The King in Yellow is a collection of stories with the tied in element being the titular King in Yellow, which at times is a symbol, a mythical being, or a play/story. The King in Yellow is often symbolized by his sign, which is also an element in some of the stories.
Before I break down the first story in some minimal detail, let me tell you that I think all the stories in this book are great. Some are better than others, and some barely even feel like they fit the theme (if there is a theme). Ultimately, the book is a good read and I recommend it if you like Lovecraft or weird fiction in general. If you don’t know what weird fiction is, read my article describing my thoughts on it. If you’re already a fan, I recommend my friend Matthew Pungitore’s work if you’re a fan of that kind of literature.
The book I had was a 2018 reprint by Minerva Publishing, featuring eight stories. Anyways, the story I wanted to talk about is the first one in that set, “The Repairer of Reputations”.
This story begins with the author reading the play The King in Yellow as he recovered from a head injury. He’s bothered by the play, but reads it anyways. Once he gets to a certain point he tosses it into a fire, but immediately grabs it and rereads it like a mad man. The author explains its was the 1920s and the first scene afterwards is him visiting a blacksmith named Hawberk. He sees there Constance Hawberk and discusses a man named Mr. Wilde, who is the “repairer of reputations”. He also has an interaction with a Dr. Archer.
The author of the story is named Hildred. He goes to find Mr. Wilde and attempts to use Mr. Wilde’s long stories about conspiracies to take over the United States as a king. It’s an obviously false story Mr. Wilde is telling, but Hildred isn’t in the right state of mind. He thinks his cousin Louis, who is Constance’s fiancé, is in his way. So he tells Louis that he killed Dr. Archer, but when Hildred returns to Mr. Wilde’s he accidentally hurts Wilde with a knife. At least, I think that’s what happens. The end of the story is confusing because Hildred has lost the plot.
As Hildred is taken away by the police Constance is crying in the doorway. Did Hildred actually kill anyone? What exactly happened?
This story was excellent, and probably the best of the bunch. It’s confusing at times, but that’s because the author is losing his grip on reality. He’s constantly talking about becoming king and the Yellow Sign. At one point he puts on a crown, and Louis sees it as something cheaper than he said to the reader. The real question is: was he losing his mind because of the head injury he received or because he read the play The King in Yellow?
I have no idea where to start with this book. It’s horrible, cruel, mean and twisted and may be the best novel I’ve ever read. Blood Meridian is considered the magnum opus of Cormac McCarthy, the prolific novelist behind No Country for Old Men. McCarthy doesn’t use much punctuation, so his book reads like a folk tale told by a campfire, but the imagery and harrowing scenes control the reader on a level I’ve never experienced before.
Where do I start on the plot? The story takes place between the Mexican War and the Civil War. The protagonist (because I certainly can’t call him a hero) is known as “The Kid”. He’s from Tennessee and makes his way South. While on his way, he gets into fights, gets shot, heals and leaves, and eventually finds himself in a big tent revival. It’s there he meets a horrible monster of a man, Judge Holden. He’s often just called “The Judge” and is introduced to us by his accusations against the revival preacher of pedophilia, thievery, and other terrible things. The congregation bursts into a fight, with guns being shot and knives pulled out. During the fight the Kid runs away and eventually finds himself in a bar where he hears the Judge tell people he had never met the preacher before. He simply accused a man of crimes to cause chaos.
I can’t say much more. The Kid joins a crew going to Mexico to attack Mexicans, but then he joins another group to gather Indian scalps. There’s horrible things that happen in just about every chapter and eventually you just get used to it. But that’s kind of the point. There’s no heroes, only villains. Sometimes, though, some villains are so bad that they stand head and shoulders above others as being nearly supernaturally bad.
So what should I say about this masterpiece? McCarthy’s prose is phenomenal. Here’s a few lines from the Judge late into the book:
A ritual includes the letting of blood. Rituals which fail in this requirement are but mock rituals. Here every man knows the false at once. Never doubt it. That feeling in the breast that evokes a child’s memory of loneliness such as when the others have gone and only the game is left with is solitary participant. A solitary game, without opponent. Where only the rules are at hazard. Dont look away. We are not speaking in mysteries. You of all men are no stranger to that feeling, the emptiness and the despair. It is that which we take arms against, it is not? Is not blood the tempering agent in the mortar which bonds?
