It’s been a scant six months since Richard Matheson left the world but it feels both like a lifetime ago and only moments ago. While many novels and countless short stories abound in various editions over the years, a reader could often crave for a deeper peering into the soul which brought horror, along with several other genres, into living rooms, suburbs, and every facet of the everyman.
LEAVE YESTERDAY ALONE will appease that craving and is a double shot of intimacy from the author and in an offering that will leave fans affected in a manner most will not expect. Once again, Gauntlet Press brings to the audience a product both unique and brilliant. They haven’t misfired on a book yet and keep readers and collectors both satisfied with undiscovered gems from the past, newer writers, and special editions of today’s best. Thanks to them, icons like Matheson and Bradbury will never fade from memory.
The book is comprised of two distinct parts. The first, and most powerful section, MUSINGS was meant to be a journal, but it turned into what he named it. Matheson first details his views on a few political issues and his own medical woes but finds himself turning back the clock to his childhood. What ensues is akin to a free-form autobiography, writings which are much more intimate than his GENERATIONS from last year. While that effort struck like a sledgehammer to the chest, MUSINGS creeps under the readers’ skin, convincing them to let their guard down and allow the informal anecdotes and thoughts to burrow deep.
Written first in 1994 and continuing until roughly 2005, the entries touch upon the deeply personal topics of family, mortality, education, and life in general. However, it’s the musings on writing which will affect fans and authors alike. Matheson details his struggles through the years and how he survived, even though most would assume that after a string of iconic novels, screenplays, and short stories adapted for television, he would never want for comfort. In one writing, he compares himself to King and Koontz, but in a way many might find unexpected, and sobering.
The novel, LEAVE YESTERDAY ALONE, was written in 1950 during his college years but is a far cry from reminiscing on the parties and classes which shaped him. The protagonist, Erick, must be one of Matheson’s most complicated characters, despite having written the tale when he was only twenty-four. As touching as THE BEARDLESS WARRIORS, which was written soon afterwards, but for much different reasons, this story finds Erick, a struggling writer in a world where he must find himself in a world that doesn’t quite seem to fit him. If that sound derivative, it is anything but. Once the final page is turned, many a reader will find themselves doubting the age at the time of the writing. The sheer maturity of the characterization and voice in the prose sing as fluently as in BID TIME RETURN or STIR OF ECHOES. The novel touches on topics not typically explored at that time, especially by such a young writer. Matheson writes with both an innocence and wisdom that will leave plenty wondering about the character. It is a journey inward and a natural companion to MUSINGS.
One can only cross his or her fingers that Richard Christian Matheson, who wrote the short, but wrenching introduction, can discover more of his father’s treasures that the publishing world had yet to embrace. Again, kudos to Gauntlet for publishing one of its true gems that most publishers wouldn’t touch – but should. Highly recommended for any Matheson fan, or for any fan or writer who wishes to glimpse inside the mind of a legend.
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