So, I've started reading to my wife when we're in bed. She's never read any CAS, and I thought she'd appreciate the Averoigne stories, since we're both huge fans of fairy tales. For no particular reason, I started with "The Mandrakes", followed it up with "The Disinterment of Venus" and "The Beast of Averoigne." Next I'm thinking "A Rendezvous in Averoigne," to get all of the Périgon stories out of the way, and then maybe "The Colossus of Ylourgne" which I think is one of his best stories. She's been pretty impressed with CAS' mastery of language as well as his more sensual take on Cthulhu Mythos adjacent stories.

Has anybody else done this?

We got out of the practice of reading to one another (mostly me reading to her), but we’ve read a lot to one another, though maybe no CAS, and while the reading was often done in the afternoon and evening, I don’t suppose it was often just before lights out.

Sherlock Holmes, Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Trollope, Dickens, Robert Aickman, Ross MacDonald, Wilkie Collins, Saki, Algernon Blackwood, M. R. James, Susan Hill’s Woman in Black, Heard’s The Black Fox, John Buchan, a bit of HPL, Cornell Woolrich I suppose....

Previous to the CAS, I read The Elfin Ship and its sequel The Disappearing Dwarf, by James P. Blaylock. They out-Hobbit The Hobbit.

You're both lovers of fairy tales?

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Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're both lovers of fairy tales?
>
> You might like browsing this thread:
>
> [www.eldritchdark.com]
> ,13174


I read CAS's "The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan" to my 7 year old daughter--what the heck? I had just finished reading The Hobbit to her, so it should be fine, right?

Right?

:^)

--Sawfish

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"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
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Sawfish Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > I read CAS's "The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan" to
> my 7 year old daughter--what the heck? I had just
> finished reading The Hobbit to her, so it should
> be fine, right?
>
> Right?

Narrator Voice: "It was not fine."

AlHazred Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sawfish Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > > I read CAS's "The Weird of Avoosl Wuthoqquan"
> to
> > my 7 year old daughter--what the heck? I had
> just
> > finished reading The Hobbit to her, so it
> should
> > be fine, right?
> >
> > Right?
>
> Narrator Voice: "It was not fine."


;^)

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dale, I am somewhat surprised that you read Robert Aickman. I would have thought that was far too much confusing disharmony to suit your taste.

Knygatin, Aickman has been a hit or miss author for me. I have to get his books from the library -- don't own any of them. From memory, stories by him that I liked include

The Houses of the Russians
The Same Dog
The School Friend
Ringing the Changes
The Waiting Room
Into the Wood
the doll house one -- I think it's called The Inner Room
The Hospice (I think that's the title -- the funny one about the man who finds he's in what we realize is a lunatic asylum, with Bannard crawling around on the floor)


Ones that I didn't care for include

The Swords
Mark Ingestre
the one with Mr. Eblis (?) -- Larger Than Oneself I think is the title -- never managed to finish it
The Model (the short novel -- tried it perhaps 3 times, never managed to finish it)
Pages from a Youn Girl's Journal -- this one seemed more like maybe an interesting idea than an interesting story

The last time I read a number of his stories, I did get tired of his way of defining characters in terms of weaknesses and flaws -- I even reacted against that in a story I wrote at the time.

So he's not an indispensable author for me, but I'll probably read him again.

I believe I read his book The Attempted Rescue, but it doesn't seem to have left much of an impression.

Incidentally I liked his onetime associate L. T. C. Rolt's book Narrow Boat and some of Rolt's ghost stories too. But I think Rolt and Aickman had a falling out or something.
Growing Boys

Le Miroir is quite good--very evocative, a weird pathos.

--Sawfish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The food at the new restaurant is awful, but at least the portions are large."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sure I've read that one, but I don't remember it, so I can look out for it next time I get an Aickman book(s) from the library.

Your Tiny Hand Is Frozen is another one I remember as (+) rather than (-).

I think The Next Glade was also one I liked. I'm just pulling titles from memory.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 28 Aug 21 | 05:34PM by Dale Nelson.

I have not read much of Aickman, but I thought "The Wine-Dark Sea" was beautiful. "The Inner Room" is of course excellent. "The Swords" was alright, the thing that stuck most in my mind was the passing detail of the (yellow?) merry-go-round; Aickman is very good with casual details, in an aesthetic(?) way, has a sterling sensibility for elevating mundane details.
Other stories are unpleasantly disturbing, like "Growing Boys", "The Fetch", "The Trains". Isn't he deeply disturbed? Isn't this the work of a psychologically deranged mind? Now maybe only a "social consciousness" would worry about that, to a "poetic consciousness" it should be of no consequence. What say you?

Knygatin, when I read an author, I too am likely to form impressions of his mind from the work. But I sometimes remind myself to be cautious about that. Two examples. You could read some of Hawthorne's famous tales and get the impression that the author must've been a gloomy sort of fellow. But then you read his wonderful American Notebooks and get the sense of a man with a lot of appetite for life, a health interest in the beauty of women, and so on. The other example is -- myself. I wrote a story in college for some class or other, a fantasy, and got a good grade on it. But at some point the lightbulb went on in my mind that an obvious interpretation of the story was something quite different from what I believe and think.

In short, I think some authors are probably quite a bit like their stories, but not all. Nothing profound in that comment, for sure.

So I don't know about Aickman, but I do know that he has seemed to me to write repetitively of people who are basically failures. It gets a bit much if I read, say, five stories within the space of a week or two.

I've read "The Fetch," more than once, but I don't remember much about it other than that at the end the protagonist doesn't want to leave the house (?). I must have read "The Trains," but I don't seem to remember anything other than the title. Not sure if I have read "The Wine-Dark Sea" -- but I think so.

When he's at his best, he's impressive all right.

Thank you.

Dale Nelson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> ... You could read some of Hawthorne's famous tales and get the impression
> that the author must've been a gloomy sort of fellow.
>

"Wakefield". Whew!!


> But then you read his wonderful American
> Notebooks and get the sense of a man with a lot of
> appetite for life, a health interest in the beauty
> of women, and so on. The other example is --
> myself. I wrote a story in college for some class
> or other, a fantasy, and got a good grade on it.
> But at some point the lightbulb went on in my mind
> that an obvious interpretation of the story was
> something quite different from what I believe and
> think.
>

Yes, our own imperfections should never stop us!!! All the greats are like that too.


>
> So I don't know about Aickman, but I do know that
> he has seemed to me to write repetitively of
> people who are basically failures. It gets a bit
> much ...
>

I wonder if I haven't commented something similar somewhere.


>
> I've read "The Fetch," more than once, but I don't
> remember much about it other than that at the end
> the protagonist doesn't want to leave the house
> (?). I must have read "The Trains," but I don't
> seem to remember anything other than the title.
> Not sure if I have read "The Wine-Dark Sea" -- but
> I think so.
>
> When he's at his best, he's impressive all right.
>

"The Trains" is like a dream. "The Fetch" too (the protagonist is haunted by a persistent ghost he can't escape). And dreamlike is much of his work. It may be difficult to remember because of that.
The most recent one I read was a little tale called "No Stronger Than a Flower", which I liked well enough.

Maybe wacko, but he was certainly very intelligent.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 28 Aug 21 | 09:44PM by Knygatin.