Cronenberg goes back to the bizarre with As She Climbed Across the Table!

By Jake Dee

Posted 16 years ago

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

How many David Cronenberg fans want nothing more than to see the man return to the cinematic world of bizarre sci-fi mind-fu*kery? Well, get out the goddamn party hats!

After toiling in foreign territory with flicks like A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, EASTERN PROMISES and his upcoming A DANGEROUS METHOD, it appears Cronenberg is set to revisit the twisted world he knows best. Check it…

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According to Pajiba, Cronenberg is likely attached to adapt Jonathan Lethem’s cryptic tome AS SHE CROSSED THE TABLE, a novel back-dropped by black holes, alternate realities and metaphysical journey. Known for penning novels that are difficult to film, fans should rest easier knowing Cronenberg has done yeoman’s work in hurdling such obstacles (DEAD RINGERS, NAKED LUNCH, etc.)

Those unfamiliar with AS SHE CLIMBED ACROSS THE TABLE, here she is:

Particle physics, false vacuum bubbles, an alternate universe–this is the stuff of Jonathan Lethem’s novel As She Climbed Across the Table. The tale echoes Alice in Wonderland in its mad tumble through a rearranged reality. Narrator Phillip Engstrand is a university professor who has made a career out of studying academic environments.

Engstrand is in love with Alice Coombs, a particle physicist engaged in a bold attempt to replicate the origins of the universe. The result of the experiment is Lack, a very selective black hole that sucks some things into its void–a cat, a pair of socks, a strawberry–and rejects others, namely, a love-struck Alice. As Alice’s unrequited obsession with Lack grows, Phillip becomes so desperate to save his beloved from this empty rival that he risks a journey down the metaphysical rabbit hole.

Sounds perfect for Cronenberg! I for one couldn’t be more pumped if I bought one of those ungodly enlargers I see in my junk mail quotidian. You agree?

Keira Knightley stars in Cronenberg’s A DANGEROUS METHOD!

Source: Pajiba

About the Author

Jake Dee

Columnist / Reviewer

5,418 Articles Published

Favorite Movies: Horror: Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Silence of the Lambs, Jaws, Black read more Christmas (1974), Friday the 13th (1980), Return of the Living Dead, Halloween (1978), Last House on the Left (1973), way too many to list (in the horror genre alone, not to mention out of genre film) Non-Horror: Stand By Me, Lonely Are the Brave, Lost in Translation, Rushmore, Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man, Sling Blade, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Ghostbusters, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Harold and Maude, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, There Will Be Blood, Boogie Nights, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, and on and on and on and mothafu*kin on

Likes: Film, Books, Words, Writing, Rhyming, Football (49ers, Lions), Basketball, Wiffle ball, read more Womens Gymnastics, Movies, Music, Underground hip-hop, Reggae, 50s and 60s R&B, Cinema, Alcohol (vodka, rum, whiskey will do), Beer, John Madden football, Scrabble, Clue, Crossword Puzzles and Word Searches, Horror flicks, Saved by the Bell, Married With Children, Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Tales from the Crypt, Motion Pictures, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Ellen Burstyn, Scorsese, the Brothers Coen, Mexican Food, Italian Food, Cats, The Color Green, The Beach.

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