Hello Paul and all, I found this story enjoyable and irritating in equal measure. In the prologue, the author seemed keen to put himself centre stage and to remind us that what we were about to read was very much a fiction. There was quite a lot of telling going on here alongside the showing.
Perhaps because of the writing style, elements of the story came across quite comic – the little boy who had been frightened by the apparition at the window for example.
I was annoyed by the failure to explain both of the inscriptions on the whistle and went back to read the story again in case I had missed something.
Having said all of this, I did like the fact that the Spectre was made of the bedsheets
I’m sure I will recall this tale every time I wrestle a duvet into its cover
Ha, I do the same thing when I'm making the beds. It's such an unsettling thing which has stayed with me all these years later after reading it for the first time. I've yet to read anything that uses everyday things in the same, eerie way.
The inscriptions bit doesn't help the story as you've said. And the jaunty way of writing at the start.
You touch on something that's doing my head in at the moment. I've been reading a lot of older stuff, and the way common or ethnic people are written often takes me out the story. I've just finished Poe's 'The Gold Bug' and the dialogue used for the servant (see: slave) is unreadable most of the time.
I've glad you enjoyed parts of the story, if not all. This is one where modern editors would have actually made the story better if they had the chance to work on it.
Also - thanks for giving me space to rant!
Do let me know if you have any favourites you'd like us to read next :-)
Interesting… for me, the descriptions did not evoke visceral terror or suspense. Perhaps it was the “English tea” style of the writing. References to golf reinforced my feeling of the mundane. I would have liked to see those disparate elements brought together or just leave out the non-subplot. His inner conflict seemed linear, unrelated to who he was or if there was some deeper significance to it all.
Thanks for commenting. Yeah, that style of writing at points does suck the atmosphere out if it at points. There's a part of the story where Parkins blows the whistle and the windows blow open, which is handled with dialogue which feels a little 'pip, pip, oh dear'. I'd have liked to see the writer lean into the tension more here.
And you are right. You touched on an element that I wasn't quite able to put my finger on. The most effective stories challenge what's often termed as a character's 'sacred flaw', whereas this story just doesn't challenge Parkins at that deep a level.
Hello Paul and all, I found this story enjoyable and irritating in equal measure. In the prologue, the author seemed keen to put himself centre stage and to remind us that what we were about to read was very much a fiction. There was quite a lot of telling going on here alongside the showing.
Perhaps because of the writing style, elements of the story came across quite comic – the little boy who had been frightened by the apparition at the window for example.
I was annoyed by the failure to explain both of the inscriptions on the whistle and went back to read the story again in case I had missed something.
Having said all of this, I did like the fact that the Spectre was made of the bedsheets
I’m sure I will recall this tale every time I wrestle a duvet into its cover
Ha, I do the same thing when I'm making the beds. It's such an unsettling thing which has stayed with me all these years later after reading it for the first time. I've yet to read anything that uses everyday things in the same, eerie way.
The inscriptions bit doesn't help the story as you've said. And the jaunty way of writing at the start.
You touch on something that's doing my head in at the moment. I've been reading a lot of older stuff, and the way common or ethnic people are written often takes me out the story. I've just finished Poe's 'The Gold Bug' and the dialogue used for the servant (see: slave) is unreadable most of the time.
I've glad you enjoyed parts of the story, if not all. This is one where modern editors would have actually made the story better if they had the chance to work on it.
Also - thanks for giving me space to rant!
Do let me know if you have any favourites you'd like us to read next :-)
Interesting… for me, the descriptions did not evoke visceral terror or suspense. Perhaps it was the “English tea” style of the writing. References to golf reinforced my feeling of the mundane. I would have liked to see those disparate elements brought together or just leave out the non-subplot. His inner conflict seemed linear, unrelated to who he was or if there was some deeper significance to it all.
Thanks for commenting. Yeah, that style of writing at points does suck the atmosphere out if it at points. There's a part of the story where Parkins blows the whistle and the windows blow open, which is handled with dialogue which feels a little 'pip, pip, oh dear'. I'd have liked to see the writer lean into the tension more here.
And you are right. You touched on an element that I wasn't quite able to put my finger on. The most effective stories challenge what's often termed as a character's 'sacred flaw', whereas this story just doesn't challenge Parkins at that deep a level.