine, so I was delighted to read about him. I discovered a lot of new literature and movies through this book.
Some people have suggested it has a disjointed structure, though I disagree. I didn't really have any difficulty following it.
I will say that I wish there had been further exploration on more "modern" horror. By "modern", what Poole really means is 20s/30s. Which technically is modern, considering world history and all, I guess. I nonetheless liked reading about this post-WW1 horror, though the Lovecraft sections were a bit exhausting. Towards the end of the book, Poole does touch on some slightly more contemporary works, but I do wish he had spent more time expanding a bit further. For example, he briefly touches on how the image of the gas mask has become a pretty iconic symbol of wartime horror. I would have loved to see his take on how enduring that symbol is throughout so much modern media.