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McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
Michael Chabon is back with a brand-new collection that reinvigorates the stay-up-all-night, edge-of-the seat, fingernail-biting, page-turning tradition of literary short stories, featuring Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Peter Straub, David Mitchell, Jonathan Lethem, Heidi Julavits, Roddy Doyle, and more!
Margaret Atwood- Lusus Naturae
David Mitchell- What You Do Not Know You Want
Jonathan Lethem- Vivian Relf
Ayelet Waldman - Minnow
Steve Erickson- Zeroville
Stephen King- Lisey and the Madman
Jason Roberts - 7C
Heidi Julavits- The Miniaturist
Roddy Doyle - The Child
Daniel Handler - Delmonico
Charles D’Ambrosio - The Scheme of Things
Poppy Z. Brite - The Devil of Delery Street
China Mieville- Reports of Certain Events in London
Joyce Carol Oates - The Fabled Light-house at Vi–a del Mar
Peter Straub - Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle
Margaret Atwood- Lusus Naturae
David Mitchell- What You Do Not Know You Want
Jonathan Lethem- Vivian Relf
Ayelet Waldman - Minnow
Steve Erickson- Zeroville
Stephen King- Lisey and the Madman
Jason Roberts - 7C
Heidi Julavits- The Miniaturist
Roddy Doyle - The Child
Daniel Handler - Delmonico
Charles D’Ambrosio - The Scheme of Things
Poppy Z. Brite - The Devil of Delery Street
China Mieville- Reports of Certain Events in London
Joyce Carol Oates - The Fabled Light-house at Vi–a del Mar
Peter Straub - Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle
328 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2004
65 people are currently reading
924 people want to read
About the author
Michael Chabon
143 books8,874 followersMichael Chabon is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating in 1984. He subsequently received a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine.
Chabon's first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), was published when he was 24. He followed it with Wonder Boys (1995) and two short-story collections. In 2000, he published The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a novel that John Leonard would later call Chabon's magnum opus. It received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.
His novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union, an alternate history mystery novel, was published in 2007 and won the Hugo, Sidewise, Nebula and Ignotus awards; his serialized novel Gentlemen of the Road appeared in book form in the fall of the same year. In 2012, Chabon published Telegraph Avenue, billed as "a twenty-first century Middlemarch", concerning the tangled lives of two families in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004. He followed Telegraph Avenue in November 2016 with his latest novel, Moonglow, a fictionalized memoir of his maternal grandfather, based on his deathbed confessions under the influence of powerful painkillers in Chabon's mother's California home in 1989.
Chabon's work is characterized by complex language, and the frequent use of metaphor along with recurring themes such as nostalgia, divorce, abandonment, fatherhood, and most notably issues of Jewish identity. He often includes gay, bisexual, and Jewish characters in his work. Since the late 1990s, he has written in increasingly diverse styles for varied outlets; he is a notable defender of the merits of genre fiction and plot-driven fiction, and, along with novels, has published screenplays, children's books, comics, and newspaper serials.
Chabon's first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), was published when he was 24. He followed it with Wonder Boys (1995) and two short-story collections. In 2000, he published The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a novel that John Leonard would later call Chabon's magnum opus. It received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.
His novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union, an alternate history mystery novel, was published in 2007 and won the Hugo, Sidewise, Nebula and Ignotus awards; his serialized novel Gentlemen of the Road appeared in book form in the fall of the same year. In 2012, Chabon published Telegraph Avenue, billed as "a twenty-first century Middlemarch", concerning the tangled lives of two families in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2004. He followed Telegraph Avenue in November 2016 with his latest novel, Moonglow, a fictionalized memoir of his maternal grandfather, based on his deathbed confessions under the influence of powerful painkillers in Chabon's mother's California home in 1989.
Chabon's work is characterized by complex language, and the frequent use of metaphor along with recurring themes such as nostalgia, divorce, abandonment, fatherhood, and most notably issues of Jewish identity. He often includes gay, bisexual, and Jewish characters in his work. Since the late 1990s, he has written in increasingly diverse styles for varied outlets; he is a notable defender of the merits of genre fiction and plot-driven fiction, and, along with novels, has published screenplays, children's books, comics, and newspaper serials.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 119 reviews
February 23, 2024
3,5 stelute 😊
Teme diverse, stiluri diferite, o colectie destul de buna de povestiri 😊
,,- Daca te uiti la fata ta din diverse unghiuri, imi explica fata, iti reamintesti ca noi nu suntem un Eu, ci un Ceva care salasluieste intr-un Eu."
,,[...] Tristetea e fertila si tepoasa, si prinde radacini in orice sol." - David Mitchell
Teme diverse, stiluri diferite, o colectie destul de buna de povestiri 😊
,,- Daca te uiti la fata ta din diverse unghiuri, imi explica fata, iti reamintesti ca noi nu suntem un Eu, ci un Ceva care salasluieste intr-un Eu."
,,[...] Tristetea e fertila si tepoasa, si prinde radacini in orice sol." - David Mitchell
August 2, 2020
I always have a hard time reviewing short story collections.
Do I rate it based on how many stories I enjoyed?
Do I rate it based on the stories I truly disliked?
Do I split the difference and just give it 3 stars?
I think we all know what I did.
I truly love short stories. I've written short stories since junior high and I just really believe in the art and merit of short stories.
McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories is filled with stories that are all over the place. Some are scary and some are just slice of life tales. Shift in tones is jarring and I think reading a truly scary story that I loved (The Child) followed by a random story (Delmonico) that while well written, was a completely different tone. May have lessened my enjoyment of that story.
I loved 5 stories in this collection:
Minnow by Ayelet Waldman, I've never even heard of this author but I loved her writing. Minnow is about a woman dealing with the aftermath of a miscarriage ( btw I hate that word) who begins hearing the cries of a baby that no one else can hear. 5 Stars A+
7c by Jason Roberts is about an astronomer who maybe losing his mind. Short and (not so)Sweet!
The Miniaturist by Heidi Julavits is a top shelf campfire tale about a woman on her way to a bachelorette weekend when her car breaks down. She and her sister decide to stay at the house of a "kindly" old lady. This story should be a full novel its that great.
