Emily

A really charming short story that highlights James’s talent for pillorying everyone from the working class to the ivory tower intellectuals. Plus a genuinely creepy narrative of a haunted engraving? Delightful!

I love how much fun the ride is, even when the plot is so clearly telegraphed. I’m not sure if it’s just a convention of the times, but to me it feels like James is supremely confident in his ability to write a gripping yarn, he doesn’t need to be coy with his foreshadowing.

I didn't intend to finish this one today, but the final chapters were so gripping, so oppressively fraught with danger and fear, I could not stop reading once I was in their grip. What a powerful, beautiful, horrifying, terrifying piece of writing. I can’t quite express how *dangerous* the danger in this book feels. It’s unlike any horror novel I’ve read before, where the fear is real, but somehow it never felt as *REAL* real as in this book. I felt like I was witnessing an actual child running for his life and it was all I could do to will him on. Massively recommended, this one.

I didn't intend to finish this one today, but the final chapters were so gripping, so oppressively fraught with danger and fear, I could not stop reading once I was in their grip. What a powerful, beautiful, horrifying, terrifying piece of writing. I can’t quite express how *dangerous* the danger in this book feels. It’s unlike any horror novel I’ve read before, where the fear is real, but somehow it never felt as *REAL* real as in this book. I felt like I was witnessing an actual child running for his life and it was all I could do to will him on. Massively recommended, this one.

Found this to be a nice little october snack. A guy discovers something fascinating and it comes with a little more than he bargained for. Not much going on with character or interiority, just a set up, plot actions, and an ending that felt a little bit like the James just trailing off, which I rather enjoyed. It felt like someone you’ve just met in a pub telling you a story, and once the action ends, the story’s just over, why come up with a drawn out denouement. Could easily have ended with the traditional German fairy tale ending: “and if they haven't died, then they are still living today."

Found this to be a nice little october snack. A guy discovers something fascinating and it comes with a little more than he bargained for. Not much going on with character or interiority, just a set up, plot actions, and an ending that felt a little bit like the James just trailing off, which I rather enjoyed. It felt like someone you’ve just met in a pub telling you a story, and once the action ends, the story’s just over, why come up with a drawn out denouement. Could easily have ended with the traditional German fairy tale ending: “and if they haven't died, then they are still living today."