Compulsory games : and other stories

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Aickman, Robert

Physical Description:

xvii, 141 pages ; 21 cm.

Series:

New York Review Books classics

Genre:

Short stories.

Horror fiction.

Summary:

"The best and most interesting stories by Robert Aickman, a master of the supernatural tale, the uncanny, and the truly weird. Cross Henry James with M.R. James and you might end up with a writer like Robert Aickman, though his self-described "strange stories" remain confoundingly and uniquely his own. Aickman's superbly written tales terrify not with standard thrills and gore but through a radical overturning of the laws of nature and everyday life. His territory of the strange, of the "void behind the face of order," is a surreal region that grotesquely mimics the quotidian: Is that river the Thames, or is it even a river? What does it mean when a prospective lover removes one dress, and then another--and then another? Do a herd of cows in a peaceful churchyard contain the souls of jilted women preparing to trample a cruel lover to death? Published for the first time under one cover, this collection offers a generous introduction to a sophisticated, psychologically acute modernist whose achievements have too long been hidden under the cloak of genre"--

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Compulsory Games by Robert Aickman -- PROVISIONAL TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Compulsory Games -- Le Miroir -- Raising the Wind -- Residents Only -- Hands in Glove -- Wood -- Laura -- Just a Song at Twilight -- Letters to the Postman -- Marriage -- No Time Is Passing -- The Strangers -- The Fully-Conducted Tour -- A Disciple of Plato -- The Coffin House.

Subject Term:

Horror tales, English

Additional Credits:

Nelson, Victoria

Publication Info:

New York City : New York Review Books, [2018]

Subject:

Horror tales, English

Short stories.

Horror fiction.

English horror tales

SAILS ISBN:

9781681371894

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library	FIC AICKMAN	FICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... New Bedford Free Public Library	FIC AICKMAN	CLASSICS	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

The best and most interesting stories by Robert Aickman, a master of the supernatural tale, the uncanny, and the truly weird.

Robert Aickman's self-described "strange stories" are confoundingly and uniquely his own. These superbly written tales terrify not with standard thrills and gore but through a radical overturning of the laws of nature and everyday life. His territory of the strange, of the "void behind the face of order," is a surreal region that grotesquely mimics the quotidian- Is that river the Thames, or is it even a river? What does it mean when a prospective lover removes one dress, and then another-and then another? Does a herd of cows in a peaceful churchyard contain the souls of jilted women preparing to trample a cruel lover to death? Published for the first time under one cover, the stories in this collection offer an unequaled introduction to a profoundly original modern master of the uncanny.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Aickman (1914-1981) was a master of the "strange story" whose nearly unclassifiable output relies neither on ghosts nor creaking castles. Each story in this collection is a small masterpiece of unease and psychological perplexity. In the title story, a mysterious woman gradually seduces and supplants both a husband and wife; in "Hand in Glove" a holiday in the country seems to cross over to a netherworld of carnivorous cows; and in "No Time Is Passing," a man discovers a river behind his house that leads to an island seemingly outside of time. Other stories feature ancient wooden cabins, reclusive women of mystery, and "dreams... hard to recall in their particulars." In "Residents Only," a neglected graveyard becomes walled off from the living by its population of living dead. "Wood" follows a man entering into a strange marriage with the daughter of a sinister carpenter. "Le Miroir" introduces a young woman who falls out of step with her own reflection. Insidious, haunting, and brilliant, Aickman's stories present dreamlike, inexplicable realities in prose both strangely sensual and entirely disarming, making this collection a treasure for fans of Poe, Kafka, and Lovecraft. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

A collection of dark, eerie tales from a master of weird fiction.English author Aickman (1914-1981) is regarded as a forefather of horror, and this reissue of his fiction by NYRB Classics shows that his reputation is justified. In the title story, a married couple forms a friendship with a peculiar woman that leads to unsettling consequences. In "Hand in Glove," a woman who breaks off her relationship takes a trip to the English countryside with a friend, unaware that her ex-boyfriend may not be far behind. And in "Marriage," a young man proves irresistibly attractive to two different women, both of whom prove dangerously insatiable. With these 15 stories, four of which are previously unpublished, Aickman creates a disquieting universe in which everything is just off, a wall covered in pictures hung at imperceptibly crooked angles. His command of tone and tension far outstrips that of H.P. Lovecraft and presents a serious challenge to Henry James. He is at his strongest when he is briefthe longer stories in the collection tend to fall apart when compared to the shorter onesbut his strongest moments are his brilliant one-sentence insights into the human psyche. "One's broken heart, if it can be mended at all, can be mended in only one wayto kill the man who has broken it," says one of Aickman's characters. "One does not turn aside from angels in order to count dustbins," Aickman writes later on. But this is precisely what Aickman has done: His tales are devoid of angels, filled only with the dread of what lurks just behind the open door, of the possibility that your worst fears could be realand could find you one day.As unnerving as it is sinuous; an absolute delight. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Introduction: Under the Skin	p. vii
Compulsory Games	p. 1
Hand in Glove	p. 25
Marriage	p. 51
Le Miroir	p. 84
No Time Is Passing	p. 95
Raising the Wind	p. 120
Residents Only	p. 130
Wood	p. 179
The Strangers	p. 204
The Coffin House	p. 253
Letters to the Postman	p. 258
Laura	p. 296
The Fully-Conducted Tour	p. 306
A Disciple of Plato	p. 313
Just a Song at Twilight	p. 327

Available:

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Table of Contents