The Child by Roddy Doyle another new to me author. This story is about a man who keeps seeing the same little boy everywhere he goes but no one else does. CREEPY AS SHIT! I loved it!
The Devil of Delery Street by Poppy Z Brite another new to me author. This story is hard describe without giving away anything so I won't. Just read it!
I'll probably reread this collection but I won't read it in order so maybe my problems with the jarring tone will give me a different opinion of some of these stories.
If you love short stories then I think you'll get some enjoyment out of this collection.
Do I rate it based on how many stories I enjoyed?
Do I rate it based on the stories I truly disliked?
Do I split the difference and just give it 3 stars?
I think we all know what I did.
I truly love short stories. I've written short stories since junior high and I just really believe in the art and merit of short stories.
McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories is filled with stories that are all over the place. Some are scary and some are just slice of life tales. Shift in tones is jarring and I think reading a truly scary story that I loved (The Child) followed by a random story (Delmonico) that while well written, was a completely different tone. May have lessened my enjoyment of that story.
I loved 5 stories in this collection:
Minnow by Ayelet Waldman, I've never even heard of this author but I loved her writing. Minnow is about a woman dealing with the aftermath of a miscarriage ( btw I hate that word) who begins hearing the cries of a baby that no one else can hear. 5 Stars A+
7c by Jason Roberts is about an astronomer who maybe losing his mind. Short and (not so)Sweet!
The Miniaturist by Heidi Julavits is a top shelf campfire tale about a woman on her way to a bachelorette weekend when her car breaks down. She and her sister decide to stay at the house of a "kindly" old lady. This story should be a full novel its that great.
The Child by Roddy Doyle another new to me author. This story is about a man who keeps seeing the same little boy everywhere he goes but no one else does. CREEPY AS SHIT! I loved it!
The Devil of Delery Street by Poppy Z Brite another new to me author. This story is hard describe without giving away anything so I won't. Just read it!
I'll probably reread this collection but I won't read it in order so maybe my problems with the jarring tone will give me a different opinion of some of these stories.
If you love short stories then I think you'll get some enjoyment out of this collection.
April 16, 2023
This was an interesting mixed bag of an anthology with a few more misses than hits for me. It was an attempt to re-create pulp style genre storytelling but had a somewhat decided self-conscious literary air. It's a very impressive roster of contributors, including Margaret Atwood, Jonathan Lethem, Steve Erickson, Stephen King, Poppy Z. Brite, China Mieville, Joyce Carol Oates, etc., but I didn't find many of the stories especially memorable. My favorite was probably Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle by Peter Straub.
February 8, 2018
Its lurid cover does not lie: McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories is an intentional and (a McSweeney's trademark) ironically self-aware reconstruction of a particular kind of story—the pulp fiction of the early 20th Century, purple prose written in haste for pennies per word and printed for immediate consumption, without much thought for posterity. Despite its being fourteen years old as I write, this anthology still feels fresh, even timeless, because of that particular focus. And yet... the only phrase that gets repeated on this book's cover is also true; these are "All-New" stories (or at least they were at the time), written by an incredible powerhouse stable of authors, many of whom are even more well-known now then they were in 2004.
Editor Michael Chabon's Introduction talks a fair amount about "genre"—to the point that I'm tempted to define a genre author as one who gets defensive about being called a "genre author." While that wouldn't be fair to the writers included here, it is true that all of the stories in McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories—even the ones by more lit'ry authors—venture outside the strict and pallid confines of mimetic fiction. Every one contains somewhere, somehow, at least a hint of the speculative, the supernatural, the eerie and outré.
The book starts with Margaret Atwood (who has occasionally been, shall we say, defensive about genre herself). "Lusus Naturae" is, from its title onward, a tone-setting work, reminiscent of one of Richard Matheson's punchy short stories from the 1950s. I don't want to quote its last lines directly, but Atwood's final paragraph left me simultaneously with a grin and a chill down my spine.
Mirrors figure prominently in Atwood's tale, and that theme continues in David Mitchell's "What You Do Not Know You Want," a slow fuse of a story burning to its quick bang of an ending. I will quote an early line from this one:
I'd read Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf" before, in Men and Cartoons. What I said then was that this story "explores the difference between what matters and what we think matters—and how even the same encounters may not have identical impacts for everyone involved."
Ayelet Waldman's "Minnow," a story of motherhood and loss, was hard for me to read without flinching. I am reminded of the chilling, indelible rendition of O. B. Rozell's Of Winners, Losers, and Games that I saw performed by Donna M. and Kevin B. 'way back in high school, long before I ever thought of being a parent myself.
"Zeroville," by Steve Erickson, was an interesting distillation from the eponymous novel, which I thought was amazing. This take, though, seemed kind of choppy; in this case I think the longer version was better.
The Stephen King story is—well, it's what King does best, isn't it? He did later turn "Lisey and the Madman" into part of a novel, as the notes at the end of this book (p.324) suggest.
"7C," by Jason Roberts, was exemplary science-fictional horror, that stood out for me the way it must have done for the judges of the venerable August Van Zorn Prize committee.
You know how Heidi Julavits' "The Miniaturist" will end, almost from its beginning—in that, it's like Stephen King's Pet Sematary, which I could only ever read once due to that same terrifying inevitability. Or perhaps a better fit would be a different King's novel, Small World. But Julavit's story is no less scary for all of that...
"The Child," by Roddy Doyle, revolves around the horror of being hounded for something you can't even remember having done.
"Delmonico" is a good evocation of noir fiction, with a world-weary narrator, set in a bar, whose bartender is... uniquely qualified. Daniel Handler (yes, that Snicket guy) writes for grown-ups this time.
Charles D'Ambrosio's "The Shape of Things" was, perhaps, my favorite among all these stories—and D'Ambrosio's a local (Portland) author, too, although I hadn't heard of him outside these pages. Amid the endless fields of Ioway (sic) corn, a fugitive couple find something like what they've been looking for...
