Legs Eleven

'Eleven' by Patricia Highsmith

2021 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of my favourite authors, Patricia Highsmith.  Best known for 'Strangers on a Train' and the five Tom Ripley books, her work has often been introduced to new generations through film adaptations.  I discovered her via the 1999 Antony Minghella film 'The Talented Mister Ripley', and was hooked from that moment on - an atypical instance of a film doing justice to a novel.  While too many of her works are currently out of print, I did manage to get hold of an ebook version of her short story collection 'Eleven'.  But was is worth the effort?

A Walk in the Dark

'Help the Witch' by Tom Cox (Unbound, 2018)

As some of you may remember, I really enjoyed Tom Cox's '21st Century Yokel' about this time last year.  His next adventure was in short fiction, so, as a short story fan, I couldn't wait to try his folk horror collection 'Help the Witch'.

'Help the Witch' is a collection of ten tense tales which put the nature back into the supernatural.  A village's dark past haunts a new resident in the story 'Help the Witch', while a covertly sinister waterway permeates 'The Pool'.  Spirits walk in unlikely places in 'Speed Awareness' and 'Just Good Friends' and morality tales are modernised and subverted for comic effect in 'Folk Tales for the Twenty-Third Century'.  This is a collection that draws readers' attentions to the murky shadows that are inevitably cast even on bright, sunny days in the countryside.  You can't have one without the other, after all.  You may not notice them as you picnic and play, but they're always there.  And they may be out to get you...

Finely Tuned

'The Sing of the Shore' by Lucy Wood

It's been a good year for new publications and I've reeled a number of great sounding newbies onto my 'Would Like to Read' list recently.  One that caught my eye was the 'The Sing of the Shore', a collection of Cornwall-set short stories by Lucy Wood.  As you probably know by now, I love a good short story, and, thanks to my local library, I got a chance to try these.

Wood's book of 13 connected tales explores themes of curiosity, fear and isolation in a rural Cornwall dominated by the whims of holidaymakers and the forces of nature.  Characters' lives play out to the unceasing soundtrack of the waves crashing against the county's famously rugged and beautiful coastline.  For some, the sea offers escape from the monotony of family life.  For others, its a source of obsession.  Nosey children explore empty holiday homes, while adults find they won't - or can't - leave, even when the opportunity presents itself.  Friends let each other down, while enemies do the unthinkable.  Whether born-and-bred or retirees, all are held by the siren call of the sea as it ceaselessly gnaws at the shore and the psyche alike...

You Have Been Warned!

I had a lovely surprise recently.  I discovered that I owned a book of Neil Gaiman short stories that I hadn't read!  After that, it didn't take me long to get stuck into 'Trigger Warning'.

'Trigger Warning'
by Neil Gaiman
(Headline, 2015)

'Trigger Warning' is Neil Gaiman's 2015 compilation of short stories and 'disturbances', encompassing tricky tales, tributes and poetry, plus a welcome addition to the 'American Gods' canon called 'Black Dog'.  A fictional girlfriend is realised in 'The Thing About Cassandra', while Sherlock Holmes returns in 'The Case of Death and Honey'.  Revenge is cold in 'The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' and the seaside sinister in 'My Last Landlady'.  A quiet, middle-class existence is threatened in 'Adventure Story', while a fairy tale kingdom is at risk in 'The Sleeper and the Spindle'.  Recent losses are felt with 'The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury' and 'The Return of the Thin White Duke'.  Meanwhile, the blood is chilled by a hungry spirit in 'Click-Clack the Rattlebag' and a hidden threat in 'Feminine Endings'.

This book is classic Gaiman, taking the reader by the hand and leading them through a twilight world of horror, fantasy and myth.  Much like the great Ray Bradbury, Gaiman's work is driven by his characters and their passions, meaning that there's something here even for people who don't normally read these genres.  It also means that there's variation in 'Trigger Warning'; I laughed, I cried, I found it hard to sleep at night...

