Editorial:
Firstly, a notification sent to
me by Editor, Matthew Walther: 'I
am writing to pass along the details of a ghost story contest being
sponsored by The Lamp
magazine that may be of
interest to readers of The
Pan Review:
https://thelampmagazine.com/2021/06/24/the-lamp-christmas-ghost-story-contest/ The winner will receive $1000; two runners up will receive $300 each. All best wishes, Matthew Walther.'
On
his website, Sean Birnie describes himself as 'a Technical
Demonstrator on the Photography programmes at the University of
Brighton, where I deliver beginner and advanced workshops in Adobe
applications such as Photoshop and InDesign, studio lighting, and
preparation for digital print, and install degree shows, among other
things.' His
literary art is more evocative of the paintings of Francis Bacon, the
focus being the macabre physical – as well as psychological -
descent of the human condition. The role of infection in
sado-masochistic relationships is the prominent theme across the
collection. In the tales 'New To It All,' 'Like A Zip,' 'Holes' and
'You Know What To Do,' pain is utilised as a weapon of control. 'New
To It All' has the narrator recount the previously unexperienced
sexual habits that (unwittingly?) drew him to his relationships.
'Hand Me Down' finds a new mother's growing paranoia for the safety
of her child turn into something entirely. 'Holes' sees a man's
quickly growing rash spread to his partner after he already harbours
fear for his disappearance.
In
'I Would Haunt You If I Could,' again, infection, stains and
encroaching entropy foreground the title tale, and quietly compelling
it is too; especially if, like yours truly, you live as a bachelor in
rented accommodation. 'You Know What To Do' is my favourite here. A
successful new entry in the library of the uncanny, a husband's
obsession with the apparently hidden room behind the cupboard under
the stairs holds a fascination, which may – or may not – be
exerting a dangerous, unspoken obsession.
In
'Dollface,' the question that hangs over the narrative is whether or
not a daughter's doll is possessed. Is the father obsessed? (My
hunch). Or, since it bears an alleged physical human trait, is the
doll even a doll? Only the final tale – 'Other Houses' – which
sees the narrator plagued with guilt over the younger sister he
believes he pushed into a pond when children, didn't quite hold my
attention to the end. Still, as with the previous tales, Birnie
displays a superior knack for the uncanny that I so favour. This
collection is a solid addition to the library for lovers of quiet
horror and an undoubtedly assured debut.
* * *
Infra-Noir 2020
collects all eleven chapbooks, released across last year, in a single
volume. 'Craft'
- DP Watt's opening contribution demonstrates how the perishability
of art can spawn its own unexpected legacy. In 'The Clerks Of The
Invisible' - the first of two Mark Valentine tales - a dying
bookseller entrusts his literary estate to his chief cataloguer, with
the view to contacting interested agents to seek out a mysterious
book 'that mattered to him most.' The slenderest of tales by
page-count, it is, however, the kind of springboard Orson Welles
might have run with to manifest as an on-screen magnum opus. 'The
Idyll Is Over' shines with beauty, being one of Jonathan Wood's introspective prose
poems.
'Codex
Of Light' by Karim Ghahwagi has a monastic society holding
candlelight and its smoke in censorious and holy esteem. 'Posterity'
by Mark Samuels highlights Sybil Court, 'scholarly trailblazer of
posthumous interest in the fiction of Rupert Alderman.' Court feels
her reputation as an Alderman scholar could be questioned by her
academic-only interpretations rather than primary research of
his extant archive. (It's surely no coincidence that the late
fictitious author with increasingly remote, right-wing leanings
shares the initials of another English author of strange stories).
In
'Ancestor Water' by Rebecca Lloyd (of the great Gothic novel of 2019,
The Child Cephalina) an immigrant daughter, naturalised by her
time in London, discovers her visiting mother alienated by her
Western traits. 'Stained Medium' – the second Mark Valentine –
features a bookish student of modern Gnosticism encounters one aged
whose own experience is revealed as much closer to home. On a not
dissimilar theme, 'The Purblind Bards' by Timothy Jarvis finds one of
a band of bardic outcasts in a seaside town reflect upon what brought
him to his becoming. 'The Wet Woman' - An out-of-condition actor,
about to take on a new film role, is sent by his agent to a health
farm to get back into shape. A late lover and rival adds some dark
interest to his reluctant presence.
'A
House Of Treasures' – Familial intrigue surrounding the presence
and significance of Noah Court – discovered in a unique photograph
- makes for my new favourite Ray Russell tale. 'Home Comforts' –
Sheltering from a downpour in a shop of this name, Megan is shocked
to discover that a stuffed, life-size figure in the window is
referred to as a real person who works next door. To her own
puzzlement, she expresses a determination to purchase it.
Clocking in at a modest, but sufficient, 187 pages, this is one of
the more accessible Zagava releases, in a form I hope is repeated in
future years. A very worthy primer to this publisher.
* * *
Albertine's Wooers
Reggie
Oliver's eighth collection – A Maze For The Minotaur – is
soon to be released by Tartarus Press...who've also just released a
slipcase of two thorough collections-in-one of Oliver Onions
tales...Swan River Press follows up its popular first Green Book
of 'exclusive' short tales (issue 15) with a second (issue
17)...Valancourt have reissued some choice paperback titles in
hardback. Speaking of which, the British Library's publishing arm has
just released a collection of six-of-the-best by Margaret Oliphant,
The Open Door And Other Stories Of The Seen & Unseen.
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