The Village of Ben Suc
Of all of the accounts I have read from reporters during the Vietnam War, Schell’s is not the most myopic.
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.
Kaputt
Malaparte uses his position to detail the extravagances and depravity of the Nazi party and the Axis powers and generally to paint a portrait of Europe on the brink of destruction.
The Invention of Morel
This novella’s setting of an opulent but derelict and rotting mansion infected with the suggestion of long-ago deaths and violence ticked all of the spooky season boxes for me.
A Dark Corner and A Helping Hand
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.