Even so, the title of this book bothered me.  Somehow, 'trigger warning', the notice that is commonly used to alert readers / viewers to something that they may find upsetting, didn't really fit.  Perhaps in a world where the news seems like a 24 hour sci-fi / horror channel, the spooky has stopped seeming quite so threatening.  Or maybe it's because, unlike the truly horrifying, these are only fictional stories.

I loved this book, as I've loved many of Gaiman's other short story collections, not just for the fiction, but also for the delightful introductions in which the author gives each piece context and hints at the joy he seems to feel as a professional maker-upper-and-writing-downer.  I love the image of him dashing to his nearest and dearest each time he's finished something to share what he's created.

I would encourage the curious to at least give Neil Gaiman a go.  There have been some fantastic adaptations of his work recently on radio and TV, including a haunting reading of 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' by Bill Paterson, which I thoroughly recommend.

Now, I think I've gushed enough.  Perhaps I should've put a trigger warning on this post in case you might find the enthusiasm nauseating!

Now, what next...

Related Sites

Review of 'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman.

BBC production of 'The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains...' performed by Bill Paterson.

Neil Gaiman reading 'The Man Who Forgot Ray Bradbury'

The Many Ripples of Terry Pratchett

I'm scared of Terry Pratchett's books.  So many people I know have recommended his work to me over the years - people I respect and like - that I've found it impossible to pick up one of his Discworld novels without feeling a weight of expectation upon it.  Consequently, it feels too heavy, I drop it and then scamper off to find something less intimidating.  In the end, I decided to ease myself in with 'A Slip of the Keyboard', a collection of his non-fiction.

'A Slip of the Keyboard'
by Terry Pratchett
(Corgi Books, 2015)

'A Slip of the Keyboard' by Terry Pratchett is a collection of articles, introductions and speeches reflecting various aspects of Pratchett's life and career.  We hear from the writer, the technology lover, the science fiction fan, the schoolboy, the worldwide phenomenon, the industry PR, the Posterior Cortical Atrophy sufferer and the assisted dying campaigner.  Some pieces are short, some are long, but all provide insight into an author as pragmatic as his worlds seem fanciful.

I found this both a very satisfying and heartbreaking read.  It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me think, which is pretty much all you can ask for from any book really.  Pratchett had his favourite anecdotes and phrases, which does make the book a bit repetitive at times, but, for me, this didn't take away from the overall effect of the writing.  The only thing I would've liked added was a press release from his days with the Central Electricity Generating Board, but that's more from my nerdy curiosity as a former Press Officer than a feeling that it would complete the book.

As 'A Slip of the Keyboard' progresses, it feels like layers of the writer's character are being peeled back, until by the end of the book, (which brings us up to the last few year's of Pratchett's life when he finds himself an unexpected figurehead for Alzheimer's disease and the assisted dying campaign) we see his outrage and raw determination to change a system he sees as archaic, wrong and cruel.  I'm sure that many people feel he died far too soon and it's a shame that this cause lost such a powerful and eloquent spokesperson, leaving the debate with no one else able to bring the issue of assisted death to the fore with such force and knowledge.

Although I can't comment for fans of Discworld, I do feel this is a book for writers and people interested in people.  It lifts the veil a bit on this particular writer's life in a way that doesn't seem to happen very often, talking more about the practicalities of book signings and conventions rather than going over the old cliches of technique and style.

So, am I still frightened of Terry Pratchett's books?  Certainly not as much as I was before.  What I really feel now is bereft that I didn't take the plunge before Pratchett's death.  And if I feel like that, I dread to think what Pratchett's long term fans must have felt like when he passed away.  On the other hand, I have literally a lifetime of books to look forward to.  So there is hope yet.

Postscript

Around the time I finished 'A Slip of the Keyboard', the BBC broadcast 'Back in Black', a charmingly idiosyncratic documentary about the life and death of Terry Pratchett, which worked really well as a companion piece to this book.  I'm so glad I watched it but I'm also glad I waited until I'd finished the book to do so.  It's hilarious and heartrending and I thoroughly recommend it.  At time of writing, it's also still available on the BBCiPlayer.  You lucky people!

'Back to Black' Terry Pratchett Documentary

Post-Postscript

By a weird twist of fate, I've just discovered that I'm writing this on the second anniversary of Terry Pratchett's death.  I'm not sure what it means, or even if it means anything.  Just another ripple I suppose...

