Literary Horror discussion

1. I read the introduction by Michael Dirda. Michael Dirda has been a book critic for The Washington Post for years and has long championed speculative fiction.

2. The story "A Child's Problem" is shaping up to be a Gothic tale.

3. "A Child's Problem" is a well crafted Gothic tale. Also, I like the chess references in the story--which Reggie Oliver got right--for I am a chess aficionado.

SPOILER

4. In some of Reggie Oliver's stories, such as this one, justice is done to the main characters in the story.

I haven't gotton that far yet. I read the first three stories, going on the fourth.

I'm enjoying the book. What do others think?

The Posthumous Messiah was originally printed in Ex Occidente's Bruno Schulz homage, so you are completely right about the vibe there!

Charm was an interesting story, Oliver is very astute at finding darker side and desparation to the party loving socialite.

Have you read the title story Flowers of the Sea yet? For me it might be one of Reggie Olivers most effective stories, and that's saying something. I was blown away by it.

I'd be interested to hear opinions on Süssmayr's Requiem too. For me the more ambiguous and enigmatic stories in this collection worked best.

“The Posthumous Messiah”

Randolph wrote:

The Posthumous Messiah seems to imbibe of the Kafka/Schulz type of story even after the narrator disparages this sort of writing. The story become so bizarre, the so-called "third act" becomes almost forgotten until the last two paragraphs wittily put it firmly away. It reminded me of Michael Cisco.

I had a mixed reaction to this story. I should first admit to not being quite up on my Schulz, although I did re-read last year “Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass” (1937). Oliver's story has some of the surreal flavor of that novella, but falls short for reasons I find hard to articulate. (view spoiler)[In one respect I find the symbolism in “Messiah” too spot on for my taste — e.g., the narrator as Christ figure. On the other hand the construction of the story as a whole seems to me utterly lacking. With Schulz, even if his purpose seemed oblique, one at least had the sense that there was some greater underlying point. Maybe I’m the problem, but I just didn’t get that from Oliver’s story. I found the premise intriguing, just not the execution. I wanted more from that premise. (hide spoiler)]

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Neil77 wrote (in part):

Have you read the title story Flowers of the Sea yet? For me it might be one of Reggie Olivers most effective stories, and that's saying something. I was blown away by it.

I’m only at the half-way point in the collection. Which is kind of embarrassing to admit, given that I started reading it back in November. On the other hand, that’s how I typically approach story collections — a bit at a time. But I would agree with your assessment — thus far, the title story is the most powerful entry. (view spoiler)[I was so affected that I recall speculating whilst reading it on the extent, if any, to which such illnesses had impinged on Oliver's own life. I was not surprised to subsequently discover in an interview that the author’s wife has suffered from dementia for the past six years. (hide spoiler)]

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"Didman’s Corner"

Oliver, in the endnotes for this story, describes it as having somewhat the flavor of an Aickman tale. I can sorta see that. (view spoiler)[Although it’s never directly stated, the reader is meant to take away the notion that our narrator was somehow involved in the death/disappearance of the Ling boy; other aspects of the story are much more oblique — for instance, the recurring toy animals, the narrator’s relationship with Cassandra (which struck me as very Aickmanesque). A well-constructed and interesting story. I wished in the end that Oliver has gone a bit further — i.e., had made it a bit more enigmatic. (hide spoiler)]

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I recently became aware of this as well and must say, it's a lucky break for me, since my small press limited edition budget isn't what it used to be, and a new Oliver collection is always cause for celebration. Now, here's hoping Virtue in Danger gets an affordable reprint. . .

Randolph wrote (in part):

Almost forgot, well I actually did forget, what does everyone think of Oliver's engravings for each story? He typically does this for his books and in my opinion they lend a real classic feel to a book like this. Tartarus has auctioned some of his original artwork for charity I believe.

I generally find them to be an entertaining and enjoyable accompaniment to the stories. I recall reading somewhere that Oliver prefers to think of them as "illuminations" rather than "illustrations" in the sense that are primarily meant to convey a sense of mood rather than highlight a particular scene from a story.

Randolph wrote (in part):

Still a bad Oliver story is more interesting than almost any other story.

Yes, it is the rare Oliver story that I cannot award at least a qualified thumbs up.

Discussion of "Charm".

(view spoiler)[I suppose the theme of this story is succinctly wrapped up by its closing line: "There is nothing so repulsive as the charm to which one is no longer susceptible." To be honest my own reaction in such circumstances is usually some blend of sadness and amusement, but Oliver seems to go out of his way to make the the kind of "charm" typified by Roddy, not just repulsive, but something to be feared. There is a point, for example, where Oliver seems to want us to worry that Pauline may somehow become "infected" by Roddy’s shallow, insipid, and amoral banterings. I found the author's descriptions of the 70s-era partying to be effective and suitably decadent. (I wonder if the Freemans were inspired by the Krays, even though the activities of the latter were largely confined to the 60s.) A rather harrowing ending; perhaps a bit more explicit than in the other stories in this volume (at least, those I've read to date). (hide spoiler)]

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Discussion of "Between Four Yews".