"The Devil of Delery Street" by Poppy Z. Brite was a sweet breath of fresh air, not nearly as dark as I'd expected.
I'd encountered China Miéville's "Reports of Certain Events in London" previously as well, in Looking for Jake. This tale of what the kids these days call "urbex" (well, of a sort) turns out to be the kind of thing you want to be true, even if you'll never be able to tell whether it is.
Joyce Carol Oates fits right in here, with "The Fabled Lighthouse at Viña del Mar," based on a fragment by Edgar Allan Poe.
And, finally, Peter Straub's "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle," though slow and excessively mannered to start with, manages to bring McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories to a satisfying conclusion.
The stark, black-and-white interstitial illustrations by Mike Mignola also deserve at least a mention.
On a somewhat-related note... I feel a little funny about giving a plug (unsolicited, I assure you) for a place I haven't yet been, but I found out about Portland, Oregon's Peculiarium at the same time as I acquired this book, at Wordstock 2017, and it seems to offer much the same aesthetic—nostalgic, pulpy and offbeat—so the two have wormed their way into my mind together and are now inextricably linked. The same may happen to you... beware... beware... BEWARE!
Editor Michael Chabon's Introduction talks a fair amount about "genre"—to the point that I'm tempted to define a genre author as one who gets defensive about being called a "genre author." While that wouldn't be fair to the writers included here, it is true that all of the stories in McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories—even the ones by more lit'ry authors—venture outside the strict and pallid confines of mimetic fiction. Every one contains somewhere, somehow, at least a hint of the speculative, the supernatural, the eerie and outré.
The book starts with Margaret Atwood (who has occasionally been, shall we say, defensive about genre herself). "Lusus Naturae" is, from its title onward, a tone-setting work, reminiscent of one of Richard Matheson's punchy short stories from the 1950s. I don't want to quote its last lines directly, but Atwood's final paragraph left me simultaneously with a grin and a chill down my spine.
Mirrors figure prominently in Atwood's tale, and that theme continues in David Mitchell's "What You Do Not Know You Want," a slow fuse of a story burning to its quick bang of an ending. I will quote an early line from this one:
Mirrors are my friends no longer.
—p.12
I'd read Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf" before, in Men and Cartoons. What I said then was that this story "explores the difference between what matters and what we think matters—and how even the same encounters may not have identical impacts for everyone involved."
Ayelet Waldman's "Minnow," a story of motherhood and loss, was hard for me to read without flinching. I am reminded of the chilling, indelible rendition of O. B. Rozell's Of Winners, Losers, and Games that I saw performed by Donna M. and Kevin B. 'way back in high school, long before I ever thought of being a parent myself.
"Zeroville," by Steve Erickson, was an interesting distillation from the eponymous novel, which I thought was amazing. This take, though, seemed kind of choppy; in this case I think the longer version was better.
The Stephen King story is—well, it's what King does best, isn't it? He did later turn "Lisey and the Madman" into part of a novel, as the notes at the end of this book (p.324) suggest.
"7C," by Jason Roberts, was exemplary science-fictional horror, that stood out for me the way it must have done for the judges of the venerable August Van Zorn Prize committee.
You know how Heidi Julavits' "The Miniaturist" will end, almost from its beginning—in that, it's like Stephen King's Pet Sematary, which I could only ever read once due to that same terrifying inevitability. Or perhaps a better fit would be a different King's novel, Small World. But Julavit's story is no less scary for all of that...
"The Child," by Roddy Doyle, revolves around the horror of being hounded for something you can't even remember having done.
"Delmonico" is a good evocation of noir fiction, with a world-weary narrator, set in a bar, whose bartender is... uniquely qualified. Daniel Handler (yes, that Snicket guy) writes for grown-ups this time.
Charles D'Ambrosio's "The Shape of Things" was, perhaps, my favorite among all these stories—and D'Ambrosio's a local (Portland) author, too, although I hadn't heard of him outside these pages. Amid the endless fields of Ioway (sic) corn, a fugitive couple find something like what they've been looking for...
Where are you going, my little one, little one?
Where are you going, my baby, my own?
Turn around and you're two, turn around and you're four.
Turn around and you're a young girl going out of the door.
—p.219
"The Devil of Delery Street" by Poppy Z. Brite was a sweet breath of fresh air, not nearly as dark as I'd expected.
I'd encountered China Miéville's "Reports of Certain Events in London" previously as well, in Looking for Jake. This tale of what the kids these days call "urbex" (well, of a sort) turns out to be the kind of thing you want to be true, even if you'll never be able to tell whether it is.
Joyce Carol Oates fits right in here, with "The Fabled Lighthouse at Viña del Mar," based on a fragment by Edgar Allan Poe.
And, finally, Peter Straub's "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle," though slow and excessively mannered to start with, manages to bring McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories to a satisfying conclusion.
The stark, black-and-white interstitial illustrations by Mike Mignola also deserve at least a mention.
On a somewhat-related note... I feel a little funny about giving a plug (unsolicited, I assure you) for a place I haven't yet been, but I found out about Portland, Oregon's Peculiarium at the same time as I acquired this book, at Wordstock 2017, and it seems to offer much the same aesthetic—nostalgic, pulpy and offbeat—so the two have wormed their way into my mind together and are now inextricably linked. The same may happen to you... beware... beware... BEWARE!
September 20, 2013
A thoroughly enjoyable book to read late at night in the bathtub…or while walking to one’s car in a dark and deserted parking garage! This collection of short stories reminded me of the guilty pleasure of reading horror stories: it…could…happen… (couldn’t it?). Although I didn’t care for some of the stories, a few stand out, like “Lisey and the Madman” by Stephen King, about a disastrous day in the life of the wife of a famous novelist, “The Scheme of Things” by Charles d’Ambrosio, about a small-time drifter who sees things, and “Minnow” by Ayelet Waldman about a ghost baby, a great story. There was a paragraph I fully identified with in “The Miniaturist” by Heidi Julavits, a classic “they’re gonna get ya!” story: “. . . It was this attitude-cavalier, pissed off, vaguely self-destructive- that made her a bit uncareful. Normally, she was skepticism personified-her skepticism intensified by a wild imagination that could seek out the dark possibilities in even the most banal situation. . . “
June 6, 2012
I picked up this book because I'm interested in short stories that suck you in the way old pulp fiction did, back when short fiction was something almost any respectable magazine published alongside its usual articles and departments. Whether or not I actually like them, I have to admit, all the stories in this collection so far have done that for me. Which cannot be said for every one (or even most) of the collections of literary short stories I've read in school. What I take from that: basically, be not afraid of genre. There's a good reason that noir, horror, and fantasy are popular. They're fun.