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Hello folks!  After the Christmas break, New Year, a stomach bug and a stinking cold, here I am, back at the blog after what feels like far too long.  I have three books to talk about, so let's get cracking!

The first book I finished was a collection of short stories by one of my favourite authors; 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' by Daphne Du Maurier.

'The Rendezvous and
Other Stories' by
Daphne Du Maurier
(Virago Press, 2006)

'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' includes fourteen tales of deep secrets, dark passions and dubious motives, exploring the flawed characters and gothic themes for which Du Maurier is most famous.  A bored husband plans his escape; a faithful wife see what she wants to see; an arrogant author believes his own hype; a theatre actress plays politics to preserve her career; a happily married woman kills herself for no apparent reason.  Du Maurier has cast her sharp eye over those around her and used their shades of grey to bring her characters to life.

I really enjoyed 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' and feel it's the best collection of Du Maurier's work that I've read so far.  It begins with the most heart-wrenching story, 'No Motive', the tale of a happily married and pregnant woman who, for no obvious reason, shoots herself one morning.  This story goes for the jugular and will stay with me for a long time.

This collection includes a range of stories from throughout Du Maurier's writing career, so, while they're all excellent, some feel less confident and comfortable with the dark side of human nature and these are often the ones I liked the least.  For example, 'The Fairytale', the story of a gambler's wife and how he makes amends, showed an optimism that felt at odds with the hard-nosed pessimism of many of its companions.  This mix does give the book added appeal, however, as it should make it of interest to writers interested in exploring how Du Maurier's own style developed.

Overall, I was engrossed by 'The Rendezvous and Other Stories' and would thoroughly recommend it to fans of short fiction and the gothic genre.  I don't need to recommend it to Du Maurier fans as they've probably already read and enjoyed it!  I hope you do too.

The Princess Tried

As you may have gathered by now, it's really unusual for me to finish a book in less than a day.  One work that has managed to fall into this elite category, though, is 'Little Tales of Misogyny' by Patricia Highsmith, author of 'Carol' (AKA 'The Price of Salt') and 'The Talented Mr Ripley'.

Published in the early 1970s, 'Little Tales of Misogyny' is a collection of (very) short stories, each exploring a particular female stereotype prevalent at the time.  We meet manipulative coquettes, perpetual mothers, unfaithful wives, disposable sex objects and innocent-looking psychopaths.  They can be passive, compliant or silent, principled, vocal or bossy.  With calm cruelty and dark humour, Highsmith takes the tracks onto which females can be tied, then follows them to apparently inevitable endings.

This book is a very interesting exploration of the female identities that women might choose, or feel expected, to fulfil.  It's the sort of book that would have fascinated me as a teenager, negotiating what sort of woman I wanted to be in a world of conflicting instincts, expectations and media messages.

'Little Tales of Misogyny' is essentially a collection of adult fairy tales, controversial because of the way they reduce their subjects to black-and-white stereotypes fixated on an acceptable female role and invoke murder and rape in cold, matter-of-fact ways, as though they are the inevitable results of being a certain type of girl/woman.  There are times when I was wondering whether the author actually hated women and this was her way of ridiculing and punishing them and their follies.  In the end, however, I finished the book feeling that it was more a frustrated cry to draw attention to the ridiculous way women can behave and be treated by men, each other and themselves.  

As with traditional fairy tales, I'd like to think that they represent something historic and long gone, that many of these stereotypes no longer exist in the 21st century, made irrelevant by increased opportunities and better education for women.  But it is often easier to slip into the role that's expected of you rather than push for something else and not every girl is fortunate to grow up in an affluent country which recognises the importance of equality and fulfillment for all its citizens.

Overall, I think 'Little Tales of Misogyny' is an interesting read for anyone interested in feminism and women's roles and aspirations.  While it isn't the usual taut suspense thriller that Highsmith is famous for, it does feature her sharp character portraits and dark edge.  An interesting and thought provoking read indeed.

