Robert Aickman, thoughts?

[j. d. worthington]

I don't have that collection per se, but I do have the Tartarus Press 2-volume set of his "strange stories", so I could give it a go. It has been a long time since I last read much of Aickman, so I'll need to refresh my memory on the stories concerned, but I think I'm up to that....

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

I don't have that collection per se, but I do have the Tartarus Press 2-volume set of his "strange stories", so I could give it a go. It has been a long time since I last read much of Aickman, so I'll need to refresh my memory on the stories concerned, but I think I'm up to that....

Well, I didn't mean only stories from that collection necessarilly. Generally, I think it's most interesting to talk about his more ambigous stories as they possibly have more potential interpretations...

Anyway, I'll start a new thread.

[nomadman]

Originally Posted by Fried Egg

I'm working my way through the "Unsettled Dust" collection now, just three stories to go.

I'm dying to find people who are interested in discussing and analysing his stories as many of them are so cryptic and I would love to see other people's thoughts on them. Propbably best doing so in another thread with a spoiler warning if so.

Anyone interested?

Sounds great, though I'd need a careful rereading of his work before being able to make any comments of my own.

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by nomadman

Sounds great, though I'd need a careful rereading of his work before being able to make any comments of my own.

I definitately know what you mean, there's a lot of subtle nuances and seemingly throwaway lines that could get lost in the annals of time...

[James1823]

New to the forum, thought I'd share my thoughts...

The first Aickman story which really struck me was The Trains. I was working my way through Wine Dark Sea and it was this story which really made me want to explore Aickman. The descriptions of spatial distortion in the bedroom towards the end of the story; where the room begins to change to the shape of a train carriage is quite terrifying in an undefined way. Wasn't he interested in Freud/psychoanalysis? I'm sure I read that dream symbolism informed his stories. Whatever it is, they work on the subconscious better than any fiction I've read. The Swords, also, is amazing. Seems to explore the subconscious nature of misogyny and male violence towards women. The post-industrial landscape of mid-20th Century Britain is the most eerie setting for a horror story I've come across (better than any fantastical, traditional gothic setting).

[Fried Egg]

Hi James, welcome to the forums.

Always good to have another fan of Aickman around...

[Fried Egg]

I started reading "The View" last night but one line really stood out and deserves to be repeated:

"There are no beautiful houses in England now. Only ruins, mental homes, and Government offices."

[Fried Egg]

Looks like "Tales of Love and Death" (1977) is going to be reprinted by Tartarus Press and is available from 28th May.

http://freepages.pavilion.net/tartar...veanddeath.htm

I've only read "Growing Boys" from this collection so I am sorely tempted...

[Fried Egg]

I read this article a while ago but it is only recently I got to thinking why authors like Aickman will never achieve wide spread popularity with the reading public.

Whilst many apparently enjoy books more when they already know what's going to happen, no doubt even among those who are happy to wait until the end before finding out, most are going to be frustrated and confused by the the ambiguity and lack of decisive endings in Aickman's stories. You don't even know quite what happened when you finish the story.

Those of us that enjoy this ambiguous approach are surely bound to remain a small minority, appreciating a style of writing that is diametrically opposed to what most people want from a book.

[Fried Egg]

Already, the latest batch of Tartarus Reprints are going out of stock; "Sub Rosa" is now no longer available from their website (although I noticed a copy in my local waterstones).