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Post by Swampirella on Jan 28, 2019 22:07:00 GMT
Glad you are enjoying the tales, Swampi. Her work is just so unusual and perceptively written. I read "The Street of the Jews" last, and it haunted me for a few days afterwards, though perhaps not in the way Vault residents would typically expect. It seemed very pertinent to what is happening in the US today--how certain attitudes, especially certain forms of hate, persist, and give the lie to the idea that "the leaders" are somehow to blame for things that happen in history. Even by Elizabeth's standards, this was an unusually sharp tale--razor edged to the point where you might bleed as you turn the pages--even electronically. H. I'm only 1.5 stories away from "The Street of the Jews" so looking forward to it even more after your recommendation. I should be able to at least start it tonight.....
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Post by helrunar on Jan 28, 2019 22:46:37 GMT
You're so disciplined! I bounced all over the place in the book. Even though it was strongly recommended in the notes here, I left "Isle of Regrets" for nearly the last of my reading of the tales.
"Street of the Jews" has horrific moments, but unfortunately they are the kind of horror one feels when reading current news headlines, not the delightful shudders we enjoy when revisiting the classic productions of Hammer, Amicus, and Universal studios.
Best wishes, Helrunar
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 28, 2019 22:58:52 GMT
You're so disciplined! I bounced all over the place in the book. Even though it was strongly recommended in the notes here, I left "Isle of Regrets" for nearly the last of my reading of the tales. "Street of the Jews" has horrific moments, but unfortunately they are the kind of horror one feels when reading current news headlines, not the delightful shudders we enjoy when revisiting the classic productions of Hammer, Amicus, and Universal studios. Best wishes, Helrunar Thanks for calling it "disciplined", I'm just stuck in my ways of reading all books from start to finish, even short stories. Now I'm half-way through "The Lift" which preceeds "The Street...."....Thanks again for your comments on it. Did you read all the stories in the book (yet)?
Best wishes,
Swampi
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Post by helrunar on Jan 28, 2019 23:28:47 GMT
Hi Swampi, well, by my lights you are QUITE disciplined. I do generally read novels right through but seldom have any sense that I need to do that with tale collections.
Yes, I finished the book some weeks ago now. I was going to write up some notes on a few more of the stories. One that I liked purely for the novelty factor was this one--I'd have to check the title--that is told entirely through catty, snarky dialogue exchanges between a husband and wife who have been on the outs with one another for years. I have to confess that reading it made me selfishly glad I never got married! The ending of that one is really quite gruesome.
Best wishes, Steve
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 29, 2019 0:17:23 GMT
Hi Swampi, well, by my lights you are QUITE disciplined. I do generally read novels right through but seldom have any sense that I need to do that with tale collections. Yes, I finished the book some weeks ago now. I was going to write up some notes on a few more of the stories. One that I liked purely for the novelty factor was this one--I'd have to check the title--that is told entirely through catty, snarky dialogue exchanges between a husband and wife who have been on the outs with one another for years. I have to confess that reading it made me selfishly glad I never got married! The ending of that one is really quite gruesome. Best wishes, Steve I've started "The Street..." and of course am finding it intriguing and enjoyable. I'll look forward to the story you described, sounds like fun, apart from the ending, and maybe even that too
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 30, 2019 16:10:02 GMT
Hi Swampi, well, by my lights you are QUITE disciplined. I do generally read novels right through but seldom have any sense that I need to do that with tale collections. Yes, I finished the book some weeks ago now. I was going to write up some notes on a few more of the stories. One that I liked purely for the novelty factor was this one--I'd have to check the title--that is told entirely through catty, snarky dialogue exchanges between a husband and wife who have been on the outs with one another for years. I have to confess that reading it made me selfishly glad I never got married! The ending of that one is really quite gruesome. Best wishes, Steve I just finished that story now, close to the end, "Dual Control". It does have a delightfully nasty ending.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 31, 2019 1:26:59 GMT
Thanks for calling it "disciplined", I'm just stuck in my ways of reading all books from start to finish, even short stories. Occasionally I'll go wild and read the short stories in a collection or anthology out of order, but I'll still finish the book before moving on to the next one.