August 3, 2021
These are all great tales of the strange/odd/mysterious, but I think the best thing about this book is that, at least in my copy, pages 231 too 274 had been printed/assembled in reverse order, which means I had to read the China Meiville and Joyce Carol Oates stories backwards, which made the book feel like a physical manifestation of the genre, as opposed to simply being a publishing mistake; it added a metatextual element to the act of reading, as though by reading, I was becoming a character in the stories themselves.
I have a rich inner life.
8/10 would eat here again, as long as the pages were numbered properly.
I have a rich inner life.
8/10 would eat here again, as long as the pages were numbered properly.
January 6, 2016
#5 in my Top 20 Books I Read in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIWkw...
The same awesomeness of McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury, but this time with horror as a common thread. One or two authors didn't quite understand the sense of the book again and some stories are absurdly better than others (Stephen King's, Jason Robert's, Joyce Carol Oates OMG JOYCE CAROL OATES) but that said the quality is generally high and of course, the all-star guest list is simply stellar.
Perhaps even better than the Mammoth Treasury; read both.
The same awesomeness of McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury, but this time with horror as a common thread. One or two authors didn't quite understand the sense of the book again and some stories are absurdly better than others (Stephen King's, Jason Robert's, Joyce Carol Oates OMG JOYCE CAROL OATES) but that said the quality is generally high and of course, the all-star guest list is simply stellar.
Perhaps even better than the Mammoth Treasury; read both.
February 3, 2020
This includes a very good story by Margaret Atwood but is otherwise a mostly mediocre collection of short fiction.
May 19, 2019
A mixed bag, as short story collections tend to be, so I'm highlighting the ones I would read again:
"Lusus Naturae" – enjoyed the matter-of-fact, "guess I'm turning into a monster" tone.
"Vivian Relf" – cool exploration of deja vu.
"Zeroville" – I've read a few stories with this concept that center around the internet, so it was fun to read one that was consciously non-digital.
"Lisey and the Madman" – LOVELY specificity without sacrificing pace.
"Delmonico" – probably my favorite in the collection. A nice, character-driven noir short.
"Reports of Certain Events in London" – strong concept, good pacing of exposition. Several of the other stories gave either too much information for my taste or too little – this one was perfect.
"The Fabled Light-House at Vina Del Mar" – The Sea Is Terrifying And Will Drive You Mad For Your Hubris.
"Lusus Naturae" – enjoyed the matter-of-fact, "guess I'm turning into a monster" tone.
"Vivian Relf" – cool exploration of deja vu.
"Zeroville" – I've read a few stories with this concept that center around the internet, so it was fun to read one that was consciously non-digital.
"Lisey and the Madman" – LOVELY specificity without sacrificing pace.
"Delmonico" – probably my favorite in the collection. A nice, character-driven noir short.
"Reports of Certain Events in London" – strong concept, good pacing of exposition. Several of the other stories gave either too much information for my taste or too little – this one was perfect.
"The Fabled Light-House at Vina Del Mar" – The Sea Is Terrifying And Will Drive You Mad For Your Hubris.
November 23, 2022
I love short stories and when these are written by some really good storytellers, there is nothing than can go go wrong.
January 3, 2009
I just pulled this off of a friends' bookshelf, in need of some reading that couldn't be described as obsessively detailed revolutionary American history. (Low bar, right?) It was a fun, easy read. I'm just not a huge fan of horror stories, and didn't see that description anywhere on the cover. I know, I know, judging a book by it's cover blahblahblah (and ignoring the bizarre cover pic, which was probably the best warning that "scary" stories lie hidden within. But it's McSweeney's, who don't seem to be tied to their cover pics revealing anything about the content of their publications.)
Nothing worth seeking out, here. But if you're stuck on an airplane or in a doctor's office, you could do worse.
Nothing worth seeking out, here. But if you're stuck on an airplane or in a doctor's office, you could do worse.
February 3, 2015
Considering the stellar line-up of this anthology, one would think it would rate more than two stars. Shockingly, I couldn't get into most of these stories. In my opinion, there are a lot of great writers doing substandard work in this one. Not even Stephen King pulled through for me. (To be fair, it was an excerpt from my least favorite book by him, LISEY'S STORY.) The stories I liked: "Minnow" by Ayelet Waldman, "7C" by Jason Roberts and "The Devil of Delery Street" by Poppy Z. Brite. I also liked China Mieville's "Reports of Certain Events in London," but only because of the way it's structured. In the end, it turned out to be an unsatisfying story. I can't really recommend this one, despite the great authors involved.
September 17, 2011
This might just be my favorite collection of short stories ever, even though I really didn't care for some of the stories (like Stephen King's one). I've told several people that this is worth owning/reading for the Mieville story alone (and it is), but almost all the rest are really good as well. For me, this book was not just a great introduction to many authors I had been meaning to check out, but it's a set of stories I come back to again and again. Some of the stories barely deal with the supernatural, while others are downright spooky, but they're all entertaining. And the Mike Mignola illustrations at the start of each story fit the mood perfectly.
May 5, 2012
As with most collections, these ranged from stupendous to lackluster. Once finished, I remember looking at the back of the book and hardly remembering some of the stories at all--never a plus. But others are still planted firm in my mind--even if it was just the idea of them that stuck with me. Regardless, I love the idea of genre/literary works, as it's what I try to do myself, and anything along these lines--successful or not--is okay in my book.
October 23, 2013
I liked a lot of these stories quite a bit. Nice to see further erosion of boundaries that are mainly marketing categories anyway. Some I dug more than others, but there was at least something good in each.
