A Disturbing, Creepy, And Ultimately Near Perfect Short Story Collection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           They don't come along like this one often, girls, by "The Redemption Of Galen Pyke," by newcomer Carys Davies, demands to be read at once.

                                            Somewhere, out there, in the constellation of literary awards, there is one named after writer Shirley Jackson.  This volume should have won that prize, for, while none are supernatural, their dark approach to reality veers closely to Jackson, and I think she would appreciate these.

                                             The first story, "The Quiet," is the most disturbing of all.  I am not even going to describe it.  The title story shows the unlikely alliance between a religious spinster and a dastardly convict, and manages to be creepy, yet  touching and inspiring.  I confess I had to re-read "Bonnet," after reading the Afterword, to get the Charlotte Bronte connection; I should be ashamed of myself.  "The Travellers," chronicling a woman leaving Birmingham, Alabama, for rural Siberia--YES!!!!!!--and those who stop by to see her one snowy evening, haunted me for days."

                                              This slim, but insightful volume, has a treasure trove, and demonstrates Davies' mastery of one of the hardest of literary forms.  It is a near perfect volume of short stories, and I cannot wait to see what she follows up with.

                                                 Like many of you, I am more prone to novels.  Story collections, no matter from whom, can always be a crap shoot!  But I swear on my Original Cast Album of "Funny Girl--" do you hear that, BARBRA???????--this collection is the real thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Makes me wish I could write like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!