Starred review from March 26, 2018
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.
Starred review from April 1, 2018
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 With these 15 stories, four of which are previously unpublished, Aickman creates a disquieting universe in which everything is just off, a wall covered in pictures hung at imperceptibly crooked angles.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 brief--the longer stories in the collection tend to fall apart when compared to the shorter ones--but 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 way...to 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 real--and could find you one day.As unnerving as it is sinuous; an absolute delight.
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