I'll forego saying much about this story given that I read it over 3 months ago and the details are kind of fuzzy. It originally appeared in Rosemary Pardoe's anthology, The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows (2012). The included tales were meant to be sequels or prequels to stories previously written by M. R. James; Oliver's story was both a sequel and prequel to "A School Story" (1911). In spite of its intriguing premise, I was a bit disappointed with Pardoe's book. I thought Oliver's story was really was one of the few solid entries.

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Discussion of "Spooks of Shellborough".

(view spoiler)["Spooks" strikes me as a bit more traditional and straightforward than the other Oliver stories to this point in the collection, in spite of the fact that the two protagonists (Wentworth and Sir Freddie) are former MI5 agents (spooks, get it? — nudge, nudge, wink, wink). During the course of the story, Oliver gives a nod to two (or more?) classic tales. The general setting of the "Spooks", East Anglia, along with the more specific seaside locale coupled with the Martello tower seems a shout out to M. R. James' "A Warning to the Curious" (1925). And the whereabouts of the rather striking and gruesome climax clearly reflects events in H. R. Wakefield's "The Seventeenth Hole at Duncaster". (1928) (hide spoiler)]

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Randolph wrote (in part):

One observation I've made is there are two stories that deal with senile dementia/Alzheimer's Disease. I wonder what Oliver's personal experience has been with this malady. Does he have intimate knowledge or is it just his actor's talent coming through on a current important issue the muse took him to?

You may have missed it, Randolph, but in Message 13 I noted an interview in which Oliver talks briefly about the fact that his wife, the artist and actress Joanna Dunham, suffers from dementia.

Randolph wrote (in part):

Somehow that makes it even creepier.

Creepy, yes, but also poignant. I thinks it speaks to the power of Oliver's writing that we shared a similar reaction — it forced us to ponder the possible extent to which the illness affected the author’s life.

Discussion of "Süssmayr's Requiem".

(view spoiler)[I liked Oliver's use of imagery and the way in which it was tied to the requiem, but, frankly, I struggled a bit in trying to make sense of the whole; this story struck me as more of an extended mood piece than a story. (hide spoiler)]

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Loved the first novella (A Child's Problem), but struggled with Lord of the Fleas. I think it would have been much better without the fleas and it almost felt the only reason he'd constructed it that way was so as to get a 'pun-ny' title.
I loved the description of the vampire's inner sanctum in 'Hand To Mouth'. The writing here is totally decadent and really pulled me in, especialy the descriptions of the ivory and glass inlaid cupboard, embellished with carvings of Neptune and Triton. I'm reading Huysman's 'La Bas' concurrently, and the alchemical descriptions resonate in exactly the same way for me, with their bottles of liquid stamped with an inverted green lion and contents 'a swirling mix of black and red'. Some standout stories here that are really worth savouring.

Discussion of "Come into My Parlour".

I first read this last year in the Tartarus Press anthology Dark World . (view spoiler)[I’m afraid I don’t have much to say about this one. Especially after reading "Süssmayr's Requiem", "Parlour" comes off as a fairly straightforward tale. I was able to identify to a degree with the narrator when he describes A Child's Treasury of Instructive and Improving Verse. I recall being given similar sorts of books when very young; I still retain a vivid recollection of an illustrated version of the Billy Goats Gruff fairy tale that frightened the snot of me. Even if "Parlour" is a bit on the prosaic side (for Oliver), I still enjoyed it quite a bit. (hide spoiler)]

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I like both "A Child's Problem" and "Lord of the Fleas."
I found "Lord of the Fleas" a highly entertaining story.

Discussion of "Lightning".

(view spoiler)[Oliver presents the reader with another story set in the world of the theatre. "Lightning" doesn’t have even a whiff of the supernatural to it (at least not anything that I could detect), although in the author’s notes, Oliver maintains that its "connection with the horror as the term is generally understood is glancingly marginal, but it's there if you want to find it."

As someone who was once tangentially involved in the amateur theatre, I appreciate the setting of this tale (and other, similar Oliver stories) — the descriptions ring absolutely true. I also enjoyed the character studies of the two principals, Stephen and Fiona. (hide spoiler)]

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Discussion of "Waving to the Boats".

(view spoiler)[Oliver ends his collection on a strong note with a story that revisits some of the themes explored in the title story. One easily senses the narrator's anger and frustration, but the other emotion that (for me anyway) permeates this story is a kind of lethargic sadness and fatalism. This is mirrored in the rather surreal surroundings we encounter as boat continues it journey. A nice tip of the hat by the author to Elizabeth Jane Howard's classic story "Three Miles Up" (note, for example, the Rose of Sharon). (hide spoiler)]

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This is a good book. I plan to put up a 4 star review in a few days.