October 20, 2013
Usually, it takes me a long time to get through a collection of short stories, but this book was a quick read because I was constantly wondering how much stranger the next story would get, especially if it were written by a well-known author.
March 2, 2023
Book number 20 for 2023.
I picked up this book from the library because I'm a fan of short stories. And words like "enchanted chamber" and "astonishing" always catch my eye. It also features names like Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, and Peter Straub on the cover.
As in most, if not all, collections of short stories, one is not very likely to like all of the tales included. For me, there were only a couple that I didn't care for.
As for the Stephen King story, it later turned into a book, which we know as Lisey's Story, which I have read. One thing I found amusing, though, was that in that story, King uses the phrase "pompatus of love," which is a somewhat infamous line from the Steve Miller Band's song, "The Joker." Of course, "pompatus" is not a word. Or at least it wasn't a word before Miller wrote that song.
I believe my favorite story of the collection was "The Miniaturist," by Heidi Juvalits. This one, I think, would definitely fit in the horror genre, and involved three half-sisters, some apparent apparitions in bridesmaids gowns, and an isolated cabin in the woods. All the best stories have cabins in the woods, right?
The stories do not all fit into a single genre, and I believe that the introduction alludes to that. In fact, there are one or two that defy any kind of genre description, and are just stories. "Delmonico," by Daniel Handler, was one such story, as was "Vivian Relf," by Jonathan Lethem. "Delmonico" was about a bartender who had a knack for being able to answer questions and solve problems for people. "Vivan Relf" was about an interesting girl that a guy kept running into, randomly, over the years.
"Lusus Naturae," by Margaret Atwood, is the shortest of the bunch, and is a good one, as well. It's about a girl who has developed an unsightly condition, and has become an embarrassment to the family. This one definitely fits the horror genre.
As does "What You Do Not Know You Want," by David Mitchell. This one is about a man who seeks out strange and unusual artifacts for people. In this case, he is looking for a Japanese ornamental knife, very old. It is somewhat "horrorish."
"Minnow," by Ayelet Waldman, is another horror tale, about a young woman who has just lost a baby, and the strange sounds she hears from the baby monitor that she had installed during her pregnancy.
The last three stories of the collection were quite good. "Reports of Certain Events in London," by China Mieville, was presented as though the author, himself, had found the documents in the story. Said documents present details of a somewhat secret society, the BWVF, that tracked the existence of rogue streets that seemed to appear and disappear at random. This story was delightful, and would be more of a fantasy tale, in my opinion.
"The Fabled Light-House at Vińa del Mar" was by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, we follow the slow descent into insanity of a man who was tasked with keeping a light-house with only him and his dog, a fox terrier named "Mercury," for miles and miles. The man also develops a somewhat disturbing relationship with some of the local sea life.
Finally, "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle," by Peter Straub. This one involves four very successful and wealthy businessmen, all involved, in some way, with the book industry. Some writers, publishers, critics, and so on. They are all living in a very special facility that is on the 21st floor of some building. It's a medical facility, because they all have some kind of heart condition. Eventually, they begin to share stories. And eventually, I think, a startling discovery is made. This, I believe, might be a ghost story, but I could be wrong.
Again, I pretty much enjoyed all but two of the tales. I have highlighted the ones that I enjoyed most.
Now for the funny part. When I went to enter this book in my spreadsheet, my giant spreadsheet chronicling every book I have read since April of 1974 . . . Well, you know how, in Excel, if you have typed something in the spreadsheet before, the cell will attempt to auto-fill it? Yeah.
I read this book eighteen years ago, in 2005. I do not have any recollection of that at all. And obviously, that was pre-Goodreads, so there is no review of it.
I picked up this book from the library because I'm a fan of short stories. And words like "enchanted chamber" and "astonishing" always catch my eye. It also features names like Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, and Peter Straub on the cover.
As in most, if not all, collections of short stories, one is not very likely to like all of the tales included. For me, there were only a couple that I didn't care for.
As for the Stephen King story, it later turned into a book, which we know as Lisey's Story, which I have read. One thing I found amusing, though, was that in that story, King uses the phrase "pompatus of love," which is a somewhat infamous line from the Steve Miller Band's song, "The Joker." Of course, "pompatus" is not a word. Or at least it wasn't a word before Miller wrote that song.
I believe my favorite story of the collection was "The Miniaturist," by Heidi Juvalits. This one, I think, would definitely fit in the horror genre, and involved three half-sisters, some apparent apparitions in bridesmaids gowns, and an isolated cabin in the woods. All the best stories have cabins in the woods, right?
The stories do not all fit into a single genre, and I believe that the introduction alludes to that. In fact, there are one or two that defy any kind of genre description, and are just stories. "Delmonico," by Daniel Handler, was one such story, as was "Vivian Relf," by Jonathan Lethem. "Delmonico" was about a bartender who had a knack for being able to answer questions and solve problems for people. "Vivan Relf" was about an interesting girl that a guy kept running into, randomly, over the years.
"Lusus Naturae," by Margaret Atwood, is the shortest of the bunch, and is a good one, as well. It's about a girl who has developed an unsightly condition, and has become an embarrassment to the family. This one definitely fits the horror genre.
As does "What You Do Not Know You Want," by David Mitchell. This one is about a man who seeks out strange and unusual artifacts for people. In this case, he is looking for a Japanese ornamental knife, very old. It is somewhat "horrorish."
"Minnow," by Ayelet Waldman, is another horror tale, about a young woman who has just lost a baby, and the strange sounds she hears from the baby monitor that she had installed during her pregnancy.
The last three stories of the collection were quite good. "Reports of Certain Events in London," by China Mieville, was presented as though the author, himself, had found the documents in the story. Said documents present details of a somewhat secret society, the BWVF, that tracked the existence of rogue streets that seemed to appear and disappear at random. This story was delightful, and would be more of a fantasy tale, in my opinion.
"The Fabled Light-House at Vińa del Mar" was by Joyce Carol Oates. In this story, we follow the slow descent into insanity of a man who was tasked with keeping a light-house with only him and his dog, a fox terrier named "Mercury," for miles and miles. The man also develops a somewhat disturbing relationship with some of the local sea life.