Pound for Pound

Unfortunately, it's been quite a disappointing month for me, reading-wise.  Don't get me wrong, it's been fabulous in terms of buying books, with new novels from Bernard Cornwell and Rachel Joyce coming out, plus Books are My Bag, but that sort of thing is not going to lead to a happily every after for my strained bookshelves.  So, to try to get back on track, I decided to read something short.  It turns out that, at just 88 pages, you can't get much shorter than 'The Tiny Wife' by Andrew Kaufman.

'The Tiny Wife' by
Andrew Kaufman
(The Friday Project, 2013)

'The Tiny Wife' is the story of a very unusual robbery and its consequences.  An unconventional thief with a gun enters a bank one Wednesday afternoon, but he doesn't want money.  Instead, he steals one item of sentimental value from each person in the building before making his escape.  This seems odd enough, but soon strange things start happening to the victims...

Andrew Kaufman's work is certainly an acquired taste.  It's magical, surreal, off-the-wall, creative, fantastical, hypnotic, peculiar and, on the face of it, rather random.  But this writer knows exactly what he's doing.  Even a story as short as this makes you think and look at things a little bit sideways for a while.  The best comparison I can think of is a fairy tale, in which tricks teach lessons and the normal rules simply don't apply.

If you like the sound of this sort of tale of the unexpected, then I would recommend this book and other work by Andrew Kaufman.  I do have one caveat, however.  This isn't really a book.  It's a short story.  In fact, it's not even really a short story.  It's a 88 pages of short story, with illustrations, and 24 pages of 'Born Weird', written by the same author, so it's more like a promo for another book.  I didn't realise this when I picked it up, so would've felt a cheated if I'd paid the full price for it.  No short story is worth £6.99.  A few pounds, definitely, but not the same as a full length novel.  Also, I don't like paying to be advertised to.  Fortunately (or unfortunately for the publishers) and perhaps proving theories suggested in my post about 'All My Friends are Superheroes' right, I found this book for £1 in a discount shop.  While that was too far to the other extreme, it's hard not to wonder whether it wouldn't have ended up there if priced more reasonably in the first place.

All I can say is this; Mr Kaufman, please stop teasing us and publish a book of short stories.  I'd be more than happy to pay full price for that.

Related Posts

'All My Friends Are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman
'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman

Everyday Heroes

Decided I'd been such a good little reader last month that I could treat myself with a trip to the bookshop.  Couldn't decide what I fancied, so asked the Twittersphere and it certainly came up trumps!

'All My Friends of Superheroes'
by Andrew Kaufman
(Telegram, 2006)

I've just finished 'All My Friends are Superheroes' by Andrew Kaufman. This short novella (just over 100 pages in my edition) is the story of Tom and his superhero wife the Perfectionist.  At their wedding reception, a jealous ex hypnotised the Perfectionist and he's been invisible to her ever since.  It's now several months later and, thinking she's lost him forever, the Perfectionist has decided to move to a different city.  But Tom is still nearby, his heart disintegrating, desperately trying to work out how to break the spell cast over his bride.   As they board  the plane to Vancouver, he realises this is his last chance to make her see him again.  But can he do it before they land and her new life begins?


'All My Friends are Superheroes' isn't everyone's cup of tea.  It thrives on metaphor and allegory, creating an almost reality in the style of Neil Gaiman.  These are not the caped and spandex-swathed superheroes of comic books or movies, these are people whose key character traits define them and, even when negative, give them strength and make them special.  It was interesting to see the way the author had taken mundane and everyday characteristics and turned them on their heads.

Overall, this is a book about identity and relationships.  Charming and interesting though the story is, however, I can understand why some readers would feel a bit peeved by a book this short costing as much as a 300-400 page paperback.  I usually try to think in terms of how much I'd pay for other things, like magazines, but perhaps the novella and short story market would be given a boost if books like this were priced differently.  Otherwise there's a risk they will always miss out because people will only buy them at a discount, by which time it's too late for them to be a bestseller.

I've already decided this is going to be a Christmas present for a few people this year, however, and want to read more by this author.  But if they're all this short, whether I will buy more books or borrow them from the library, only my bank balance can tell.