The Silence Room: Short Stories

by Sean O'Brien

Chain-smoking alcoholics, warring academics, gothic stalkers, and aspiring writers are just some of the visitors that browse the mysterious library at the heart of this sinister novel. Idlers and idolizers alike can be referenced, in body or in text, among the crepuscular alcoves and dim staircases of this seemingly unassuming building. The secret to a family curse, a dog-eared first edition of Wallace Stevens’ Harmonium , the gruesome fate of a feminist literary theorist—all are available to simply take down from the shelf. Moving between genres, ranging from gothic horror to English pastoral, from critical theory to Cold War noir, this riveting and voracious story-within-stories crescendos the turbulent voices of culture to an effect equally maddening and exalting.

Genres: Short Stories

202 pages, Paperback

First published November 27, 2008

About the author

Sean O'Brien is a British poet, critic and playwright. Prizes he has won include the Eric Gregory Award (1979), the Somerset Maugham Award (1984), the Cholmondeley Award (1988), the Forward Poetry Prize (1995, 2001 and 2007) and the T. S. Eliot Prize (2007). He is one of only four poets (the others being Ted Hughes, John Burnside and Jason Allen-Paisant) to have won both the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Forward Poetry Prize for the same collection of poems (The Drowned Book).
Born in London, England, O'Brien grew up in Hull, and was educated at Hymers College and Selwyn College, Cambridge. He has lived since 1990 in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he teaches at the university. He was the Weidenfeld Visiting Professor at St. Anne's College, Oxford, for 2016–17.

Reviews

[Bill Hsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the first half of this collection was rather dry and forgettable. I love libraries and old books (I spend so much time on goodreads, right?), but the stories tend to evoke a kind of gray dustiness, and the characters seem rather dour and absorbed in murky literary pursuits. This was quite a disappointment after O'Brien's later Quartier Perdu, which was uneven but had some memorable pieces, and is definitely worth checking out.

But about halfway through, "Kiss Me Deadly on the Museum Island" was a breath of fresh air. I'll admit I have a soft spot for a colorful rendezvous in pre-unification Berlin, but this was an entertaining romp, with the snappy dialog that O'Brien also delivered in some of Quartier Perdu's stories. Apparently the dark twist in the hapless protagonist's misadventure was not uncommon back in the day. The next story, "Not in Gateshead Any More", continues the new openness. It's a light confection, but the respective fates of the characters are very satisfying.

"Behind the Rain" is one of O'Brien's more Aickman-esque pieces, with another hapless English protagonist (a poet!) pursuing a femme fatale figure through the bridges and back alleys of Venice. (An entertaining companion piece to Aickman's "Never Visit Venice", haha; my impression was Aickman hated his Venetian experiences, while O'Brien is a fan, despite the dark, inevitable ending.)

The last story, "In the Duchy", didn't do much for me. However, I was amused by veiled references to what was probably Belgium (sweet beer, served in goblets, for starters). There are also mentions of a "Lost Quarter", which probably look forward to O'Brien's more recent collection Quartier Perdu?

[Jim Leckband · Rating 4 out of 5]

By an odd coincidence I finished this book on Halloween. I did not know that this book had eery stories. The author is a poet and a contributor to the TLS, so I thought that the stories would be of a well-wrought "literary" character.

They are well-written stories - but they each have an element of the macabre, supernatural, uncanny or just "odd". Many of the stories revolve around a library in a nameless northern Britain city (possible Newcastle?) and in particular around an odd basement room - The Silence Room.

Literary feuds and academic troubles are the subtext of most of the stories. Along with that is a probing of the relation of the written "text" to reality. However, he treats "Theory" (Lacan, Baudrillard, etc.) as something to poke fun at while at the same time using their concepts - "reifying" them in the process. (I have no idea if I used the term "reify" in the right way. In this I am in good company, as I believe 99% of the literary theory people who use it have no idea either, but that's another text).

If you love Borges, Nabokov and academic horror stories (are there any others?) you will like this set of stories. Geez, I originally gave it three stars and but after re-reading this review, I feel I have to give it four stars. Grade inflation indeed.

[Sam Hicks · Rating 2 out of 5]

An odd tone to most of these stories. The sort of things a group of academics might write for each other's amusement, the literary allusions and in-jokes therein to be met with knowing chortles and nods and nudges. And when a perfectly respectable ghost story like 'The Cricket Match at Green Lock' arrives, it feels tainted by the archness of the others.

[Jools · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsettling and sometimes downright chilling stories, revolving around a library. I can't say more without spoiling the stories, but it's an intriguing and worthwhile read. Just don't be on your own in a room with an oriental rug while you're reading it!

[David Gallin-Parisi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories about the silent room in a library, crafted by English writer Sean O'Brien. The stories range from macabre humor to poignant loss, and events all connect back to a room in a library, even if only by a trace. I felt the thrill of Poe's heartbeat through the work, as well as knowledge in people's various urgent ways they accomplish their work, never quite finishing the way they envisioned. Unexpectedly made me laugh out loud followed by spooky portrayals of noir.

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not impressed. I know The eponymous Silence Room well, these stories are supposed to be inspired by the Literary and Philosophical Society in Newcastle and he has not captured the spitrit at all. I lost my place and could not find it again because the stories had so little grabbed me. Gave up on it in the end.

[Brooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dreadful. Highbrow, literary & a complete mystery in most cases. What's wrong with a story from time to time?

[Joey Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gothic Geordie horror in an ode to a very particular library. This book is to die for.