Oh where and where have this book not traveled with me! This
picture is one I took in Dubai where I was reading it during a quiet moment. Several
weeks later I was reading it in Galle, and then in Negombo and then on my
commute to work.
Safe to say, this book has seen quite a bit.
Anyhoo,
When Suresh de Silva announced the launch of his book ‘The
Eternal Dark :Requiem’ I think we all did a raised eyebrows ‘eh?’
An old manor, a weeping willow, ectoplasm, children who
aren’t children, rats and grandfather clocks was all I personally got out of
that introduction. Needless to say, this piqued my curiosity.
Six strangers, randomly chosen at a first glance are chosen to
stay at an ancient manor for a period of one month. Each one is handsomely
rewarded for this adventure. That is how the story begins. And that breathtaking cover! I'd have that on my skin as a tattoo any day.
Let’s dive in shall we?
The ambiance
For an old school romantic such as myself, old gothic manors
with a deep, dark history have a very strong appeal. This age old grand manor
with its massive garden and elegant weeping willow up front, stone statues
resembling children is the stuff of dreams and its happenings, the stuff of
nightmares. Grandfather clocks that suddenly spring to life in tentacles and mouth-less
children with doe like eyes with razor sharp teeth, mind-twisting orgies (yes,
orgies) and people being possessed to the point of biting off their own fingers
– this is heavy stuff people. Be prepared.
The ambiance is sweet, sweet music to this weird little heart
of mine which loves and revels in all things dark and unusual. I love places
with history and adore places that has their past stamped with stories. And here
he is writing of an all-expense paid vacation in a sprawling gothic manor with
so much history within it. In essence I believe Suresh is writing about my
dream vacation!
I fell in love with the manor. So much so I would have
gladly raised my hand and volunteered to transform myself into the albino
creature with a disturbing obsession of feeding the manor with human souls.
The style
What I love the most about this piece is its visual and
cinematic style that draws in your mind’s eye exactly what the author wants you
to see. Mind you, this isn’t something that is unique to this book, it is
Suresh’s style which is vividly portrayed even in his song lyrics. The extreme
lucid imagery keeps you engrossed and enthralled that it’s difficult to get
those images from out of your head even if you wanted to at a latter time. The
images are a combination of beauty and the grotesque – we have a beautiful
manor worthy of architectural adoration and then we have the gross and grisly
juxtaposing against it. I also loved the juxtaposition of the resplendent rose
and the tiny albino creature – again a beautiful contrast of beauty and beast.
When he describes the storm outside you can almost feel the turmoil
in the air, that sinister feeling that something evil is brewing crawling on
your skin. When he describes the wet and clammy mouthless children with teeth
for their eyes, we feel the terror in our veins. This is something definitely
to love in this book.
Suresh’s way of incorporating erratic flashbacks into the
manor’s troubled past, the back and forth between the characters’ own dilemmas
and the present havoc that is unfolding seems at once overwhelming and a little
all over the place at first but then it all ties up so magnificently well in
the end. The complex web is woven with subtle hints and omens of what is to
come and it is also so well hidden that it is difficult to even discern that
they were forebodings of things to come. It is through these flashbacks that we
answer the most important question – why the manor became what it is, why each
person is who they are, that light bulb moment that suddenly swoops upon you
and gathers everything into a comprehensive bundle, not unlike your mother
descending upon your chaotic room and gathering the dirty laundry into a basket
and setting some method to the madness (Suresh, I am not calling you my mother,
mind you). And even the apparent haphazardness of the writing style represents
for me, the turmoil inside each and every character and also the storm brewing
inside the manor itself. If it was a linear text like everybody expects it to
be, it would not have had the desired effect.
The research
It is evident that copious research has gone into this book.
I love how Suresh draws parallels to Sri Lanka’s colonial past, drawing
inspirational gems and pearls out of it and utilizing them to his advantage.
Here’s a man who makes do with what he’s got. He has this breathtaking manner
of yarning facts and fiction to the point that you are completely immersed in
the very soul of the storyline. The flashbacks are vivid and descriptive and
also serves the purpose of explaining why the manor became what it is – which
eventually turns the manor into a character in itself, something I am yet to
come across in a work of literature. For me, the flashbacks are an integral
part of the work itself which pumps life blood into the storyline giving us
readers more material to fuel our imaginations.
The characters
There are 6 main characters here, each of them well drawn
out, well detailed and each with their own flaws and inconsistencies, just
enough to make them unapologetically human. It is remarkable that Suresh hasn’t
painted any of the characters white – each and every one of them have their
special traits - which also happen to be their flaws for the most part which
essentially decides their fate – which I think is a clever twist. We have
Ranjit – the soft, fatherly architect, Keve – the macho crossfit trainer who is
also an ad man, Afzel – the shady little tech wiz, Michelle – ex blogger and
former beauty queen and Jeremy – Creative writer and adorably chaotic fellow. Out
of the 6 Lady Nazira, the elegant psychic has to be my favorite – the silent
and perhaps the physically weakest of them all who also ends up being the
strongest of them all. I just love the grace with which she operates and the
wisdom that she exudes, acting Mother Hen to them all.
The language
Oh boy I love those wacky little swear lines! (kids, cover
your eyes). “Fucking duckshit on a kebab”, “high as a satellite”, “what in the
Saturn’s butt ring”, “shit on a kakki stick”, “Fucking badu banis” being some
of my absolute favorite terms (which I am sure I, myself will be using at desperate
times when it calls for elaborately graphic terms for describing my life in
general when the proverbial shit hits the fan).
The only thing that irked me however, were the long, winding
sentences which made it not exactly a light read. I like my sentences short and
sweet, but that is of course, a personal preference.
The ending
For the pure fact that I love happy endings (yes even in horror. I'm a big fat softy yo) and this is not
a happy ending or a closure which I would prefer next to a happy ending, I am saddened by the end. He could have maybe even
killed all the characters off and given us that closure. But Suresh is not
going to give us that closure now, is he? He wants to keep us hanging there
just a little longer, have just the tiniest hope for the only characters who
are left with whom we’ve developed a bond.
Aiyo. A wicked one the author is.
Bottom line – JUST READ IT. For people who love fantasy,
gothic horror such as myself this is an extremely rewarding read that will
guarantee you goosebumps and a bloody good time. It is also great in the sense
that the Requiem is extremely thought provoking and you will find yourself
entwined in philosophical threads that makes your think, question about
everything you have taken for granted in your life. Read Eternal Dark: Requiem
because you owe it to yourself. And I am the happiest that in a country and
community that turns up its nose at horror writing, there is yet another gifted
individual writing in that wonderfully twisted style that only a true horror
fan would admire.
We need more horror writers in this country – especially like
this one.
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