Finally, "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle," by Peter Straub. This one involves four very successful and wealthy businessmen, all involved, in some way, with the book industry. Some writers, publishers, critics, and so on. They are all living in a very special facility that is on the 21st floor of some building. It's a medical facility, because they all have some kind of heart condition. Eventually, they begin to share stories. And eventually, I think, a startling discovery is made. This, I believe, might be a ghost story, but I could be wrong.
Again, I pretty much enjoyed all but two of the tales. I have highlighted the ones that I enjoyed most.
Now for the funny part. When I went to enter this book in my spreadsheet, my giant spreadsheet chronicling every book I have read since April of 1974 . . . Well, you know how, in Excel, if you have typed something in the spreadsheet before, the cell will attempt to auto-fill it? Yeah.
I read this book eighteen years ago, in 2005. I do not have any recollection of that at all. And obviously, that was pre-Goodreads, so there is no review of it.
November 28, 2017
An overall strong collection. Gets an extra star because of Mike Mignola’s illustrations, which I had no clue were in there prior to purchase.
“Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood - Haunting and wonderful. I loved it. 5/5
“What You Do Not Know You Want” by David Mitchell - Another enjoyable trip into the Mitchell-verse. Might not gave made as much sense to me if I’d not read The Bone Clocks and Slade House, though. 3/5
“Vivian Relf” by Jonathan Lethem - A pleasant enough story, but hardly “astonishing”. Not Weird in the least. I don’t know why this was included here. 2/5
“Minnow” by Ayelet Waldman - I couldn’t put this one down. 5/5
“Zeroville” by Steve Erickson - Original. I’ve gotta give it that. Felt sort of aimless but the pervasive sense of unease throughout made it worthwhile. 3/5
“Lisey and the Madman” by Stephen King - Skipped it. I have a copy of Lisey’s Story sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read and I don’t want to spoil that. May come back and read this one later.
“7C” by Jason Roberts - Really enjoyed this one. 5/5
“The Miniaturist” by Heidi Julavits - My only complaint is the classic horror movie logic displayed by both Maureen and Jennifer. Minor quibble. It goes with the territory. Overall I loved this one. 4/5
“The Child” by Roddy Doyle - A swing and a miss. 2/5
“Delmonico” by Daniel Handler - Another one that was well written, I suppose, but left me wanting more. Not Weird enough. 3/5
“The Devil of Delery Street” by Poppy Z. Brite - That’s more like it. 4/5
“Reports of Certain Events in London” by China Mieville - An interesting idea that could have been fleshed out more. 4/5
“The Fabled Lighthouse of Viña Del Mar” by Joyce Carol Oates - Probably my favorite story in this entire collection. Very reminiscent of weird fiction in the vein of Poe or Lovecraft. 5/5
“Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle” by Peter Straub - Kind of a mess. 1/5
“Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood - Haunting and wonderful. I loved it. 5/5
“What You Do Not Know You Want” by David Mitchell - Another enjoyable trip into the Mitchell-verse. Might not gave made as much sense to me if I’d not read The Bone Clocks and Slade House, though. 3/5
“Vivian Relf” by Jonathan Lethem - A pleasant enough story, but hardly “astonishing”. Not Weird in the least. I don’t know why this was included here. 2/5
“Minnow” by Ayelet Waldman - I couldn’t put this one down. 5/5
“Zeroville” by Steve Erickson - Original. I’ve gotta give it that. Felt sort of aimless but the pervasive sense of unease throughout made it worthwhile. 3/5
“Lisey and the Madman” by Stephen King - Skipped it. I have a copy of Lisey’s Story sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read and I don’t want to spoil that. May come back and read this one later.
“7C” by Jason Roberts - Really enjoyed this one. 5/5
“The Miniaturist” by Heidi Julavits - My only complaint is the classic horror movie logic displayed by both Maureen and Jennifer. Minor quibble. It goes with the territory. Overall I loved this one. 4/5
“The Child” by Roddy Doyle - A swing and a miss. 2/5
“Delmonico” by Daniel Handler - Another one that was well written, I suppose, but left me wanting more. Not Weird enough. 3/5
“The Devil of Delery Street” by Poppy Z. Brite - That’s more like it. 4/5
“Reports of Certain Events in London” by China Mieville - An interesting idea that could have been fleshed out more. 4/5
“The Fabled Lighthouse of Viña Del Mar” by Joyce Carol Oates - Probably my favorite story in this entire collection. Very reminiscent of weird fiction in the vein of Poe or Lovecraft. 5/5
“Mr. Aickman’s Air Rifle” by Peter Straub - Kind of a mess. 1/5
November 15, 2018
McSweeney's is slowly becoming one of my favourite publishers. I don't even like some of their books, namely those written by Dave Eggers, but even those, like all McSweeney's books I've seen, are absolutely beautiful. The cover art of this book is from an old pulp fiction magazine and is amazing. The book itself also contains great artwork before each story, which really helps you get in the mood the book is trying to cultivate.
In this book, the vast majority of stories are horror-themed. There isn't much blood and gore, but you feel a suspenseful tension while reading each story, like something bad is always about to happen (sometimes it does!). There were only two stories that I thought were terrible and those were Vivian Relf and The Scheme of Things. These two stories completely missed the point of this book and are not horror-themed at all. I'm surprised they made it into the collection.
My five favourite stories are:
1. The Fabled Lighthouse at Vina del Mar
2. The Miniaturist
3. Reports of Certain Events in London
4. Zeroville
5. 7C
My rating out of five stars for every story in the collection is below:
Lusus Naturae: 5/5
The Devil of Delery Street: 4/5
The Scheme of Things: 1.5/5
The Child: 5/5
Zeroville: 5/5
Delmonico: 3/5
The Miniaturist: 5/5
Lisey and the Madman: 4/5
Vivian Relf: 1.5/5
Reports of Certain Events in London: 5/5
What You Do Not Know You Want: 4/5
The Fabled Lighthouse at Vina del Mar: 5/5
7C: 5/5
Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle: 4/5
Minnow: 5/5
When you add these up and average it out, it's 4.13 stars. I'm choosing to overlook the few stinkers in this otherwise incredible collection in favour of its beautiful art, chilling collective atmosphere, and overall quality, to arrive at a five star rating. This isn't just a book, it's an experience, and books like that are so rare in today's world. This is the best anthology I've read to date, and I highly, highly recommend it.