Notice the lack of an apostrophe in “don’t”, and the way the judge is reacting to the movements of the Kid so the reader can imagine it. It’s fascinating.
I recommend this book for anyone who loves American novels. It’s worth your time. However, I caution you that there’s awful imagery and terrible things throughout. There’s racism, slurs, near-constant death, sexual abuse, pedophilia, and much much more inside of it. If you can’t handle that in fiction, don’t dive into it.
I’m currently working on a few posts on the subject of the “classics” of both science fiction and fantasy. While working on them I had some thoughts about what an ideal middle/high school curriculum would look like that included those genres. Oh, I read The Hobbit in middle school, but that was the extent to which we delved into speculative fiction as a whole. Everything else was The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, The Poisonwood Bible, and various Dickens books.
I was bored out of my mind most of the time.
Why can’t literature be fun or exciting? Can’t we mix some imagination in with the dour, real world settings?
As is usually the case with these posts, I should say that these selections are my opinion. However, what is not an opinion is that middle school and high school literature curriculums often include outdated and uninteresting works that bore students to tears and develop in them a hatred for reading. Students ought to have fun with it. I tried my best to include historical fiction as well as survival fiction that current curriculums employ.
Let me begin here with my selections for middle school. For those unaware, these are grades 6th through 8th in the United States and students often have particular books they always read. These students are usually 11-13 years old.
Stories Kept in the Middle School Curriculum
Here are some current staples I’m going to highlight and suggest that I think should stay:
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1881) – An adventure story with pirates, buried treasure, and a mutiny. It’s a fun adventure that students will love, even if it is from the 19th century.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843) – I recall having this read to my class by my teacher in Middle School. I loved it and despite some outdated terminology the story holds up. It was creepy, interesting, and a great tale around Christmas.
The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903) – Between White Fang and this book, I would have to go with The Call of the Wild. This story has an interesting point of view with some amazing tension. The need for Buck to be with his human while also feeling the call is a great issue for a dog. When I was younger i tried to read it but didn’t understand it. I think it’s better than White Fang, but still I think some kids will have difficulty with it. Maybe older middle school.
Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945) – A representation of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia using farm animals. Orwell’s story is still referenced to this day in terms of its dissection of the Soviet Union. Orwell himself was a socialist but hated Joseph Stalin, who was praised at the time by the scholars of his day. This book not only addresses political theory and history, but satire as a tool. It’s approachable even to middle schoolers.
The Cay by Theodore Taylor (1969) – A book set during World War II, Phillip and an older man named Timothy survive a shipwreck with a cat. Phillip has some racial bias against Timothy and suffers from losing his sight. This is a survival book with themes of prejudice, war, and survival. Of these three, I considered dropping this one the most, but it won me over with how interesting it is. Years later the book would be criticized for Phillip being racist, but the story shows that he was wrong to be biased. I see no problem with it, and the controversy would actually allow kids to discuss it better.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (1986) – A survival story of a kid who was in a plane crash in the woods and has to live by himself until he can get rescued. It’s interesting adventure literature that still sticks with me to this day.
Holes by Louis Sachar (1998) – A book with an almost prison-type atmosphere where a kid is accused of theft and forced to dig holes in the Texas desert. There’s a lot of social commentary but it centers around a warden looking for… something.
Stories Added to the Middle School Curriculum
Now allow me the pleasure of including stories I would add for a middle school curriculum. Remember, these don’t have to teach history like it seems many others have been included to do. Instead, they should encourage students to read and enjoy what they read.
Here are my suggested additions:
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912) – If there was ever a story that needs to be read by young people, this is the one. Fun, adventure, romance, and science fiction before the “hard” stuff. This is the stuff of dreams and will easily encourage young people to imagine other worlds. This is the story of a soldier being transported to Mars, a world of alien warriors and a beautiful princess. I considered Tarzan of the Apes to represent Burroughs, and might be convinced to include it in the high school curriculum, but I feel like A Princess of Mars may hold a middle schooler’s attention better.
Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein (1957) – One of Heinlein’s juveniles, this one is about Thorby, who is a boy bought as a slave and taught by a beggar. It’s an incredible story with Thorby becoming an interesting character with a fascinating past. The universe Heinlein builds is one of interstellar travel and aliens. This is a fun sci-fi universe with a young protagonist middle schoolers could relate to.
Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson (1961) – Poul Anderson wrote something like 100+ books in his lifetime and not one was included in any middle school curriculum I read online. Of his books, though, most are fairly adult in nature with the science fiction books skewing towards the boring at times. That said, this story is an adventure fantasy story where a modern Danish man during World War II is shot and wakes up in a fantasy version of the European middle ages. There’s magic, dwarves, and witches. It’s worth a read even for adults, and middle school kids ought to love it.
Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny (1971) – A story where a planet is divided into magic and science fiction concepts, with interesting world building and a unique main character. This one is adventurous and kind of edgy, the kind of a thing a teenage mind might love. Once again it’s a bit older in terms of concepts, so I would probably push for older middle school.
Interstellar Pig by William Sleator (1984) – The fact that William Sleator is all but forgotten in young adult/science fiction is a shame. This story in particular will grab a student’s attention and take them to places of wonder. It’s a story of a boy on vacation with his parents in a beach house, where he meets odd older kids who seem kind of cool and interesting. They play a game called Interstellar Pig where aliens travel the galaxy looking for a “Pig” that will ensure their species’ survival in the end of the universe. However, this may be more than just a board game. Part Jumanji, part space opera, and all fun. I also considered Sleator’s House of Stairs, but I feel like that one gets a bit slow and repetitive at times.
And with that, you have my list of books I’d include for middle schools! This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I would encourage any educator reading this to consider the fun a young mind might have when approaching these stories.
I didn’t include any Clark Ashton Smith or H. P. Lovecraft. I might include another Poul Anderson book in the later curriculum. Obviously absent is Robert E. Howard, who I believe several short stories ought to be read… in high school. Conan especially tends to be a bit bloody, so it might be best kept for older readers. Personally, I think middle school kids are too young for the sword and sorcery I love to be included.
Stay tuned for that post. In the mean time, do you have any books you think a middle schooler would love?
If the title of this article is confusing to you, I recommend an article by The Write Practice on the difference between “pantsers” and “plotters”. That being said, the genesis of today’s writing post is from my own research and revelation. I mentioned it briefly on Twitter.
I’ve been writing for some time. Back in Middle School (age 11-13) I had an idea for a children’s fantasy book I never finished. The story was partly allegorical and filled with dream logic. It was incredibly fantastical and even now when I revisit my ideas from back then I feel a sense of wonder from the words I wrote as a child.
In revisiting some of the work I wrote later, maybe during my early college years, I saw that same sense of wonder and earnestness towards writing. I regret that I seemingly lost that spark.
So what happened?
You’ve read the title. You should know by now.
The revelation struck me like a slap to the face. I should have known better.
I am, in my heart of hearts, a “pantser”. My stories flow better and characters grow better when I don’t have every detail meticulously planned out ahead of time. I have ideas, sure, and I even make a general outline, but when I let the characters tell me their story my writing works better.
Story advice tends to come from the “plotters” though, because “pantsers” can’t easily express what it is that they do. So in researching writing, I was taking advice that didn’t work for me. I was planning out every detail, every minutia, that would hamper my personal writing style.
There are three takeaways from this:
Check Your Old Writing – I mentioned this before in my post titled How to Tell If Your Writing Is Improving. It’s extremely important to read what you’ve written in the past and glean from those stories any changes between then and now. In my case, I realized my stories have become sterile and lacked heart.
Everyone is Different – Easy to say, I know, but there’s a truth here. I shouldn’t have been trying to force a square peg in a round hole. I’m a pantser, and should have written as one. Figure out your style of writing and do it the way that works best for you.
Take What Lessons You Can – Yes, I said that taking plotter advice was difficult for me, but it doesn’t mean it’s all a bad fit. The structure of stories, character changes, foreshadowing… these are all things I found useful to learn about. Find something that catches your eye and if it doesn’t work for you (see #2) then try something else.
Well, I hope that helps you with your writing. It helped me realize my difficulties so I hope to pass it on.
Frank Ormond 