<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Cynical, disturbing, hilarious - a fine anthology
Review: I picked this up on a whim - I like de Maupassant, but since the package didn't list which stories were included on the tapes, it was a bit of a gamble. It paid off, though; Anthony Quayle's reading is very good indeed, and the selection includes a number of stories that I hadn't read before. (The label says "Abridged," but as far as I could tell the individual stories were uncut; it might just mean that this is a subset of stories from a published collection.)Here's the table of contents as I jotted it down: Tape 1, Side 1:
Lost at Sea
In the Spring
In the Country
Tape 1, Side 2:
In the Country (cont.)
The Umbrella
A Deal
Playing with Fire
Tape 2, Side 1:
Playing with Fire (cont.)
An Encounter
The Hand
Tape 2, Side 2:
The Hand (cont.)
The Hostelry Some are dark tales, some very funny ("A Deal," which begins in a courtroom during a trial for attempted murder, is unexpectedly hilarious); some, like "In the Country," are both (and rather cynical - the author doesn't seem to *like* people very much; even in the lightest stories, few of the characters come off in a very good light). Other tales are positively eerie; both "The Hand" and "The Hostelry" have appeared in horror anthologies, and the latter is wonderfully evocative of howling blizzards and snowbound isolation, as it grinds towards its icy, grim conclusion...
<< 1 >>
| 
