Black Diamond

by Rachel Ingalls

This collection of stories is from the author of "Theft", "The Man Who Was Left Behind", "Mrs Caliban", "Three of a Kind", "The Pearkillers" and "The End of Tragedy".

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 1992

About the author

Rachel Ingalls grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She held various jobs, from theatre dresser and librarian to publisher’s reader. She was a confirmed radio and film addict and started living in London in 1965. She authored several works of fiction—most notably Mrs. Caliban—published in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Damian Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could very well be a three-star book, but for a certain subtlety in the stories and certain elements of the narration that lift the whole thing up a level. The rhythms of the prose help as well—Ingalls knows how to put a paragraph together and how to make the text flow nicely. The book continually threatens be common and uninteresting, but manages, again and again, to veer into something more exalted and mysterious. I can almost see the author carefully ensuring that this is the case, providing a gentle bait and switch, softly nudging things in previously-concealed directions, always leading the reader into uncertain territory at the last minute.

"Somewhere Else" and "Be My Guest" could almost have been written by Gene Wolfe. The narratives appear to be constructed like ornate puzzles on more than one level. I get the impression, with all of these stories, that there was a continual interplay in their creation between the rational mind and the intuition, conscious and unconscious, giving rise to a multi-layered depth that, though applied lightly, makes them more than just a sequence of events.

The stories/novellas are as follows:
Last Act: The Madhouse
The Archaeologist's Daughter
Somewhere Else
Bus and Sis
Be My Guest

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the disappointment of the previous book, Theft, I thought I'd return to a collection of stories/novellas.
All of them were good, I think my least favorite was The Archaeologist's Daughter (but it was still good). The other four were pretty close, but I think my favorite was Last Act: The Madhouse, then Sis and Bud for the really interesting/unique/well-written characters (content warning for incest), then Somewhere Else. Be My Guest was also good, but I wish more answers were given, and that it was wrapped up a bit more.

[Robert Frecer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weightless and heavy at the same time. Seen from one angle, they're just strange stories about improbable people, but they're also so effortless and hit on such sensitive nerves that it's impossible to shake them off. I can't honestly give this any less than 4* because I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading, and I had some crazy dreams, too.

Ingalls writes stories where everything seems to have deep meaning, makes you wonder what it would be to see your life that way. What the characters don't know is almost as determining as what they do know, and the dialogues are absolutely top-notch.

[Peter Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately entertaining and insidiously disturbing.

[Eggp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love in all flavors
earnest, familial, reckless
bordering on hate.