The Worm Ouroboros, by E. R. Eddison

Do you re-read books? I am an avid re-reader, although I know that some people think that this is a waste of time when there are so many new books to explore. But I find that going back to books I have read once can offer new insights into a familiar story or simply the comfort of spending time with characters that you like.

That being said, quest novels do not seem to automatically lend themselves to re-reading. You already know that the heroes manage to get the ring to the fire, or find the hidden sword, and that all is set more or less right at the end. But even here, in the world of fantastic fiction, there are stories that bear a second or third or fourth reading. In many cases, what draws me back to fantasy titles is sheer pleasure in the use of language, especially in tales of high fantasy, with their reverberations of Mallory and faint echoes of Beowulf and the Norse sagas.

The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison is a fantasy classic that always seems to have something new to offer. Originally written in 1922, The Worm Ouroboros shares some characters with Eddison’s later Zimiamvian trilogy. Here, Eddison tells the tale of the bloody war between the Lords of Demonland, led by the masterful Lord Juss, and the witches, led by two crafty and treacherous kings, each named Gorice. Eddison’s tale set the standard for many of the high fantasy tales that were to follow. He deftly mixes swordplay, massive battles, magic, a perilous quest, politics and statecraft, and betrayal and revenge into a forceful story that is filled with lavish descriptions and lush language. It is the prose that brings me back to Eddison, a chance to enjoy long, luxuriant sentences filled with old-fashioned phrases and words. This is a story that would benefit from being read aloud. In mythology, Ouroboros was depicted as a snake or dragon swallowing its own tail, a symbol of the cyclical nature of life. The close of Eddison’s saga finds the Demon lords downcast at their enemies’ defeat. Life is not worth living without a foe to fight against. But like the snake that gives the book its title, the Demon lords’ story ends where it began, with the arrival of an emissary from the witch court, demanding fealty.

We have Eddison’s wonderful story only in ebook form, for iPad, NOOK, Android tablet, or PC. So if you have a mobile device:

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Belshazzar’s Daughter, by Barbara Nadel

I am a great fan of crime fiction set in other countries. In addition to a good mystery, these stories also provide a window into new parts of the world. You learn about customs, traditions, food and arts, and more in the context of a crime investigation. Barbara Nadel is my latest find in this genre (thanks, Penelope), and she ranks up there with Donna Leon, Magdalene Nabb, Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö,  and George Simenon in my pantheon of international crime fiction authors.

Nadel’s stories are set in contemporary Istanbul, and feature Turkish Police Inspector Çetin Ikmen and his assistant Mehmet Suleyman. Ikmen is a wonderful creation, with his wife and eight children (and one on the way), his ever-present bottle of brandy, and his thoughtful approach to crime solving. Nadel has also created a host of other appealing characters, including Ikmen’s long-suffering wife Fatma, the other members of the police squad, and of course those people caught up in the criminal investigation.

The story begins with the discovery, by an unknown character, of the body of an old Jewish man in the seedy Balat section of Istanbul. Far from the tourist attractions Balat houses what remains of Istanbul’s Jewish population, as well as those down on their luck. Ikmen’s investigation into the crime takes him deep into the past, as long-buried violence resurfaces, and Ikmen and his team try to unravel a complicated and tangled set of threads.

Nadel has an obvious affection for and a clear understanding of Istanbul and its people, and she captures the city’s bright light and its dark shadows in this complex and twisting story. Belshazzar’s Daughter is a fine start to an excellent series that should appeal to fans of international crime novels.

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The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker

It has been a while since I have found a fantasy novel that really drew me in, so I was quite pleased to discover Helen Wecker’s debut novel, which deftly blends elements from Jewish and Arab folktales into a more than satisfying read.

In 1899, a ship arrives in New York City’s harbor carrying immigrants from Europe. Not unusual for the 1890s. What makes this an uncommon arrival is the presence on the ship of a woman made of clay, a golem, created to be the obedient wife of Otto Rotfeld, a Jewish immigrant from Prussia. But Rotfeld dies as the ship is crossing the Atlantic, freeing the golem from his control, but leaving her doubly adrift. Not only is she a stranger in a strange land, but as a golem, she exists to serve, and she no longer has a master. When the ship arrives, the golem leaps into the harbor and makes her way to shore to avoid a confrontation with the immigration service. She arrives in the city soaking wet and knowing no one.

