Welcome to ORSK!
Vesper consistently publishes Grade Hendrix’s books and this time serves us one of the previous ones. Horrorstor is a horror enclosed in the catalog of the “American IKEA”, that is ORSK. On the one hand, Hendrix approaches the classic haunted house theme and, on the other, comments on the place where adults spend the most time – work.
This book was published before My Best Friend’s Exorcism, who brought the author well-deserved fame. Already in the ORSK catalog you will notice Hendrix’s sociological claw, so clearly present in, for example, We have We sold our souls . In terms of style and narration, this is not yet that, but the passage from light tone to naturalistic, disgusting descriptions characteristic of this writer appears already in Horrorstör . Judging by the interviews (for example this one ), this is the first text in which the author decided to focus on an “inconsistent” tone based on contrasts and tearing at the reader’s emotions.
In some respects, it is a very classic horror and even more classic “manners” about stamping a working time card, training new employees, accepting constructive criticism from a manager. And about relationships with colleagues – after all, the everyday life of an employee is not only about improving his own workshop, but also a healthy, friendly atmosphere. In this respect, everyone will find here scraps of their own professional experience, and IKEA employees will easily learn the entire passages by heart. The main character is a frustrated, bored and impatient serial employee of the store. This time, she will not only experience the dignity of her day shift, but also a night shift, during which a paranormal cesspool will break out in the shop. And the ORSK itself? It’s a big furniture supermarket somewhere in the middle of nowhere, far from the city,
ORSK for you!
We owe the appearance of this book to … a difficult bookstore market. Quirk publishing wanted to sell paper, not just free-format text. Therefore, it had to offer the reader an experience or a nice facility. The ORSK catalog meets both requirements, so whenever the editor suggested the idea of a ghost-infested shop instead of the haunted house Hendrix wanted to write about, the natural consequence was to dress the whole thing in the format of an elegant furniture folder. Vesper took it just as seriously; So we have a glossy cover, soft spine, square pages, and Lesław Haliński could go crazy translating advertising slogans and the delivery form.
As mentioned, Hendrix guides the reader through Horrorstor , starting in the tone of a novel, going through classic horror with ghosts and overlapping spaces, all the way to the plot of the lonely avenger. The next stages of this path are marked by furniture: a pleasant couch from the cover, the Arsle chair (knowledge of English is useful to appreciate the pseudo-Scandinavian names), the Bodavest armchair, perfect for restraint … yes, we are gradually moving to the litany of torture machines. And that’s why you might prefer not to leaf through this book too carefully before reading it, lest you imagine in advance what might happen to the characters. Let me just add that even the epilogue has a beautiful Scandinavian diacritic in the title.
We will not give up. We will not fall asleep.
The story itself … Did I mention it’s a very classic thing? And that the possibilities of the Hendrix pen cannot be fully appreciated here yet?Horrorstöris a realistic description of a job in a store, and then an expressive criticism of a pointless job. The writer reaches for authentic Victorian ideas that the toil is ennobling, also the one completely devoid of justification and purpose. The description of the “hell” opening at ORSK at night and the occupational therapies served to ghosts is terrifying and disgusting, and worse, based on historical facts. You can treat it as a consolation (you are definitely doing something more interesting) or as a metaphor and criticism of the employee’s dehumanization. In either case, it won’t be subtle or sophisticated, and in later novels Hendrix more elegantly wraps any moral in the bush of a full-length story. He also creates much more interesting characters, the employees of ORSK may seem a bit too allegorical to you, which makes it difficult for them to sympathize.
Do not start your adventure with a writer with this book – you will find it boring and not very original. I would even say that this is not a must-read for those who know his novels, but rather for fans and enthusiasts of the genre. And also for graphic designers and editors. The form of this little book is a really interesting, funny, very authentic thing. Hendrix has written every little bit of text, slogans and technical descriptions here, even his biographical note is stylized.
