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"The Old Maid" by Edith Wharton

Also available as part of the collection "Old New York: four novellas."

more short stuff

Just checking -- is this blog going to continue into 2010, and if so, what are we reading next? I've really missed this! I wish I had been involved with "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone." I might go back and read it anyway!

Point of view

I wrote in an earlier comment that I thought the first and last segments were stronger, and I realized that those also were told in third person, and the middle tales were in first person. I wonder why that would make a difference -- but the storytelling was a lot better in third. Like all the clumsy references to how the dialogue was spoken from the first-person storytelling suggested the author wasn't comfortable in that point of view. Or maybe it had to do with whose dream he was telling? From the first tale we know the middle three stories were in the mindset of the schoolgirls, and maybe the writing reflected a more amateurish line of thought. Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit for the inconsistencies.

Setting in the mist

I count on details about setting to help me picture a story while I'm reading, and in this case I had trouble getting a feel for when this story was set. What do you think? In the form of dreams I don't know that it matters, unless a deliberate intent to set it back in time adds more information to a surreal set of stories.

The mosaic form

The approach Zikovic took with his story makes it too easy not to ask whether there was a chapter, or dream, that resonated with you more than the others. Was there a standout vignette for you?

'Effortless prose'?

"Zivkovic has that gift of effortless prose that envelops you as it drives daggers into your perception of the world." —The Agony Column

This was just one excerpt of praise for Zivkovic I read on Amazon while searching for one of his books to suggest for Short Stuff. May I defer and say that though his writing is clear and straightforward, I thought it lacked a certain elegance I had expected? Don't get me wrong -- I think he's an exceptional storyteller. I just found some of the writing -- especially the dialogue -- a little out of tune at times. I wonder whether this is a matter of the translation. Any thoughts?

Steps Through the Mist

Hi, everyone. I'm sorry to start posting so late here. Hope you enjoyed your holidays, if you've had them yet.

First impressions on "Steps": What did you think? Did it meet, exceed, fall below your expectations? Did it read like a fantasy? (I think I harbor back to days when fantasies included dragons or hobbits or whatnot. This was more like quality literature to me.)

I found myself eager to jump into each "dream" sequence and was surprised by how quickly the stories unfolded.

How did the dream premise work for you as a paranormal element?