At the same time, a Syrian tinsmith named Arbeely, living in New York’s Little Syria, begins work repairing a copper flask brought to him by a local baker. When he touches his soldering iron to the flask, Arbeely finds himself blasted through the air, and discovers a naked man lying on the floor of the shop. It is a jinni, trapped in the flask for some thousand years.

From this fascinating beginning, Wecker weaves a complicated tale as the golem and the jinni must learn to live as humans in that most complex of cities. The golem, given the name Chava by a rabbi who recognizes her as a supernatural being and befriends her, and the jinni, whom Arbeely dubs Ahmad, and who reluctantly begins working with Arbeely, eventually meet and slowly develop a friendship. Wecker tells a moving story of two beings who share not only the challenges of being immigrants but also a further isolation from normal society. Their growing friendship and the lives of the people they meet in the Jewish and Syrian neighborhoods of New York make for a delightful story.

But more than friendship binds the two, as the reader and the pair discover. The lives of both the jinni and the golem are bound to the life of a malevolent spirit who created the golem and who imprisoned the jinni in the flask. This spirit, appearing variously as a dissolute rabbi, a Syrian wizard, and a recent immigrant to New York, seeks to control the lives of Chava and Ahmad. Only by facing together the danger that confronts them can the golem and the jinni achieve surcease of sorrow.

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Sibley’s Birding Basics, by David Allen Sibley

Spring is winding down in the tidewater region, and for the last 35 or so years one the harbingers of the season for me has the arrival of migrant birds to the area over the course of the spring. After a winter diet of cardinals, white-throated sparrows, juncos, titmice and chickadees (all fine birds mind you), it is exciting to start to see some of the summer residents arriving or to see the more northerly birds passing though on their way to New England and Canada. The Williamsburg area has lots of places to see birds, many of which are listed in the Williamsburg Bird Club’s Hotspots list. The Bird Club has also been a strong supporter of the library, donating funds to purchase new titles for our bird watching collection.

WRL’s collection of birding materials has something for everyone from the beginner to the long-time birder. Books on calls, on identifying specific species, and on the history of birding can all be found, as well as titles on birding in Virginia and in Williamsburg.

One of the best titles for those interested in taking up bird watching is David Sibley’s Birding Basics. Here, Sibley walks the new birder through the things needed to get started—how to look at birds so that you start to recognize patterns, what sort of optical equipment is best for birding, how to make the best use of field guides, and where to go for more in-depth reading on species. The book is filled with Sibley’s illustrations (he is a superb artist) that illuminate his points and make clear identifying marks and patterns to look for. Armed with this text anyone will be a better birder, and if you want to get an idea of what all those birds around you are, Sibley’s Birding Basics should be your go-to book.

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The Railway Detective, by Edward Marston

Edward Marston is a prolific writer of excellent historical mysteries. He is equally at home in the Elizabethan theater or  in Restoration London. I was delighted to recently discover a more recent series by Marston set in the rapidly expanding world of the railways in 1850s England. Marston excels at capturing the feel of a place and time as well as at crafting an intriguing mystery. This series shows him at his best.

Marston’s protagonist is Inspector Robert Colbeck of Scotland Yard, soon to be dubbed “The Railway Detective” for his work solving the theft of a large gold shipment as well as letters from the London to Birmingham mail train. While the mystery is interesting, and Marston puts in enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing, it is the interplay between the characters that is most appealing. Colbeck faces resentment from the local police and the railroad security staff who fear a loss of power when Scotland Yard takes over. He also is continually at odds with his rather officious superior officer, who resents Colbeck’s fame. In this first novel in the series, the attack on the mail train brings the daughter of the engineer to Colbeck’s attention, offering an interesting twist to the story, and insights into the role of women in mid-Victorian London.

