'The Nun's Tale'

The final story in Tree Spirit and Other Strange Tales by Michael Eisele is a good, old-fashioned yarn. It pays splendid homage to all those tales told by Chaps Seated By The Fire At Their Club. Only in this case the chaps are retired priests at a nursing home in Northumberland, and the central heating is somewhat inadequate.

The story begins with a discussion of transfiguration, which has a specific religious meaning I'm not too clear on. The point is that one priest, who has previously said little, is moved to recount his strange experience as a missionary in South America. The priest was sent on one of those expeditions that are famously ill-fated - a quest to find out what happened to the last lot. In this case, the last lot were a group of nuns led by the formidably unpopular Sister Mary Joseph, a large and aggressive 'bride of Christ' that any sensible saviour would want to divorce.

The priest recounts his voyage upriver into the territory of a tribe who worship a jaguar-deity in a large stone temple. Significantly, the priest encounters a large, beautiful and terrifying jaguar before he arrives in the village. Communication problems make it difficult for him to grasp what happened to Sister Mary Joseph, but the tribal leader says she is now 'with God'. Assuming she is dead the priest decides to see if he can find any trace of a grave. But then, when he enters the temple, he encounters a naked woman who recognised him at once...

There's a distinct feel of the inter-war era about this one. It might have been penned by Hugh Walpole, L.P. Hartley. It also bears traces of the late Lucius Shepherd and other modern fantasists. With its steamy exoticism and now familiar clash between civilisation and older, earthier cultures it makes a suitable ending to an extremely good collection.

And that's the end of this running review. I now have four books of short stories lined up from the Tartarus, Sarob, and Swan River Presses, so expect another volley from me any day now. It's just a question of choosing which one to do next...