In this book, the vast majority of stories are horror-themed. There isn't much blood and gore, but you feel a suspenseful tension while reading each story, like something bad is always about to happen (sometimes it does!). There were only two stories that I thought were terrible and those were Vivian Relf and The Scheme of Things. These two stories completely missed the point of this book and are not horror-themed at all. I'm surprised they made it into the collection.
My five favourite stories are:
1. The Fabled Lighthouse at Vina del Mar
2. The Miniaturist
3. Reports of Certain Events in London
4. Zeroville
5. 7C
My rating out of five stars for every story in the collection is below:
Lusus Naturae: 5/5
The Devil of Delery Street: 4/5
The Scheme of Things: 1.5/5
The Child: 5/5
Zeroville: 5/5
Delmonico: 3/5
The Miniaturist: 5/5
Lisey and the Madman: 4/5
Vivian Relf: 1.5/5
Reports of Certain Events in London: 5/5
What You Do Not Know You Want: 4/5
The Fabled Lighthouse at Vina del Mar: 5/5
7C: 5/5
Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle: 4/5
Minnow: 5/5
When you add these up and average it out, it's 4.13 stars. I'm choosing to overlook the few stinkers in this otherwise incredible collection in favour of its beautiful art, chilling collective atmosphere, and overall quality, to arrive at a five star rating. This isn't just a book, it's an experience, and books like that are so rare in today's world. This is the best anthology I've read to date, and I highly, highly recommend it.
April 14, 2025
This volume of stories magically appeared in my workspace one day--a lovely surprise from a workmate! This collection really delivers, but surprisingly, not all of my favorite writers delivered favorite stories. I found "Lusus Naturae," by Margaret Atwood," disappointing; and "Lisey and the Madmen," by Stephen King, dated and predictable. But there are enough winners here to make this collection worthwhile reading. And short stories are bite-sized treats. If you don't like one, it isn't much of a commitment anyway. Here's a breakdown of my picks and pans:
Disappointing:
*"Lusus Naturae," by Margaret Atwood
*"Lisey and the Madman," by Stephen King
*"The Miniaturist," by Heidi Julavits--an imitation of one of my favorite authors from childhood,
Lois Duncan, this story does not deliver.
Twisty, delightful fun:
*"The Child," by Roddy Doyle--creepy, really enjoyed the vibe and the ending.
*"The Scheme of Things," by Charles D'Ambrosio--this writer is so good with apt descriptions; he
sets mood and tone beautifully. Loved this story. Ambiguous and insightful. Enjoyed the ending.
*"The Devil of Delery Street," by Poppy Z. Brite--reminds me of Truman Capote if Truman Capote
wrote supernatural, Twilight Zone-ish stories.
*"Reports of Certain Events in London," by China Mieville--this writer rocks the classic epistolary
narrative. What a creative, unusual story.
*"The Fabled Light-House at Vina Del Mar," by Joyce Carol Oates--the storyline is a lovely homage
to E.A. Poe. I enjoyed the character of the narrator and loved the ending.
Favorite!!!
*"Minnow," by Ayelet Waldman--Terrific! Enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the ending.
Disappointing:
*"Lusus Naturae," by Margaret Atwood
*"Lisey and the Madman," by Stephen King
*"The Miniaturist," by Heidi Julavits--an imitation of one of my favorite authors from childhood,
Lois Duncan, this story does not deliver.
Twisty, delightful fun:
*"The Child," by Roddy Doyle--creepy, really enjoyed the vibe and the ending.
*"The Scheme of Things," by Charles D'Ambrosio--this writer is so good with apt descriptions; he
sets mood and tone beautifully. Loved this story. Ambiguous and insightful. Enjoyed the ending.
*"The Devil of Delery Street," by Poppy Z. Brite--reminds me of Truman Capote if Truman Capote
wrote supernatural, Twilight Zone-ish stories.
*"Reports of Certain Events in London," by China Mieville--this writer rocks the classic epistolary
narrative. What a creative, unusual story.
*"The Fabled Light-House at Vina Del Mar," by Joyce Carol Oates--the storyline is a lovely homage
to E.A. Poe. I enjoyed the character of the narrator and loved the ending.
Favorite!!!
*"Minnow," by Ayelet Waldman--Terrific! Enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the ending.
November 11, 2025
Considering the roster of authors (King, Atwood, Oates among them) you'd think at least ONE of these stories would be a-ston-ish-ing, as the very title promises.
It took me and Stephen months and months and months to finish this collection of short stories. We'd pick it up, not like a story, set the book aside for a good long while. It even got misplaced in a box during a bedroom renovation.
"Guess what I found?" and "Should we bother starting this thing again?" were the 2 questions I asked when I found it because I really didn't miss it. Forgot all about it, actually.
Like most collections, not all the stories are equal in quality. But unlike other collections, I feel like there were no real highs in this collection. None of these stories was "astonishing" or felt like they came from an "enchanted chamber". I would retitle this book: "McSweeney's Dentist's Waiting Room of Yawn-Inducing Stories". And even then, I'm kinda being generous. I've actually read better stuff in dentists ' waiting rooms.
It took me and Stephen months and months and months to finish this collection of short stories. We'd pick it up, not like a story, set the book aside for a good long while. It even got misplaced in a box during a bedroom renovation.
"Guess what I found?" and "Should we bother starting this thing again?" were the 2 questions I asked when I found it because I really didn't miss it. Forgot all about it, actually.
Like most collections, not all the stories are equal in quality. But unlike other collections, I feel like there were no real highs in this collection. None of these stories was "astonishing" or felt like they came from an "enchanted chamber". I would retitle this book: "McSweeney's Dentist's Waiting Room of Yawn-Inducing Stories". And even then, I'm kinda being generous. I've actually read better stuff in dentists ' waiting rooms.
