The Funeral - Richard Matheson

The Funeral is easily the most enjoyable piece by Matheson I have read.  I think a large part of that is the fact that it doesn't take itself seriously.  I mean, it's hard to when you have a vampire arguing from out of his casket with a witch who can't help poking fun at his eulogy.  Right from the beginning this story was fun.  Which is what this story showed me.  Monsters can be fun.  It reminded me strongly of the movie, Hotel Transylvania.  Both approach monsters with the idea that they really aren't that bad, and they're just trying to make their way in the world same as us.  This is a refreshing change and works especially well as a way to use monsters as comedy.

At the same time, Silkline certainly doesn't see his position as comedic.  He is terrified.  To the point that he passes out and misses the fun of the monster fight.  And this makes sense.  Matheson does an excellent job in the first scene of painting Asper to be intimidating.  He is very serious about the funeral and his anger at Silkline thinking it is a joke helps to lend him that air of gravitas.  And it is this gravitas that makes the funeral so amusing.

Over all, this short story was a nice departure from what I've come to expect from Matheson, and gave me a bit of interest in reading more of his short stories to see what other gems I could discover.  Although it will be hard to beat a vampire fighting at his own funeral.

I am Legend - Richard Matheson

I was very excited to see this book on the reading list.  I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, and so was expecting to enjoy the book even more.  Because, lets face it, that's just how these things work.  And, having read Hell House last semester, I felt I had a pretty good idea going in as to what the story would be like.

But these two stories couldn't be more different.  I am Legend is all about isolation, and the mental effects of it.  There are few cheap thrills in it.  No 'boo' scares.  No shocking revelations.  Just a look at the path one man treads from human to monster.  Because, really, Robert Neville is the monster here.  But more on that later, first the obvious.  The vampires.

I really enjoyed the way that Matheson worked vampires in this story.  It isn't terribly original any more, but I imagine it was at the time.  I like the idea of vampirism being a biological disorder.  It brings a logical explanation into a thoroughly mythical and magical concept.  In fact, my favorite parts of the book by far were those where Robert was trying to explain all of the myths of vampires with science.  The systematic way Matheson goes about this appeals to the science lover in me and it makes the middle portion of the story interesting.  The idea that there were living and dead vampires was also an interesting twist.  It makes sense with the scientific explanation, and allowed Matheson to create the arc we have for Robert.

Unfortunately, at least for me, the middle portion of this short novel dragged.  I understood early on just how isolated Robert was, and just how close to crazy he was getting.  But Matheson seemed to feel the need to pound this nail home for far more pages than I felt was necessary.  An example is spending seventeen pages on Robert trying to befriend a dog, to kill it in one line.  I understand why Matheson did this, and what he was trying to show, but the pacing dragged significantly as a result.

But the end made up for it.  The conclusion, showing that Robert has become the monster brought a smile to my face.  I love irony, and how much more ironic can you get than the monsters becoming the new normal, and what was normal becoming the new monster.  The new legend.  It was clever and very well done.  Not surprising, but still satisfying.