'Cast a Cold Eye'

Here I am more than halfway through my running review of The Far Tower: Stories for W.B. Yeats, and I have not addressed a really obvious question. Silly me. The question is, do you need an in-depth knowledge of Yeats' life and works to enjoy this anthology? The answer is no, you can appreciate the stories in isolation, as they are not pendants or commentaries. That said, if you are aware of the author's most famous poems it might help you appreciate the stories. 

For instance, 'Cast a Cold Eye' by Timothy J. Jarvis takes its title from Yeats' epitaph, taken from his poem 'Under Ben Bulben'. 

Cast a cold eye

On life, on death,

Horseman, pass by!

The story itself is a little gem of what may be magical realism, or something like it. The overall feel is that Flann O'Brien and J.L. Borges got together down the pub to chat about Yeats. The central premise is simple enough - an Irish poet dies in exile in France, Later his bones, during the turmoil of war, are thrown willy-nilly into an ossuary with those of many obscure locals. 

After hostilities are over the bones are to be repatriated, so a carefully selected, vaguely plausible collection is assembled into a skeleton and sent to Ireland. The adventures of some of these bones constitute the bulk of the story. There is also a clever framing narrative involving a talking skull in a tree in Istanbul - or Byzantium, as Willy Yeats might have called it. 

As the story closes the sea is suitably dolphin torn, perhaps even gong tormented. This is arguably the most poetic story thus far, and perhaps the one that Yeats would have liked best. So, another change of pace and approach in this varied assemblage. What next? Stay tuned as we home in on'The Messiah of Blackhall Place' by Derek John.