So was a tempest loosed upon the city, and its very fabric uprooted from the mud. Whirling and howling, the city was dispersed upon the firmament, coming to rest none knew where. And the mud spawned all manner of noisome pests, squirming and wriggling to escape the gigantic puddles which were left in the wake of the storm. These were not puddles of water, no, nor of any liquid known to the human mind. And then my eyes saw, standing fiery on a wooden plinth ringed by scum-pools, the obscene figure of Winckelmann. In his left hand he brandished aloft a scrap of burning linoleum. His right hand was made into a fist. As, dribbling, I watched, the fist was slowly opened to reveal a….. I cannot say. I do not know. For just at the moment my peering, watery eyes would have seen that… that thing, I was startled by a toad, which leapt up at my face, and thwacked me on the forehead, leaving an imprint which remains there to this day, like a brand.
- A history of “The Book of Gnats”
- Three extracts from “The Book of Gnats”
2 responses so far ↓
1 Resonance FM Blog » Blog Archive » The Book of Gnats // Mar 8, 2006 at 1:43 am
[...] The Book of Gnats The literary world abounds with tales of lost books; These are manuscripts which have been mislaid and masterpieces which never made it to the press. Since they are gone forever you will never be able to read them; and because of their unavailability they are automatically the most interesting books you are never likely to read.Just search google for “lost manuscriptss” for a very long lost of famous novelists and their missing works.This week, the Resonance FM Podcast site features the story of what is perhaps the most obscure and befuddling tale of lost text. Frank Key will be lecturing us on the origin, supression, recovery and destruction of Maude Glub’s only work of fiction, “The Book of Gnats”. [...]
2 Stodge.org » Blog Archive » “The Book of Gnats” is online now // Mar 8, 2006 at 1:49 am
[...] Make sure you take a moment to hear Frank Key’s exciting yarn, The Book of Gnats, no doubt the most exciting story you will ever hear concerning a book that you will never be able to read. While you are at it, please take a moment to subscribe to the Hooting Yard Podcast, which will provide you with no end of enlightenment. [...]
Leave a Comment