One of Marston’s great strengths is his ability to bring a past time to life. The early days of the railways were exciting times for many, especially the engineers seeking to control nature as they laid track and created bridges and tunnels. Marston conveys this excitement to the reader just as he conveys the harsh conditions of the navvies who built the railways. Moving easily from high society to the hovels of the railway gangs, Marston’s ear for colloquial speech and eye for detail add to the realism of the story.

As the series goes on, the characters evolve in intriguing, and not always expected, ways, and new characters are introduced to keep things fresh. This is one of the best historical series I have come across recently.

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Also available in ebook form

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Finding My Elegy, by Ursula K. Le Guin

It is always interesting when you discover that an author you enjoy for one type of writing also writes in other forms. For many fiction writers, this second form seems to be poetry. Wendell Berry and John Updike, though better known for fiction, are fine poets, and I was pleased to discover while browsing the new books here that Ursula K. Le Guin, whose fiction has been a favorite of mine for years, is also an eloquent poet who has been writing poems for over 50 years. This collection brings together some of Le Guin’s best poetry from 1960-2010.

Like her prose, Le Guin’s poetry is carefully made and reflects a joy in words and ideas. Her poems are precise and crystalline, and there does not seem to be a word used that was not carefully chosen and thoughtfully placed. Le Guin writes equally well about nature (“Wild Oats and Fireweed”) and about the world of the mind (“Learning Latin in Old Age”).

There are some themes that resurface throughout the collection. Loss—of friends and family, places, and abilities—is a recurrent theme, particularly in some of the later poems, but it is balanced by a palpable joy in living that is apparent in even the darkest moments in Le Guin’s verse. The roles of women too are studied here—daughter, wife, lover, mother, Maenad or shepherdess.  These are themes that Le Guin has explored in her fiction as well, and it is fascinating to see them here distilled to poetry.

If you only know Ursula K. Le Guin as a fiction writer, you should have a look at these poems as well, and if you are not familiar with her writing at all, the poems here are a fine place to make her acquaintance.

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An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry, ed. Wes Davis

Irish writer Seamus Heaney is one of my favorite modern poets, and I have also found much to enjoy in the work of some of the earlier 20th century Irish poets, Patrick Kavanagh and Louis MacNeice in particular. So as I was browsing the poetry collection here, I was delighted to come across this anthology of modern Irish poets. I have discovered here a wealth of new writers to read.

There are poems here about the Troubles and about the history of the Irish people, but what mostly strikes me as I read through these poems is the love of language that seems to be the hallmark of all of the poets here. Here is an example:

She pushed the hair out of her eyes with
her free hand and put the bucket down.

The zinc-music of the handle on the rim
Tuned the evening

(from Eavan Boland’s “The Achill Woman”)

I love the phrase “zinc-music.”

And another:

I saw magic on a green country road–
That old woman, a bag of sticks her load,

Blackly down to her thin feet a fringed shawl,
A rosary of bone on her horned hand,

(from Michael Harnett’s “Thirteen Sonnets”)

This is a substantial collection with over 900 pages of poems, from over 50 poets. The poems here are all in English, though some were translated from Gaelic, and each poet’s section begins with a short, but thorough introduction to the author and his or her work. If you have any interest in the poetry of Ireland this is a indispensable collection.

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To Be Read in 500 Years, by Albert Goldbarth

I was introduced to Albert Goldbarth through his wonderful poem “Library” (thanks Neil!), that describes what various books have done for and to Goldbarth and others in the course of their existence. It starts off  with “This book saved my life” and proceeds through “This is a book of prohibitions; this other, a book of rowdy license. They serve equally to focus the prevalent chaos of our lives” and “This book is guarded around the clock by men in navy serge and golden braiding, carrying very capable guns” to “This book is going to save the world.”

Goldbarth delights in words, and his poems draw the reader into that delight. He also invests his poems with much humor, though these are by no means light verse. The poems here are frequently long, do not rhyme, and often appear dense on the page. But once you get into them, the way Goldbarth plays with language can leave you breathless. He seemingly effortlessly combines personal stories with bits and pieces of facts about everything from the Bible and literature to physics and the natural sciences. He revels in unusual words and made-up words and in “imperfect knowledge.” He can also be pretty blunt about sexuality, as he notes in “The Singing,” “I have (as colleague X once said) an offensively salty mouth.”

Nonetheless, Goldbarth’s poems are worth the effort of close reading. He plays with words the way a good horn player plays with the notes in a jazz tune. You start off thinking you are listening to an old standard, but by the end you see the piece in a new way. Goldbarth’s poetry opens up new vistas and very well may be being read “in 500 years.”

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Without, by Donald Hall

Two Aprils ago, I wrote about poet Jane Kenyon’s last book, Otherwise. Today’s post is her husband Donald Hall’s moving and powerful collection of poems about Kenyon’s illness, death, and the days and months following, as Hall begins life without her.

Hall is a superb poet, and I have always enjoyed his writing, grounded in the New England granite where Hall lives on his family’s farm. His poems are earthy, substantial pieces, that move easily from the personal to the universal.

Here is one of my favorites, “Ox Cart Man,” and another, “Mt. Kearsarge Shines.”

The poems in Without reflect Hall’s deep grief over the illness and death of Jane Kenyon: ”Remembered happiness is agony; so is remembered agony” (“Midwinter Letter”). At the same time, they move with grace to explore the necessity of living with that grief, and the possibility of doing so.

These are not easy poems, but no one said that reading poetry (or reading anything else for that matter) should be easy. They are, however, important poems to read as we try to make sense of the human condition, and that is what all of our reading does for us.

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Good Poems, American Places, ed. Garrison Keillor

It is poetry month, and this week, Blogging for a Good Book will look at several books of poetry, both anthologies and works of individual poets. We hope that you will take some time this month to read a poem or two. Read them aloud, as poetry is meant to be heard not just read. And if you are ambitious, try to memorize a poem or two: here are some good ones to start with.

Through his Writer’s Almanac programs on public radio, Garrison Keillor has done a great deal to refresh poetry’s place in American letters (at least for those who listen to NPR). His programs each morning conclude with a poem. In selecting his poems, Keillor goes for pieces that express “a little humanity” and that will not send readers away feeling that they have just encountered “a puzzle with no right answers.”

Springing from the Writer’s Almanac, Keillor has edited several anthologies of outstanding poems, old and new. In Good Poems, American Places, Keillor has sought out poems with a strong sense of place; poems that take the reader somewhere, be it Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s Central Park (“Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West”), Sarah Freligh’s Tonawanda (“City of Tonawanda Softball Championship”), May Sarton’s “Monticello,” or Donald Hall’s Mt. Kearsarge (“Mt. Kearsarge Shines”). Additionally, there are poems that explore more intimate, private space—the farm fields plowed by Joyce Sutphen’s father (“H”) or John Haag’s resting place of a ’37 Chevy pickup (“Homesteader”).

Keillor has a fine ear for verse, and his selections here represent some of the best American poetry around. The collection includes a mix of well-known writers—Billy Collins, Maxine Kumin, Charles Wright—as well as many poets new to me whose work I look forward to exploring.

America is truly present in this book, in the hard work that is done in the factories and farms, in the constant movement from city to rural land, in the bright lights and dark spaces, and in the births and deaths and the in-betweens of the people in these poems. Good Poems, American Places is a superb collection for anyone interested in poetry or America.

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Finding Camlann, by Sean Pidgeon

Although I started off the week with the intention of writing about older books that are worth a second look, I want to finish with one very new title.  I was at the American Library Association conference this past week, and was fortunate enough to pick up a copy of Sean Pidgeon’s debut novel Finding Camlann (thanks, Golda!).  Like the A. S. Byatt book I wrote about yesterday, Pidgeon’s novel deftly blends literary research, archaeology, mythology, and relationships into a satisfying and compelling story.

The Welsh have had an uneasy relationship with the English for centuries, and Pidgeon mines that rich lode for the foundation of the story.  He moves easily between from the time of Owain Glyn Dŵr’s rebellion against the forces of Henry IV to the Welsh Nationalist movement of the second half of the 20th century to contemporary times.  Running through all of these stories is the search for the historic King Arthur, if he really did exist.

