The Centipede Press edition of JULIA

[jeffingoff]

Jerad is an AWESOME guy. Let's just state that up front. And nothing in this post will contradict that, if that's the vibe those first two sentences gave you. He made me crack up when I read this about JULIA on CP's home page:

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And so I want to ask--has anyone gotten this book? I'm desperately trying to lock down my finances but this statement almost made me lose my grip on my credit card.

I'm not much of a Straub fan, but I haven't really read him all that much, either. He's gotten some love here recently and I was wondering if anyone would care to rave about JULIA.

[WebInterceptor]

Long , boring , un-finishable..lol

[St. Troy]

My 2 cents: a semi-interesting story that wasn't really all that noteworthy, but contains the ingredients of a good story (it doesn't surprise me that it's thought highly of by others).

Don't let my opinion warn you away, however; I'm sure the other Strauberries (just thought of that myself!) here can chime in with more helpful impressions of Julia.

(This is my opinion of the novel, which I've read, but I don't have the CP edition, if that was what you were asking).

[jeffingoff]

My 2 cents: a semi-interesting story that wasn't really all that noteworthy, but contains the ingredients of a good story (it doesn't surprise me that it's thought highly of by others).

Don't let my opinion warn you away, however; I'm sure the other Strauberries (just thought of that myself!) here can chime in with more helpful impressions of Julia.

(This is my opinion of the novel, which I've read, but I don't have the CP edition, if that was what you were asking).

I was wondering about the story. And I think you need to trademark Strauberries. RIGHT NOW. And then sell it to Straub. Or start a Straub forum with that name. Holy SH!T it's awesome.

[bsaenz24]

Strauberries?? I don't know. For a fan group, it sounds kind of......seedy...

[jeffingoff]

Strauberries?? I don't know. For a fan group, it sounds kind of......seedy...

Excellent.

I instantly thought of a field of frozen strawberry margaritas that went on forever.

[Dave1442397]

I really like some of Straub's work, such as Shadowland, Ghost Story, and the Blue Rose trilogy. Julia, however, did nothing for me.

[St. Troy]

Strauberries?? I don't know. For a fan group, it sounds kind of......seedy...

Easy, pal - you'll jam me up.

[RonClinton]

I think by “best book yet” Jerad meant attention to detail, production quality for the price, etc....not the story itself, which is fine but certainly not remarkable. It’s an early work of Straub’s, and it reads like it.

[jeffingoff]

I think by “best book yet” Jerad meant attention to detail, production quality for the price, etc....not the story itself, which is fine but certainly not remarkable. It’s an early work of Straub’s, and it reads like it.

Yeah, that's how I took Jerad's appraisal of the edition--as CP's best production, not the best story he's ever read. Sorry if that's how I made it seem. I almost bought the book just for the high praise Jerad gave the production. I just wanted to also know if the story was worth the expense as well.

I really shouldn't be entertaining the idea anyway.

[Sock Monkey]

So as one of the "Strauberries" (best worst name ever!), here are my thoughts:


Julia as a book is not "Top Shelf Straub" that one would recommend to new readers. That will almost always go to Ghost Story, but as far as a Straub "deep cut", I think it's very, very good. I would say that Julia would be equivalent to John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, not as far as content, but as far as how it fits into his career; it's an early work that doesn't match the heights of his later work, but is a well-regarded classic that deserves its accolades.

I would pick up the book if you are:
1. A big fan of Straub's work and like stories with a slow burn and atmosphere, rather than blood and guts, or
2. Love Centipede's books and dig fancy editions. This book is freaking gorgeous. I was on the fence due to the expense, but when I got it in my hands, I was pretty blown away. In my opinion, the production quality levels of Julia is on par with lettered editions from other publishers. I posted pictures on my collection thread, I think, but my picture-taking skills suck.