Girls, I just finished reading McSweeney's anthology of pulp fiction tales called "Astonishing Stories," which seeks to duplicate the pulp era of the 30s and 40s, as epitomized by such mags as "Weird Tales" and "Amazing Stories." The previous one I read, "Thrilling Tales," was indeed that, and while this collection is shorter, it is not as satisfying a compilation, as, by the time I got to the last two stories, I wanted the whole thing to end.
Part of that, darlings, is that I am more comfortable reading full length novels than short fiction collections. A novel is structured and worked out; with a collection, things are rarely perfectly structured, meaning, you can have some stories that are riveting, and others that you wish had not been included.
The stories that are good, are REALLY good. The opener, Margaret Atwood's "Lustus Naturae," the sort of thing I would not expect from this author at all, is a meditation on the supernatural and handicapped, that recalled to me, with great poignancy, Jerome Bixby's short story, "The Young One." Stephen King's "Lisey And The Madman" is a shortened, working formatted version of what became his novel, "Lisey's Story." It tells me that still he is sometimes best in the shorter form; I tried reading "Lisey's Story," when it came out, (it actually made the cover that week of the New York Times Book Review, a first for both King and that publication!!!!!) but I don't think I got much past page 50. But his story is riveting!!!!!!!!! Aylet Waldman's "Minnow" cries out for dramatization; if Rod Serling or his like were around, this would be dramatized on "The Twilight Zone" or some like minded anthology show. It is one of the most disturbing meditations on parental trauma I have ever read. The same could be said of Heidi Julavits' "The Miniaturist," but, with its beautifully built up suspense, this was easily MY favorite of the collection. The author named Poppy z. Brite (suggesting either a stripper, or the carnival character played by Sylvia Miles in the Tobe Hooper film, "The Funhouse'!!!!) writes a wonderful tale, "The Devil Of Delery Street, set in New Orleans, and, having been there, I could visualize it fully!!!!!!!!!
If only the entire book had been THIS good. Though I will admit, I grimaced when I saw the name Joyce Carol Oates included in the collection. But her story, "The Fabled Lighthouse Of Vina Del Mar," starts blandly, but builds to a disturbing, supernatural, Poe-like quality that, while not as good as those listed above, comes darn close.
Hell, it comes lots closer than those I could have done without. The most glaring omission should have been "Reports Of Certain Events In London," by China Mieville, which I frankly considered a waste of my time. Charles D'Ambrosio's "The Scheme Of Things" threw out interesting possibilities, but in the end, became derivative and predictable, influenced by everything from Terrence Malick's film "Badlands," to Robert Altman's 1974 "Thieves Like Us."
When I saw the last story was by Peter Straub, whom I have admired for years, I thought they might be saving the best for last. So I began "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle" with great anticipation, and, while I can't say it was unsatisfying, it was not up to the gold standard of some of Straub's previous work. Pretty much the way I felt when I read his most recent a novel, "A Dark Matter." It just did not rate a place alongside something like, say "Koko."
But the idea of these anthologies, with their replicated period covers, is tantalizing, and I hope--indeed, I urge--McSweeney's to put out another one. Darlings, if such mags were still in vogue, you might see me in there, for my "Miss T" stories (which begin with "The Feminine Predator") would have grist for their mill.
Well, who knows???? Maybe I will submit one of those tales to McSweeney's, or suggest they use one in a future anthology.
Meanwhile, "Astonishing Stories" is worth reading, and while not all of the stories astonish as much as they should, the ones that DO make you hunger for this kind of fiction!!!!!!!!!
Even the one written by Joyce Carol Oates, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!
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