Pidgeon’s story follows the work of archaeologist Donald Gladstone to place Arthur in a historical context. His newest book has been dropped by his publisher as too scholarly, especially in light of the discovery of some early human remains that some are claiming as the bodies of Arthur and Guenevere.  Gladstone refuse to sensationalize his work, despite pressures to do so.  An encounter with Julia Llewellyn, a linguist whom he met once while studying at Oxford, rekindles both their friendship and a shared interest in an obscure piece of Welsh poetry describing a lost battle.  As the pair delve into the meaning of the poem, unsettled incidents from the far and near past must be reckoned with, as must their rekindled affection.

Like Byatt, Pidgeon uses a mix of narrative, letters, poems, and journal entries to shed light on both characters and events.  He has a fine ear for dialog and a clear understanding of and affection for the scholarly process.  You can read the book for its well-drawn characters, its crystalline  language, its thoughtful telling of Welsh and English history, or its compelling plot.  In all cases you will come away satisfied.

The layers in Pidgeon’s story are as complex as those of any archaeological site, and as satisfying to uncover.  So dig in.

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Possession, by A. S. Byatt

In addition to mysteries and science writing, I am also easily won by books about scholarship, research, occult books, and academia.  One of my long-time favorites in this category is A. S. Byatt’s luminous novel Possession.  Probably her best known work, Possession explores romance, scholarship, and literary detection in elegant language.

As in many of Byatt’s stories, Possession features a complex plot that moves both between multiple storylines and alternating time periods.  Byatt relates parallel stories.  The first involves two contemporary literary scholars, and the second two nineteenth century poets whom the modern scholars are studying.  As their research progresses, the modern scholars bring to light an undiscovered relationship between the poets.  At the same time their shared research interests spark a relationship between the scholars.

Byatt moves easily  between the present and the late nineteenth century, and she has a gifted ear for dialog and language of both periods.  Of added interest are the forays away from the standard narrative form.  Byatt creates letters, poetry, and journal entries in the voices of her various characters.  These more personal sections help create completely believable characters.  Byatt’s writing frequently explores the challenges and difficulties of relationships between her characters.  She is clear-eyed and fearless in her depiction of both the pleasures and the possibilities of deep sadness that we open ourselves up to when we fall in love.

Possession will appeal to a wide range of readers.  Anyone who loves clear, thoughtful prose will delight in Byatt’s style.  Readers interested in literary scholarship or poetry will find Byatt an able guide to those fields.  And those looking for a moving examination of the human condition will be amply rewarded.

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Audubon: The Making of an American, by Richard Rhodes

Readers looking for a writer who can smoothly blend together interesting characters and hard facts will enjoy the writings of Richard Rhodes.  Like yesterday’s author, John McPhee, Rhodes is known for both the quality of his research into the subjects about which he is writing and for an ability to make complex topics understandable.

This ability is most evident in Rhodes’s trilogy on atomic weapons, beginning with The Making of the Atomic Bomb. In these books and his other works, Rhodes brings a sense of scale to the broader story by relating the lives of those people involved.  In the case of his works on nuclear warfare, soldiers, scientists, and politicians all have their say, and the stories of their lives ground the science in humanity.

Like McPhee though, Rhodes can also write perceptively about the natural world, and his biography of John James Audubon, one of America’s first naturalists, is an excellent introduction to Rhodes’s writings.  Here, Rhodes deftly captures the a sense of the possibilities that the undeveloped expanses of North America raised for naturalists in the early days of the country.  Through the story of the life of Haitian-born Audubon’s early years  in France, his emigration to America, and his struggles to support his family, Rhodes also tells the story of the early days of the Republic.

Audubon’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive to succeed make him an excellent choice to model the spirit of the young America.  Rhodes does an excellent job at conveying both the details of Audubon’s life and of the broader canvas on which Audubon lived and worked without overwhelming the reader in either case.  Readers interested in the early days of ornithology, in the development of the American republic, or in the development of an artist will find much to enjoy here.

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Looking for a Ship, by John McPhee

I have written about John McPhee before, but in looking back at my reading list, I came across this book of McPhee’s that I had just re-read.  I enjoyed it immensely.  McPhee’s interests are truly catholic, and he has written about everything from oranges to Scotland to geology, and he has profiled characters as diverse as Bill Bradley (in his college basketball playing days) and environmentalist David Brower.  There is however a common thread that runs through all of his writings.  McPhee always connects his stories to people.  McPhee’s classic work The Pine Barrens examines not only the unique ecology of this remnant of the great eastern forests, but also the lives of the people who have chosen to live in this remote place.

