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5 Stories
Offered for the first time in a collected format, this selection of short stories features five gripping tales by one of the horror genre's most literate and endlessly inventive writers, Peter Straub - "Little Red's Tango," "Lapland, or Film Noir," "The Geezers," "Donald Duck," and "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle."
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2008
2 people are currently reading
258 people want to read
About the author
Peter Straub
259 books4,195 followersPeter Straub was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Gordon Anthony Straub and Elvena (Nilsestuen) Straub.
Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister. He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.
Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD, and to start writing professionally
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s ("Marriages" and "Under Venus"), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with "Julia" (1975). He then wrote "If You Could See Me Now" (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, "Ghost Story" (1979), which was a critical success and was later adapted into a 1981 film. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including "The Talisman" and "Black House", two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.
In addition to his many novels, he published several works of poetry during his lifetime.
In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.
Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn (New York City).
Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister. He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.
Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD, and to start writing professionally
After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s ("Marriages" and "Under Venus"), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with "Julia" (1975). He then wrote "If You Could See Me Now" (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, "Ghost Story" (1979), which was a critical success and was later adapted into a 1981 film. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including "The Talisman" and "Black House", two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.
In addition to his many novels, he published several works of poetry during his lifetime.
In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.
Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn (New York City).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 2, 2023
Some of Straub’s more experimental stories here. He just never ceases to prove why he was one of the absolute best in the business—his writing transcends genre. A truly fascinating and smart person that continues to show the endless possibilities in writing. A must read for Straub fans.
January 5, 2014
The books that I don't particularly like (or violently dislike, which is certainly not the case here) tends to fall into two categories... reprehensible to severely atrocious wastes of time and paper and those that just don't work for me but certainly could hold the attraction for other readers. This collection of five goes solidly into the latter category. I don't have much experience with Straub and this mini anthology would probably definitely appeal to his dedicated fans. The stories here are all of the experimental nature and, if had to be categorized, would probably be magic realism, genre I've enjoyed in the past, but this just didn't sing for me. The writing is good, but the plots range from odd to unfinished and are very episodic in structure. Not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for it or if I simply prefer my stories to follow a more traditional narrative arc. There were quite a few editing mistakes for a properly published work, though not enough to detract from the experience. This was interesting enough and, at a novella length of 123 pages, a very quick read.
October 15, 2022
Some brilliant character studies drive this slim collection, which had sat on my shelf for too long. I love Straub's short fiction as much as his novels and wish there were more of it.
May 28, 2012
Terrific and varied collection. The only one I wasn't that thrilled about was DONALD, DUCK. The rest of the stories were amazing and challenging, which I love. My favorites were LITTLE RED'S TANGO and MR. AICKMAN'S AIR RIFLE. To me, those stories represent what Straub does best. Floored by them.
June 23, 2017
Peter Straub definitely knows how to hook a reader and seduce that person with his writing. Straub's style is poetic and lyrical. He is a master at crafting a scene and pulling the imagery through to the reader. This remains true for his characters too which evolve into fully dimensional characters. With all the images being created, his stories generally take a little while to build up; when they do get that time, they are awesome. This book is a collection of five short stories and unfortunately, none of the stories really have the length that they need to become gripping.
"Little Red's Tango" is a great character visualization; the short pulls multiple scenes together to illustrate a guy named Little Red. However, there is no story; it could have continued and revealed more of the characters or stopped earlier to reveal less.
"Lapland, or Film Noir" and "The Geezers" both had more story but not enough to pull me along.
"Donald, Duck" was the most interesting of the five. It revealed the life of Donald Duck and the rest of the Duck clan as they are beseeched by a Black Widow. A Black Widow that Donald is too love-blind to see.
And the final story "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" fell into the same problem of not having enough story to actively engage me. The writing is gorgeous and very beautiful to picture but I was hoping for a bit more action to occur.
"Little Red's Tango" is a great character visualization; the short pulls multiple scenes together to illustrate a guy named Little Red. However, there is no story; it could have continued and revealed more of the characters or stopped earlier to reveal less.
"Lapland, or Film Noir" and "The Geezers" both had more story but not enough to pull me along.
"Donald, Duck" was the most interesting of the five. It revealed the life of Donald Duck and the rest of the Duck clan as they are beseeched by a Black Widow. A Black Widow that Donald is too love-blind to see.
And the final story "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" fell into the same problem of not having enough story to actively engage me. The writing is gorgeous and very beautiful to picture but I was hoping for a bit more action to occur.
January 2, 2020
I worship at the words of Peter Straub, but this collection did not speak to me. The writing was top notch as always, but the stories were off-center dramas that went on a bit too long.
December 28, 2014
What comes across when reading Peter Straub's fiction, and especially his short fiction, is his incredible wit and fierce intelligence, as well as his willingness to experiment with the tenets of both the short story and various genres. In his 2007 collection, 5 Stories, all of these qualities are in abundant display, whether he is examining the tropes of the "horror" story in "Little Red's Tango", the noir of "Lapland", the surreal Hollywood landscape of "Donald, Duck!", the mystery of "The Geezers" or the stylistic trappings of Robert Aickman's "strange fictions" in "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" (which has much in common, tonally, with another of Straub's short classic, "Mrs. God"). While it may at times be difficult to puzzle out exactly what Straub's characters are doing, his bracing and daring constructions always leave the reader satisfied and enriched, and his sly humor can evoke belly laughs from even the most dire of circumstances. This is another fine addition to the masterful short work of Mr. Straub, and one waits with anticipation for his next collection of tales of the weird, unfathomably dark and delightfully diabolical.
November 30, 2015
Five great stories by Straub. A jazz guru, a noir nightmare, cartoon family skullduggery, a mysterious murder and a weird clinic - brilliantly written, witty, intelligent, strange and haunting. Straub's stories are often like puzzles, some of which reveal themselves by the end, others of which leave you wondering for days, and some of which are just downright ineffable.
May 19, 2019
There are very few Straub stories that I have not enjoyed. Here is no different. These tales are strong, perhaps not as strong as his early works, but strong non the less.
Look for 'Poe's Children' in October 2008 and 'The Skylark' in Spring, 2009.
Look for 'Poe's Children' in October 2008 and 'The Skylark' in Spring, 2009.
February 4, 2009
As the title says, 5 stories. Each are very different but they all seemed dull to me. Nothing very memorable. The one about Donald Duck was amusing at least. I didnt hate them, they just don't seem memorable to me.
April 11, 2009
Two real favourites here: 'Little Red's Tango' and 'Mr Aickman's Air-rifle'. Clever stuff.
October 26, 2012
Finished the first story "little red" ... not my cup of tea ... enough for me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews