REFUGEES FROM AN IMAGINARY COUNTRY -- Darrell Schweitzer

W. Paul Ganley, Publisher/Owslwick Press -- hc
Buffalo, NY/King of Prussia, PA -- ©1999 -- 232pp
ISBN: 0-932445-64-0
Illustrated by Stephen E. Fabian
Bookplate signed by Darrell Schweitzer and Stephen E. Fabian
Dust Jacket illo: Stephen E. Fabian

A collection of Darrell Schweitzer's short stories.

"Savages"
"On the Last Night of the Festival of the Dead"
"The Outside Man"
"Minotauress"
"Malevendra's Pool"
"Angry Man"
"The Sorcerer Evoragdou"
"The Strange Rider from the Far, Dark Land"
"The Mysteries of the Faceless King"
"Runaway"
"The Knight of the Pale Countenance"
"One of the Secret Masters"
"Climbing"
"The Death of Falstaff"
"King Yvorian's Wager"
"Going to the Mountain"
"The Last Dangerous Lunacy"
"Last Things"
"Refugees from an Imaginary Country"

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This is where Darrell Schweitzer shines -- the short story. The novels that I've read and reported on in this blog did not hold my interest, but these short stories were completely engrossing, and reminded me why I enjoy the genre.

I don't think it would come as a surprise to anyone to report that Schweitzer writes more for tone, or feeling, than he does for character or plot, but he does it well enough that you can forgive him for it. So many of these stories were memorable, even if the endings were anticipated. "Minotauress," "The Sorcerer Evoragdou," "The Mysteries of the Faceless King," "The Knight of the Pale Countenance," "The Death of Falstaff," "Refugees ..." all have stuck with me, and I recall them fondly, even if , in some cases, I knew exactly how it was going to end. (And some ended in surprising ways.)

I had some mixed feelings, going in to this collection, having read the two novels not so long ago, but this was a welcome return to the "weird" genre, and reminds me why I recalled Schweitzer's name as fondly as I did.

Recommended for anyone looking to read something that was representative of magazines such as Weird Tales.

THOR'S WEDDING DAY -- Bruce Coville

full title:
Thor's Wedding Day: by Thialfi, the Goat Boy, as told to and translated by Bruce Coville
Harcourt, Inc -- hc
Orlando, FL -- ©2005 -- 137pp
ISBN-10: 0-15-201455-1
Illustrations by Matthew Cogswell

Thor's magical hammer, Mjolnir, has been stolen by the giants of Jotunheim, and Thor, his brother Loki, and Thialfi (the human) must use trickery to get it back.

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Bruce Coville is an incredibly talented writer, and one of my favorite authors. He writes for kids, which is good for kids, but not so great for adults who are missing out on his works.

This book can easily be read in an afternoon, but that doesn't mean it isn't good -- just brief. Because of it's shorter nature, there are some questions I have -- mainly, what was Loki's purpose in the story. He is set up as being quite the trickster, we are set to wondering why he insists on attending Thor on his journey, we learn that the dwarfs who actually stole the hammer have a grudge against Loki ... and that's the end of it. Ir definitely had the feel as if something more important was intended to happen, but never did.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this read. Perhaps it's just "kismet" that I happen to be reading other Scandinavian tales (Saga of the Volsung) at this time as well, but the setting, characters, and mood sit very well with me.

A highly recommended read.

NOISY OUTLAWS, UNFRIENDLY BLOBS, AND ... -- Ted Thompson, ed

full title:
NOISY OUTLAWS, UNFRIENDLY BLOBS, AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT AREN"T AS SCARY, MAYBE, DEPENDING ON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT LOST LANDS, STRAY CELLPHONES, CREATURES FROM THE SKY, PARENTS WHO DISAPPEAR IN PERU, A MAN NAMED LARS FARF, AND ONE OTHER STORY WE COULDN'T QUITE FINISH, SO MAYBE YOU COULD HELP US OUT
edited by Ted Thompson, with Eli Horowitz
McSweeney's Books -- hc
San Francisco -- ©2005 -- 207pp
ISBN: 1-932416-35-8

An odd collection of stories, maybe aimed at younger readers, and then again, maybe not.

Introduction -- Lemony Snicket
-- Illustrated by Brett Helquist
"Small Country" -- Nick Hornby
-- Illustrated by David Heatley
"Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband" -- George Saunders
-- Illustrated by Juliette Borda
"Monster" -- Kelly Link
-- Illustrated by Shelley Dick
"The Contest at Cowlick" -- Richard Kennedy
-- Illustrated by Jan Van Der Veken
"Each Sold Separately" -- Jon Scieszka
-- Illustrated by Lane Smith
"Seymour's Last Wish" -- Sam Swope
-- Illustrated by Heinrich Drescher
"Grimble" -- Clement Freud
-- Illustrated by Marcel Dzama
"Spoony-E & Spandy-3 vs. The Purple Hordes" -- James Kochalka
"Sunbird" -- Neil Gaiman
-- Illustrated by Peter de Seve
"The ACES Phone" -- Jeanne DuPrau
-- Illustrated by Rachell Sumpter
"The Sixth Borough" -- Jonathan Safran Foer
-- Illustrated by Barry Blitt
Crossword Puzzle -- David Levinson Wilk
dust jacket story starter -- Lemony Snicket

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This is how a book should be put together! The actual, physical property of this book is beautiful. The binding is strong and firmer than most hardcovers. The cover (not the dust jacket) itself is an illustrated work. Lavishly illustrated in full color! All books should aspire to this kind of quality.

The stories themselves are rather uneven. As one might suspect, the stories by Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman are among the best, but the others vary in quality. "Spoony-E & Spandy-3..." is a cartoon/comic which is so strange that I get the feeling that I'm not part of the inside joke. The Scieszka "story" feels as though it was a little something he had hanging around that he couldn't sell anywhere else.

"The ACES Phone" was quite interesting and unlike anything I'd ever read, and "Grimble" was interesting as well.

I'd like to support McSweeney's Books based solely on the physical properties of this book, but it wouldn't hurt if the inside contents were a tad more consistent.

ARTHUR & GEORGE -- Julian Barnes

Alfred A. Knopf -- hc
New York -- ©2005 -- 388pp
ISBN: 0-307-26310-x

Arthur Conan Doyle puts his Sherlock Holmes hat on, and works to overturn a miscarriage of justice against barrister, George Edalji.

This book was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize (which was won by John Banville's The Sea). It is, in my opinion, a much better and more readable book than Banville's winner.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, always anxious about what was going to happen next. I often thought that it read like a Sherlock Holmes story, with more information provided.

I will grumble a bit over the ending (**WARNING** Possible Spoiler Alert In This Paragraph!!), which concluded the story -- sort of -- with an almost notation, rather than a revelation. And even at that, we have no knowledge of the culprit.

Still, this is most definitely a recommended book.

THE EVIL B.B. CHOW AND OTHER STORIES -- Steve Almond

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill -- hc
Chapel Hill, NC -- ©2005 -- 233pp
ISBN-10: 1-56512-422-7

A collection of short stories.

"The Evil B.B. Chow"
"The Soul Molecule"
"Appropriate Sex"
"I Am As I Am"
"A Happy Dream"
"Lincoln, Arisen"
"The Idea Of Michael Jackson's Dick"
"The Problem Of Human Consumption"
"Wired For Life"
"Summer, As In Love"
"Larsen's Novel"
"Skull"

Ah...another Steve Almond collection.

I really do enjoy this man's writing, though I don't think this collection was a strong as his earlier, My Life In Heavy Metal, collection. Still, it was nice to read some short stories that were intelligently written, and not ponderous.

It's hard to pick a favorite, though the title story is quite good. "Summer, As In Love" was good, but I wanted more resolution.

"Lincoln, Arisen," did not work for me. Frankly, I didn't understand what Almond was going for here.

I will continue to look for new works by Mr. Steve Almond.

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: 1599 -- James Shapiro

Harper Collins -- hc
New York -- ©2005 -- 394pp
ISBN-10: 0-06-008873-7

In 1599, William Shakespeare wrote four of his most popular and best-received plays: Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It and Hamlet. This book examines the society and events of the time which most certainly influenced the master playwright.

This is an absolutely fascinating read! It is NOT a biography of Shakespeare -- those are abundant, despite the meager information available about the man -- but rather a study of the significant events which most certainly influenced the writer.

While some of the information grew a little tedious for me (specifically the long chapter on Essex's battle with Tyrone of Ireland), I found much of the examination quite remarkable.

Most certainly I learned some things about Shakespeare and about his writing. I learned about why some things might have been much more interesting or humorous to the play-goer of 1599 but is lost on today's audiences.

Not exactly a "light" read, but not a work targeted solely to scholars, either.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in history, theatre, and/or Shakespeare.

THE ULTIMATE X-MEN VOLUME 11: THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME -- Brian K. Vaughn

Graphic Novel
Pencils: Stuart Immonen Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger
Marvel Comics -- tpb
New York -- ©2005
ISBN: 0-7851-1659-1

On a privately owned island, a reality television show is being filmed in which mutants are hunted and killed.

Although it's been awhile since I've visited the world of mutants and X-Men, and there are a few new characters gracing the pages of this book, I really enjoyed this story. There are definitely some interesting relationships going on among the X-Men, and not just personal. This definitely made me want to read a little more (although the price on a graphic novel just seems outrageous to me [yes, I know that it's probably cheaper than the price of the individual comics, but then those seem even more outrageous]).

I really appreciated the story-line, which was NOT a "bigger, badder, more powerful than anything we've seen before"-foe kind of story, but story of ethics, justice, and international cooperation, mixed in with superheroes. Very cool.

The art was good, and had me wrapped up in the story.

A recommended graphic novel.

THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2004 -- Lorrie Moore, editor

Houghton Mifflin Company -- tpb
Boston -- ©2004 -- 462pp
ISBN: 0-618-19735-4
Series Editor: Katrina Kenison

A collection of short stories.

Foreward
Introduction -- Lorrie Moore
"What you Pawn I Will Redeem" -- Sherman Alexie
"Tooth and Claw" -- T. Coraghessan Boyle
"Written in Stone" -- Catherine Brady
"Accomplice" -- Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum
"Screenwriter" -- Charles D'Ambrosio
"Breasts" -- Stuart Dybek
"Some Other, Better Otto" -- Deborah Eisenberg
"Grace" -- Paula Fox
"The Tutor" -- Nell Freudenberger
"A Rich Man" -- Edward P. Jones
"Limestone Diner" -- Trudy Lewis
"Intervention" -- Jill McCorkle
"Gallatin Canyon" -- Thomas McGuane
"Runaway" -- Alice Munro
"All Saints Day" -- Angela Pneuman
"What Kind of Furniture Would Jesus Pick?" -- Annie Proulx
"Docent" -- R.T. Smith
"The Walk With Elizanne" -- John Updike
"Mirror Studies" -- Mary Yukari Waters
"What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over in Silence" -- John Edgar Wideman
Contributor's Notes
100 Other Distinguished Stories of 2003
Editorial Addresses of American and Canadian Magazines Publishing Short Stories

I enjoyed this collection moreso than the collection of essays of the same year. Some of these stories I even enjoyed quite a bit. However, even in this, none of the stories sits with me as I reflect back a month or more to when I read them. Once or twice I tried to take note of the author's name because I liked a piece, but I haven't yet found myself interested enough to seek out new works by any of these writers.

In one or two cases, I found the works to be rather pretentious -- writing more to a style for the age, rather than crafting an interesting story.

This was a good book to have on hand for the occassion when I was looking for a short work that I could read in one sitting, but not one that I will refer to time and again.

My local library will enjoy the donation.

THE COLONEL'S PHOTOGRAPH -- Eugene Ionesco

Grove Press -- hc
New York -- ©1967 -- 177pp
Library of Congress catalog number: 67-20347
originally published in France as La Photo du Colonel
translated by Jean Stewart (except "Stoller in the Air," translated by John Russell)

A collection of short stories by absurdist playwright, Ionesco.

"Oriflamme"
"The Colonel's Photograph"
"The Stroller in the Air"
"A Victim of Duty"
"Rhinoceros"
"The Slough"
"Spring 1939"

It was very interesting to read these stories, most of which are also plays by the author. It is not clear if the stories were written before the plays or afterwards, but according to the inside flap of the dust cover, Ionesco prefers writing fiction to drama. There is certainly a sense of wonder, in his characters, over the events that happen in these absurdist pieces, and the playfulness, particularly in "Stoller" comes through nicely. A work such as "Oriflamme" or "Rhinoceros" might work better on stage because of the shock value of actually seeing a growing corpse or people turning in to rhinoceroses.

"Spring 1939" was interesting. I'm not sure if it's actual fragments of a journal or a story to come off that way. It grew a little tedious, which makes me think it's truly a journal.

For me this was a real pleasure. There isn't much Ionesco that I haven't already read (in English), so to find something like this, which is new to me is an absolute prize.

I can't imagine too many people liking this as I did, so it doesn't get recommended, but it does get "thumbs up."

HIGH COUNTRY -- Nevada Barr

Recorded Books -- CD
unabridged -- 2004 -- 8 CDs
ISBN: 1402573669

National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon goes undercover as a waitress to try and learn the reasons behind the disappearance of four young people from Yosemite National Park.

I've said it before, and I'll repeat it here, I'm generally not a fan of the mystery fiction genre. I've read a few of the Nevada Barr/Anna Pigeon mysteries simply because I am a fan of our National Parks, and I liked the idea of using the Parks for literary series'. The fact that Nevada Barr is also a true National Park Ranger has made it more interesting.

I am also not in the habit of listening to a book rather than reading one, but because I knew I was going to be driving a good distance several days in a row, I quickly rushed to my library to look for a book on CD that I thought I might enjoy.

This has been my least favorite of the books I have "read" by Barr. I immediately sensed the "red herrings" and was sure I knew who was behind the trouble (I was right). The fact that drugs played a key role in the plot was a real disappointment. Didn't drugs figure in to another of her books? I believe so.

I guess, all in all, it really just seemed too easy. I didn't have to work much as a reader, and I didn't feel she had to work too hard as a writer -- stock characters and plot, and a wonderful setting that never really figured in to the story.

Not recommended.

THE SEA -- John Banville

Alfred A. Knopf -- hc
New York -- ©2005 -- 195pp
ISBN: 0-307-26311-8
Man Booker Prize Winner

A man returns to a sea-side home to reflect on life, death, and love after the death of his wife.

I enjoyed this novel more than Banville's The Eclipse, but a little Banville goes a long way for me. The melancholy of Banville's writing and themes wears thin, and I find myslef emotionly exhausted simply from trying to stay energized while reading his work.

The weaving of the reflections the narrator recreates, is well done and much easier to follow than it was in the previous novel I read. But when a narrator tells a story by way of a thread which ultimately leads back his reflections after the death of his wife, even the most exciting of times (a young boy's glance up the skirt of his heart's desire [the mother of a friend]) comes across painfully reflective and curious rather than dangerous and exciting. This is that melancholy that becomes the mood throughout.

I won't be venturing in to Banville territory anytime too soon. I need more than reflection in the books I read.

I hesitantly recommend this book. It is well written and offers some nice insights to a life, but it does seem to be paced in a very monotonous way.

ECLIPSE -- John Banville

Alfred A. Knopf -- hc
New York -- ©2000 -- 212pp
ISBN: 0-375-41129-1

An aging actor believes he is encountering ghosts at his childhood home, where he has retreated to in order to reflect on his life and career.

Banville's writing is very lyrical, and one can enjoy the simplest of descriptions. Sometimes, however, the descriptions get in the way of the progress of the story. Any time I encounter writing in which paragraphs run longer than two pages, I begin to wonder if the paragraph is filled with description or advancing story. The best writing, I believe, should be an appropriate balance between the two.

This book was difficult to follow at times, though I've come to see that it is set up as a five-act drama, with each "act" containing specific aspects of the story/life of the narrator. Knowing this helps to put some focus in to the reading of the book. Though I suppose, with my theatre background, I should have been able to figure that out, there is nothing at the beginning of the book to indicate that the story is put together in five parts.

The title of the book is perhaps prophetic as this book seems to have been eclipsed by Banville's The Untouchable (which was published immediately before this), and his most recent, Man Booker Prize winning, The Sea.

Not recommended as a first foray into the books of John Banville.

BEST ONE-ACT PLAYS 1947-1948 -- ed. Margaret Mayorga

Dodd, Mead & Company -- hc
New York -- ©1948 -- 278pp

A collection of one-act plays.

Introduction -- Margaret Mayorga
"On This Green Bank" -- Sylvan Karchmer
"The Sunny Side of the Atom" -- Carl Beier and Ruth Ashton
"Suffer the Little Children" -- Nicholas Bela
"Who Are the Weavers" -- Joseph Shore and Scott Graham Williamson
"A Woman's Privilege" -- Marrijane and Joseph Hayes
"Frankie and Albert (A Play with Music)" -- Elizabeth Wilson Hughes
"Easter Eve" -- Anna F. Trevisan
"Through a Glass Darkly" -- Stanley Richards
"The Meadow" -- Ray Bradbury
"Before the Bullfight" -- Theodore Apstein
Bibliographies
Selected Plays of the Year
New Collections of One-Act Plays

A mostly forgettable, unremarkable collection. Assuming that these were indeed the best from 47-48, then they just don't stand the test of time. Only "A Woman's Privilege" stands out as being very Pinter-esque, before Pinter had made a name for himself. Almost theatre of the absurd, just before Ionesco revolutionized/created the genre.

No real gems here, sadly.

THE SILENCE OF THE LOONS -- "The Minnesota Crime Wave"

Nodin Press -- tpb
Minneapolis, MN -- ©2005 -- 224pp
ISBN: 1-932472-36-3
Introduction by R.D. Zimmerman

A collection of short, mystery stories selected by a regional fiction, crime-writing group. A list of eight items were given to each author, and each story had to contain at least three of those items as part of the mystery. As reader's, our mystery was to see if we could identify what those eight items were. Stories included in the anthology are:

Introduction -- R.D. Zimmerman
"Holiday Murder at Harmony Lake" -- M.D. Lake
"Loon Lodge" -- Mary Logue
"Before Swine" -- William Kent Krueger
"The Gates" -- Judith Guest
"Root of the Matter" -- Monica Ferris
"Mickey's Last Mark" -- K.J. Erickson
"Norwegian Noir" -- Ellen Hart
"A Winter's Tale" -- Carl Brookins
"Take Me Out" -- Lori Lake
"Waltz of the Loons" -- Deborah Woodworth
"Confidential Sources" -- Kerri Miller
"A Domestic Matter" -- David Housewright
"Jake" -- Pat Dennis

I'm not a big reader of mystery fiction, but this intrigued me because of it's origins and it's Minnesota roots. Over-all, I really enjoyed this collection...much more than I thought that I might (made me think that I ought to try my hand at some mystery fiction). In fact, only one story struck me as NOT being good, and oddly enough, that was the story by the biggest "name" (to me, anyway) -- Judith Guest. It seemed to me that she either misunderstood the rules or was trying to be smart and included all eight items in her very briefest of stories.

A fun collection, well-worth reading.

THE DEVIL'S STORYBOOK -- Natalie Babbitt

Farrar Strauss Giroux -- hc
New York -- ©1974 -- 101pp
ISBN: 0-374-31770-4
illustrations by the author

A collection of short stories -- fables -- featuring the Devil.

"Wishes"
"The Very Pretty Lady"
"The Harps of Heaven"
"The Imp in the Basket"
"Nuts"
A Palindrome"
"Ashes"
"Perfection"
"The Rose and the Minor Demon"
"The Power of Speech"

These very brief stories were actually a delight to read. The come across as fables, each with a short moral. My daugher had requested the book from the library because she wanted to read as much Natalie Babbitt as she could, after watching Tuck Everlasting on television. My daughter, too, enjoyed these stories. It only takes about an hour to read through the entire book, but the writing flows nicely and most of the stories were quite enjoyable to read.