In Looking for a Ship, McPhee profiles Andy Chase, a merchant mariner who is “looking for a ship,” as well as examining the state of the U.S. Merchant Marine at the end of the 1980s.  He does this by joining Chase on the S.S. Stella Lykes, a carrier ship that takes on Chase as Second Mate.  As in any McPhee book, we learn a lot about the workings of the ship, from the engine room to the bridge, and we get thoughtful and clearly drawn portraits of the crew from  the captain on down.  They are a fascinating bunch, if a bit idiosyncratic.

Looking for a Ship shows McPhee’s strengths in many areas.  He is a nature writer without peer, his delight in the ocean and the smaller waterways is evident.  McPhee also has an eye for both details and for the larger picture, and his descriptions of the Stella Lykes echo the issues in the larger Merchant Marine.  McPhee also has a clear curiosity for how things work and how individuals do their jobs.  He seemingly effortlessly conveys this enthusiasm to readers leaving them equally fascinated.

With appealing characters, writing that is both detailed and crisp, McPhee can be read and enjoyed by a broad audience.  Looking for a Ship is a great starting point.

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Hoare and the Headless Captains, by Wilder Perkins.

Although I have been lax this past year in keeping a reading list, I have more or less kept track of all the things I have read since 1984 or so.  It is nothing complex, just a title and author list to help jog the memory when I need it.  This week’s posts are mostly ones from that list — older titles that I think warrant a second look, or, if you are not familiar with these authors or books, a first look.  These are, in many cases, the titles that I go back to when I am looking for something familiar to read.  I think that these titles are ones that have retained their currency.

I am always interested in well-researched historical mysteries, as readers of this blog know.  One that I have particularly enjoyed is Wilder Perkins’ Bartholomew Hoare series.  Set in early 19th century England, Perkins’ books follow the career of former naval captain Bartholomew Hoare.  Hoare’s promising naval career is cut short by a throat wound that renders him unable to speak above a whisper, preventing him from assuming command of a ship.  Instead,  Hoare is assigned to investigate a variety of crimes that involve both civilians and the navy.  Here, we find Hoare in command of a motley crew of spies serving King George III.  When two prominent navy officers are found decapitated in Dorchester, Hoare and his crew have to figure out if this is a ritual murder of some sort, or part of a more sinister plot by Bonapartists to overthrow the royal family.

With lots of detail of both civilian and naval life and its mix of espionage and mystery, this story should appeal to fans of Bruce Alexander’s Sir John Fielding series as well as to those who enjoy Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey and Maturin series, but really, any fan of historical crime fiction should give Perkins a read.

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Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens

Each winter for the past several years I have gone back to the late 19th century to read one of the classic novels of that period–Dickens, Hardy, Trollope. Last year my book of choice was Bleak House (thanks, Charlotte, for the great suggestion). This year while browsing the Dickens shelves, Nicholas Nickleby caught my eye, and I am glad that it did!

Like all of Dickens, Nickleby is a sprawling story that shifts from London to Yorkshire to Portsmouth and back. Originally published in serial form, the story moves briskly for all its length, with short chapters alternating between the trials of the various characters. And what characters they are. How could you not be drawn in to a story populated by such folk as Wackford Squeers (a despicable schoolmaster), Lord Verisopht (a naive nobleman who redeems himself at the cost of his life), Charles and Ned Cheeryble (twin brothers involved in international trade who assist Nicholas), the miserable Smike, who finds a friend in Nicholas, and many others.

The story is common to Dickens in that it follows the ups and downs of a young man (in this case also those of his sister and mother) who is orphaned and left to fend for himself in an unforgiving society. Nicholas and his sister Kate can expect no help from their rich uncle Ralph, who seems to delight in making their lives as difficult as possible. Unexpected friends turn up and some apparent friends turn out to be less than they seem. What makes this story particularly appealing though is that Nicholas refuses to let himself be simply a victim of fate. Over the course of the story, Nicholas works as a teacher in a dreadful school for boys, as an actor in a traveling company, as a French tutor, and finally as a bookkeeper. At each step along the way he makes decisions that affect his life. He is no passive pawn.

There is a great deal of humor here. Nicholas’s time with the traveling players is delightful, and Dickens clearly had some experience with actors from his portrayal of the Crummles family, including “The Infant Phenomenon,” and their colleagues Miss Snevellicci, Mr. Folair, and Mr. Lenville. And as always, Dickens does not spare the tragic. The death of Smike from tuberculosis and that of Lord Verisopht in a duel defending the honor of Kate Nickleby both show Dickens at his most moving.

I think that what keeps me coming back to Dickens each year is the obvious affection he has for his characters and his great compassion. Oh, and the character’s names. I look forward to the next trip to Dickensian London.

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The Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson

The books featured so far in this week’s posts may make you feel a bit uneasy, but it is a sort of comfortable scariness that they offer. Today’s title is quite the opposite. Shirley Jackson is a master of the macabre, and her short story “The Lottery” is still disturbing many years after I read it (probably in 8th or 9th grade). Just thinking about the story sends shivers up my spine and leaves me feeling slightly queasy.

What makes Jackson’s work disturbing, but also compelling, is her ability to move swiftly and easily from a pleasant scene of domestic or community bliss to outright horror. Her work explores the dark heart that Jackson seems to feel lies at the center of our most cherished institutions—family, community, love. These are frightening stories, especially as they usually are peopled by folks not too different from you and me. The horror of the tales is sometimes leavened by a dark strand of humor, but not too much. These are fascinatingly grim explorations of the human psyche.

While “The Lottery” is the story that I find most chilling in this collection, and the one that created a stir when it was first published in the New Yorker in 1948, there are other stories equally unsettling. “The Demon Lover,” “The Witch,” and “Trial by Combat” all will leave you wondering what is really going on in the lives of the characters.

These are not stories I go back to often, but sometimes, when you are in the mood to be discomfited, Shirley Jackson is just the writer to do it.

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Ghosts by Gaslight, ed. Jack Dann and Nick Gevers

Steampunk is a growing sub-genre of science fiction that combines a fascination with technology and scientific innovation with, usually, a late 19th-century setting.  As science fiction generally does, Steampunk explores the “what ifs”  of innovations and their effects on society. In Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense, edited by Jack Dann and Nick Gevers, seventeen contemporary authors offer stories that share a fascination with scientific exploration, occult books, lonesome graves, and tormented spirits. All of these stories have the feel and tone of the wonderfully creepy ghost tales of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods.

As in any collection of stories, each reader will find his or her own favorites. I found “Music, when soft voices die” by Peter S. Beagle particularly chilling. Beagle tells the tale of a medical student whose experiments in electric generation go terribly awry, leaving him haunted by a voice of infinite sorrow. As in all of Beagle’s writing, the characters leap off the page and into your heart and mind.

Another fascinating tale is “The curious case of the moondawn daffodils murder” by Garth Nix, a superb writer of eerie fiction. Here, a second cousin of Sherlock Holmes arrives at a police station to help solve a murder, attended by his “keeper.” Sir Magnus Holmes (an echo perhaps of M. R. James’s Count Magnus?) is currently an inmate of an insane asylum, though allowed out if accompanied. The story involves dark spells, enchanted objects, and a mysterious society bent on evil. The ending here is dark and almost Lovecraft-ian.

Two stories, “Why I was hanged” and “The jade woman of the luminous star” demonstrate the dangers of becoming involved in the spirit world, as both protagonists end up accused of murder (which may or may not be the case). Other tales involve grave-robbing in Egypt with dire results, revenants haunting the scene of their transgressions, and an ill-thought-out attempt at creating an army of golems.  All of the stories create a strong feeling of unease without ever being explicitly gory or visceral. The horror here is psychological. Of particular interest is a short essay by the author after each story that gives its origins and sheds some light on the tale.

M. R. James and LeFanu would be delighted with this collection.

Check the WRL catalog for Ghosts by Gaslight

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