Discussion: Fishhead by Irving S. Cobb
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If anyone is wondering about this thread title, yeah, I goofed. I meant Irving S. Cobb. The actor from 12 Angry Men did not write this story. LOL.
I just happened to see this in the Wierd Tales thread and, based on the interesting title, I chose it. It was nothing like what I expected. It wasn't really scary but it is definitely wierd. I felt more sad than creeped out. I could picture the man they called Fishhead so clearly. He is a kind of Southern Grotesque figure (which became popular in Southern literature during the '40s and '50s, Carson McCullers was one author who wrote about this archetype) and I don't see how a reader cannot be moved to feel compassion for him.
Do any of you think it was Fishhead that killed the young men or was it the freakishly large catfish that Cobb describes in the early pages?
Interesting note: Cobb was from Paducah, KY and the story is set here.
Do any of you think it was Fishhead that killed the young men or was it the freakishly large catfish that Cobb describes in the early pages?
Interesting note: Cobb was from Paducah, KY and the story is set here.
Agree, was not what I expected. Did enjoy the backwoods bayou feel. The descriptive wording painted a mental picture that easily compared to pictures I've seen of a bayou. Also felt a strong relationship between the outcast and the strange fish of the lake.
First read by this author. Researching a tad, this appears to be one of his early works. And Lovecraft sited it as inspiration to his own writing.
I'd like to think it was the freakish catfish that did the two men in. Fits the story. The ending took me by surprise.
First read by this author. Researching a tad, this appears to be one of his early works. And Lovecraft sited it as inspiration to his own writing.
I'd like to think it was the freakish catfish that did the two men in. Fits the story. The ending took me by surprise.
I liked this line: "Fishhead was of a piece with this setting. He fitted into it as an acorn fits its cup...Fishhead was a human monstrosity, the veritable embodiment of nightmare."
His physical deformity was a nightmare to others but it seemed like he was otherwise at peace with himself. Did anyone get that impression? He was hunted and even hated but I don't think Fishhead was all that worried. Idk
His physical deformity was a nightmare to others but it seemed like he was otherwise at peace with himself. Did anyone get that impression? He was hunted and even hated but I don't think Fishhead was all that worried. Idk
Yes, I liked that ending. I read that too. Lovecraft must have really dug his stuff.
This story made me think of Daniel Wallace's novel, Big Fish.
He mostly was left to himself and the town kept their distance. Some feared him. The two guys who try to kill him were doing it out of spite and hatred. It had to be racially motivated given their use of the n-word (sorry about that, btw).
If this line doesn't evoke pity from the reader, I'm not sure what would.
"So he lived alone, with no kith nor kin, nor even a friend, shunning his kind and shunned by them."
"So he lived alone, with no kith nor kin, nor even a friend, shunning his kind and shunned by them."
Yeah, he does a thorough job of describing the lush and wild swamp/river.
That was my first read by this author too. The bio said he was popular in his time but has since been forgotten. If the rest of his work is as good as this story, it's hard to figure why he has been forgotten.
The descriptions of the lake and the wildlife were so vivid, I think I got mosquito bites from reading the story.
The descriptions of the lake and the wildlife were so vivid, I think I got mosquito bites from reading the story.
This "discussion" seems to be going only one way, ha. Feel free to leave comments, later. I'd like to read them.
Yeah, I second that. Cobb was a writer who breathed rarified air and who used language to his will, the way a welder bends copper. Excellent story.That was my first read by this author too. The bio said he was popular in his time but has since been forgotten. If the rest of his work is as good as this story, it's hard to figure why he has been forgotten.
The descriptions of the lake and the wildlife were so vivid, I think I got mosquito bites from reading the story.
I just finished the story. First read from this author for me as well. I liked the ending very much. I think the fish is what definitely got the second brother, but to me it felt like the first one got tangled in the weeds and plant life that was described as being so dangerous.
Very vivid imagery, I agree. Good choice, Doc!
Very vivid imagery, I agree. Good choice, Doc!
There was one detail that did make my skin crawl. The catfish whiskers that he had hanging under a non-existent nose.
Yeah, but Joel (the first one) got pulled under. It says, "Something gripped him- some great, sinewy, unseen thing gripped him fast by the thigh, crushing down on his flesh."
Jake was then eaten by the fish. I'm guessing the fish got them both?
Thanks, Cat. Yw