October 6, 2023
Quite a variety here. Some of the stories fall short even within the pulpy parameters. But several tales, especially by the name authors do not disappoint. Standouts for me included Charles D'Ambrosio (whatever happened to him?), Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates. I'm sorry, but Peter Straub could have used a strong editing hand here, though this concept was admittedly ambitious if not a little too "inside" the publishing world.
Some noble efforts. Chabon did a good job on this second volume of the series--I'm still slogging though volume one. The best stories build on the cliches of the genre--not rely on them. There is the usual preponderance of hauntings, specifically involving dead children. There are a few moments of literary light.
Takeaway here is that if a book like this gets people to fall in love with reading, I'm all for it. But don't expect soaring sophistication.
Some noble efforts. Chabon did a good job on this second volume of the series--I'm still slogging though volume one. The best stories build on the cliches of the genre--not rely on them. There is the usual preponderance of hauntings, specifically involving dead children. There are a few moments of literary light.
Takeaway here is that if a book like this gets people to fall in love with reading, I'm all for it. But don't expect soaring sophistication.
February 6, 2021
My wife bought this shortly after we moved in together, something like 16 years ago. It's been sitting on our bookshelf all this time, every now and then I've looked at it, thought about picking it up, picked up something else instead.
This was alright. A great collection of writers-- Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, others. A mixed collection of actual stories. A few that were very good. A couple that were pretty boring. And a bunch that were either mediocre, or that started strong and fizzled out by the end. Nothing truly "astonishing," which given the title is a bit disappointing. But certainly a decent book for lazy day reading.
This was alright. A great collection of writers-- Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Peter Straub, others. A mixed collection of actual stories. A few that were very good. A couple that were pretty boring. And a bunch that were either mediocre, or that started strong and fizzled out by the end. Nothing truly "astonishing," which given the title is a bit disappointing. But certainly a decent book for lazy day reading.
June 23, 2021
The stars are mostly for the stories at the end of the book. A classic case of why you can't wheedle your way out of modern writing by going for short story collections. Writers seem to just send in table scraps. Then again, I'm no fan of McSweeney's and I will admit that I skipped around liberally in this chamber :) Oddly enough, I felt that they decided to save the best for towards the end.
I have to agree with the people who say that this volume makes a good case against having high art-esque authors tackle low brow genres. Nothing sticks out, but there is a mood of awkwardness and clunky-ness to the stories. You can just barely feel the struggle to incorporate genre elements into the stories. Some authors didn't even try that I recall. Still, when it isn't that, when it lives up to, or tries to, the premise of the volume, I found it enjoyable.
I have to agree with the people who say that this volume makes a good case against having high art-esque authors tackle low brow genres. Nothing sticks out, but there is a mood of awkwardness and clunky-ness to the stories. You can just barely feel the struggle to incorporate genre elements into the stories. Some authors didn't even try that I recall. Still, when it isn't that, when it lives up to, or tries to, the premise of the volume, I found it enjoyable.
May 5, 2022
The problem with almost every short story collection I have ever read- especially multiauthor anthologies- is that they are sort of a mixed bag. Some stories will really grab you. Others are just okay. Others are technically really good but predictable. Others are a slog to get through.
This one is not really much difference. However, this one is really lucky in that it has very few true clunkers in it. But considering it's got Margaret Atwood, and Peter Straub, that's to be expected. Most of the stories are incredible. Straub's piece- while predictable is great- even though it is the only story where I could actually detect typos.
This one is not really much difference. However, this one is really lucky in that it has very few true clunkers in it. But considering it's got Margaret Atwood, and Peter Straub, that's to be expected. Most of the stories are incredible. Straub's piece- while predictable is great- even though it is the only story where I could actually detect typos.
August 26, 2017
Lots of great authors in this collection! I enjoyed reading "Lisey and the Madman" by Stephen King, and being able to see this piece of what would later become the book "Lisey's Story", King's favorite of the novels he has written! "7C" by Jason Roberts is indeed weird, which is apropos as the blurb above the beginning states that it won an award for "Weird Short Story"! It's so weird in fact, that I didn't even really understand it! Does that qualify as "astonishing"? Well, judge for yourself!
January 27, 2018
Most of the writers in this collection are pretty famous...which is fine...but I wasn't as impressed by the anthology as a whole as I feel like I should have been.
Several of the stories were pretty intruiging: "Vivan Relf", "Minnow", "7C", "Delmonico", "Reports of Certain Events in London" come to mind. Others were bordering on downright unenjoyable: "The Child", "The Fabled Light-house at Vina Del Mar", and "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" in particular just left me wishing I'd skipped them entirely.
Overall not my fave anthology of all time but not a bad read. And I like the cover art.
Several of the stories were pretty intruiging: "Vivan Relf", "Minnow", "7C", "Delmonico", "Reports of Certain Events in London" come to mind. Others were bordering on downright unenjoyable: "The Child", "The Fabled Light-house at Vina Del Mar", and "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" in particular just left me wishing I'd skipped them entirely.
Overall not my fave anthology of all time but not a bad read. And I like the cover art.
October 14, 2021
This is an absolutely wonderful collection of short horror stories, utterly incredible.
Atwood's story of a girl born as a monster, Oates' tale of the lighthouse keeper, Doyle's 'the child', Roberts' bizarre tale of catastrophe and Julavits' tale of demonic women are the clear standouts. However there are very few duds in this collection.
Easily the weakest is Stephen King's dull account of a failed assassination and Erickson's tale of a film editor drags on.
Nevertheless, this is a wonderful collection and I would highly recommend it.
Atwood's story of a girl born as a monster, Oates' tale of the lighthouse keeper, Doyle's 'the child', Roberts' bizarre tale of catastrophe and Julavits' tale of demonic women are the clear standouts. However there are very few duds in this collection.
Easily the weakest is Stephen King's dull account of a failed assassination and Erickson's tale of a film editor drags on.
Nevertheless, this is a wonderful collection and I would highly recommend it.
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