The next three stories in Steve Duffy's new collection from Sarob Press showcase his versatility rather well. And, as before, each one is fitted to a month, beginning with July and a tale that brings a chill to a summer's day.
'Even Clean Hands Can Do Damage' - yet another brilliant title - was published in ST and offers a new take on an old theme. A bereaved mother meets a medium who tells her that the spirit of her dead daughter is nearby. The medium is not lying. But despite her honest intentions, she does great harm. And it all pivots on something utterly commonplace, a real world incident that we've all noticed in some context at some time.
'A Day at the Hotel Radium' could hardly be more different, at first glance. The time is September, 1939, and millions of Europeans are in motion. Many, such as the main character here, are fleeing. The innocent academic escapes by train to a microstate - not unlike Lichtenstein - where he encounters an old friend. The Hotel Radium is a beautiful, relaxing place. Our refugee remembers the pleasures of his youth, but at the same time suffers a terrible vision of a future railway journey with a very different destination.
'Bears: A Fairy Tale of 1958' is about bears, in 1958 .The three bears - mother, father, baby - move into a suburban neighbourhood in Eisenhower's America, but never quite manage to fit in. Mama Bear can't really handle delicate crockery, Baby bear does what comes naturally in next door's garden, and so forth. Goldie Locke, the little girl next door, brings matters to a climax. Suffice to say it's not a fairy tale in the standard sense, but then life in the suburbs isn't really life either.
To be concluded...
No comments:
Post a Comment