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Post by Swampirella on Jan 31, 2019 1:35:50 GMT
Thanks for calling it "disciplined", I'm just stuck in my ways of reading all books from start to finish, even short stories. Occasionally I'll go wild and read the short stories in a collection or anthology out of order, but I'll still finish the book before moving on to the next one. Same here; assuming of course it's a book I don't find myself losing interest in. Even then, my curiosity makes me skim through to the end....Spirit of the Place was pure joy from start to finish.
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Post by Dr Strange on Jan 31, 2019 10:07:36 GMT
Occasionally I'll go wild and read the short stories in a collection or anthology out of order, but I'll still finish the book before moving on to the next one. I'm exactly the opposite - if it's short stories then I like to have two or more books on the go at the same time and mix them up, especially if it's single author collections, but I don't like reading them out of order in the book. I really don't understand people who say they can read two novels at the same time, though. I think there is something seriously wrong with them.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jan 31, 2019 23:41:36 GMT
Spirit of the Place was pure joy from start to finish. I haven't read it, but I have read three of the collections within it: The Sin-Eater, Snowfall, and In the Mist. I thought they were all outstanding. I really don't understand people who say they can read two novels at the same time, though. You and me both, doc.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Mar 4, 2021 22:55:27 GMT
Late to the party as ever, I picked this up from the "not read yet but bloody well should be" pile, thinking I'd try a story and see. Four stories without a pause later, I'm forced to the conclusion that this one's worth every penny. Here's hoping Ms Walter maintains the standard through the remaining 500-odd pages. First rate stuff.
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Post by humgoo on Mar 5, 2021 11:20:31 GMT
I was reminded of Elizabeth Walter's "Dual Control" when I read your excellent "Lost In The Time Of Mists" on the Vault Christmas Bedside Companion. Both are ingenious!
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Post by Shrink Proof on Mar 5, 2021 12:21:14 GMT
I was reminded of Elizabeth Walter's "Dual Control" when I read your excellent "Lost In The Time Of Mists" on the Vault Christmas Bedside Companion. Both are ingenious! Thanks. I haven't got to "Dual Control" yet so I can't comment. I never thought of "Lost In The Time Of Mists" as ingenious or anything similar, because I never set out to write it that way. In fact, it evolved out of the last 25% of a much longer story; I ditched the first chunk as it sounded really clunky, leaving a much shorter but punchier and ambiguous tale. It was then road tested at several Scottish OpenMic events and revised according to response*. Glad you enjoyed it. * And it's true, audiences are tougher the further north you go. (“The trouble with Freud is that he never played the Glasgow Empire on a Saturday night after Rangers and Celtic had both lost.” - Ken Dodd)
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Post by Shrink Proof on Mar 23, 2021 16:15:09 GMT
Finished it now. Definitely one to read, even if it's a bit uneven. It's front loaded - the best stories (IMHO) are clustered near the beginning. That said, even the weaker ones are very well written and contain some cracking ideas and plot scenarios, as well as neatly-depicted characters. "The Island of Regrets", "Dearest Clarissa", "Snowfall" and "Dual Control" are all terrific. Money well spent I think.
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Post by Shrink Proof on Mar 23, 2021 16:19:41 GMT
I was reminded of Elizabeth Walter's "Dual Control" when I read your excellent "Lost In The Time Of Mists" on the Vault Christmas Bedside Companion. Both are ingenious! Well, I've finished the book now and, having read "Dual Control", I can see what you mean about the similarity. The stuff I write is often either all or almost all dialogue, just like "Dual Control", so it ends up being a bit like reading the script of a radio play I suppose. The "radio play" approach leaves a lot to the reader's/listener's imagination, which can be useful when what's going on is either ambiguous or downright impossible according to the laws of physics. Which I guess is a major reason why "The Goon Show" was so brilliant. On a practical level, I think I often do it that way partly because I tend to test drive stories at OpenMic events, and presenting dialogue live is a lot more fun to do (and to hear, often...) than reading out descriptive passages. But mostly it's because I'm pretty lousy at writing descriptive stuff anyway - what comes out is often like reading cement.
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