Monday, January 30, 2012

Ten of the best nightmares in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best nightmares in literature.

One novel on the list:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

"Ah, God! what trances of torments does that man endure who is consumed with one unachieved revengeful desire." Captain Ahab lies in his bunk, screaming in his sleep at the terrors that possess him. "A chasm seemed opening in him, from which forked flames and lightnings shot up, and accursed fiends beckoned him to leap down among them." And all because he wants to kill a whale.
Read about the other bad dreams on the list.

Moby-Dick also appears among Katharine Quarmby's top ten disability stories, Jonathan Evison's six favorite books, Bella Bathurst's top 10 books on the sea, John Mullan's list of ten of the best tattoos in literature, Susan Cheever's five best books about obsession, Christopher Buckley's best books, Jane Yolen's five most important books, Chris Dodd's best books, Augusten Burroughs' five most important books, Norman Mailer's top ten works of literature, David Wroblewski's five most important books, Russell Banks' five most important books, and Philip Hoare's top ten books about whales.

--Marshal Zeringue