S. Hargrave

S. Hargrave is a Canadian writer and the book reviewer at Old Paper & Cats. Hargrave has a love of rare, antiquarian, and classic literature, works in translation, and cats.

A Dark Corner and A Helping Hand

Celia Dale
Contemporary UK Horror Literature

Both A Helping Hand and A Dark Corner are well under two hundred pages, but each of them packs a disturbing punch and were well ahead of their time.

Thus Were Their Faces

Silvina Ocampo
20th Century Argentinian Horror Literature Short Story

This book is a selection of work spanning multiple decades, and particularly has a focus on showcasing Ocampo’s tendency to be both insightful and at the same time grotesque, haunting, and fantastic.

Compulsory Games

Robert Aickman
20th Century UK Horror Short Story

It’s not the usual gothic fare, but instead is a bit more subtle in its spookiness. However, there is a spooky graveyard and a few scary desolate locations.

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway
Contemporary American Memoir

Hemingway is writing about a time before he achieved any kind of legendary status, when he lived in a derelict flat and struggled to feed himself and his family while still writing in cafés and remaining connected with his peers.

The Adversary, The Class Trip, and The Mustache

Emmanuel Carrère
Contemporary 21st Century French Crime Literature

I still do not find myself drawn to Carrère’s memoir or autobiographical work. But I am glad that I gave his fiction and true crime a chance.

The White Album and Notes to John

Joan Didion
Contemporary 21st Century American Literature Memoir Non-Fiction

I appreciate that her work seems to be suddenly available and back in print. I often find it on shelves and see it arriving at my local independent bookstore.

Gary Indiana

Gary Indiana
21st Century American Essay Literature Memoir

This collection of essays is written with the air of Indiana looking back at his life and taking an inventory of sorts as he acknowledges that he is living in a time that is closer to the end than to the beginning.

Animal Farm

George Orwell
Post-War UK Literature

This novel is one of the ones that showed me what a literary statement could be and how vital writing is during the darkest times. It also showed me the absolute striking beauty of the allegorical tale.