Title: Cuentos de amor de locura y de muerte (Tales of love of madness and of Death)\ Writer: Horacio Quiroga Publishing House: Echo Library Date of Publication: October 13th 2006 Rating:5 stars ”I don’t know whether the howling of an epileptic gives others the impression of a beastly, otherworldly scream. But I am certain that the howling of a…
Tag: short stories
Midwinter Mysteries:A Christmas Crime Anthology
Title: Midwinter Mysteries: A Christmas Crime Anthology Writer:Various Publishing House:Sapere Books Date of Publication:October 30th 2019 Rating:4 stars ”I think you can let the baby Jesus go”, Slonsky said. ”He’s innocent, just like the real one.” Behind the shiny ornaments, the bright lights, the laughter, the flowing wine, and the presents, dark intentions may find a…
The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories
Title: The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories Writer: Various edited by Martin Edwards Publishing House: British Library Crime Classics Date of Publication: May 2nd 2018 Rating: 5 stars ”Although one snowflake had already sifted past the lights, the great doors of the house stood open. It seemed less a snowflake than a shadow; for a bitter wind…
Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories
Title:Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories Writer: Agatha Christie Publishing House: William Morrow Date of Publication: October 25th 2011 (first published 1965) Rating: 5 stars ”She thought of the pictures that had been shown her – of the agony in the garden of the shameful death, of a man who, at the hour of death, was forsaken…
Christmas At Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories
Title:Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Christmas Stories Writer: Anthony Trollope Publishing House:Penguin Classics Date of Publication:November 6th 2014 (first published 1882) Rating: 5 stars ”Yes, I want you to love me, and to be my wife. I don’t know how to tell you; but I love you better than anything and everything in the world-…
A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings
Title: A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings Writer: Charles Dickens Publishing House: Penguin Classics Date of Publication:November 25th 2010 (first published December 19th 1843) Rating: 5 stars ‘’He told me, coming home, that he hopes the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon…
A Classic Christmas: A Collection of Timeless Stories and Poems
Title: A Classic Christmas: A Collection of Timeless Stories and Poems Writer:Various Publishing House:Thomas Nelson Date of Publication:October 1st 2019 Rating:5 stars ”Some say that ever ‘gainst that reason comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrate, The bird of dawning singeth all night long. And then, they say, no evil spirit walks; The nights are wholesome;…
Christmas Ghost Stories
Title: Christmas Ghost Stories Writer: Various Publishing House:The Folio Society Date of Publication: 2005 ”This ae nighte, this ae nighte, Every nighte and alle, Fire and fleet and candle-lighte, And Christe receive thy saule.” Lyke Wake Drige Lament Christmas is arguably the jolliest time of the year. Lights everywhere, bright ornaments, laughing children singing beautiful carols. Ages-old traditions…
Russian Short Stories (1918 – 1941)
Τitle: Ανθολογία ρωσικού διηγήματος του μεσοπολέμου Writer: Various (selected and translated by Tania Rahmatoulina Publishing House: Πλέθρον Date of Publication: December 2005 Rating: 5 stars *All extracts translated by me, taken from the original edition translated by Tania Rahmatoulina* ‘’All beauty in this world was born out of the love for a woman.’’ During the turbulent years in the…
Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales
Title: Black Feathers: Dark Avian Tales Writer: Various edited by Ellen Datlow Publishing House:Pegasus Books Date of Publication:February 7th 2017 Rating: 4 stars ”But you have mistaken me, O Bird. Can you not hear? I am the silence and the piping and I am coming. And it is I- I who am terrible.” O Terrible Bird by Sandra…
22 Czech Legends
Title: 22 Czech Legends Writer: Alena Ježková (illustrated by Zdenka Krejčová) Publishing House: Práh Date of Publication: 2007 Rating: 5 stars The literary journey to the Czech Republic continues… Who was the brave squire that fought against the bandits and led to the founding of Krumlov Castle? In a beautiful fortification, the White Lady of Krumlov appears to soothe the…
Witches Sail In Eggshells
Title: Witches Sail In Eggshells Writer: Chloe Turner Publishing House: Reflex Press Date of Publication: June 11th 2019 Rating: 5 stars ‘’They should never have come. This wasn’t a place well-suited to winter. Even under the frost, the minigolf course had been thick with leaves when they’d crossed it yesterday, and they’d found the boating lake frozen solid, a…
Old Prague Legends
Title: Old Prague Legends Writer: Based on legends retold by by Magdalena Wagnerová (translated by Ivan Guittierez, illustrated by Nemcova Lucie) Publishing House: Plot Publishing House Date of Publication: 2010 Rating: 5 stars ‘’The city was named Praha- ‘’threshold’’ – and just as long ago people would bow before the threshold when they entered a house, they bow today…
Rituals to Observe: Stories about Holidays from the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction
Title: Rituals to Observe: Stories about Holidays from the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction Writer: Various edited by Ethan Laughman Publishing House: University of Georgia Press Date of Publication: September 1st 2019 Rating: 5 stars ‘’It can always be a happy season if there are rituals to observe.’’ Once October arrives, the world goes festive. In Greece, we celebrate…
Prague In Legends
Title: Prague In Legends Writer: Anna Novotná (illustrated by Jan Klimeš) Publishing House: Práh Date of Publication: 2016 Rating: 5 stars ‘’It is said that the St Vitus bells can change their sound according to the mood of the nation.’ In Prague, History and Legend walk hand in hand and greet you in every corner. The Golden City created after…
Humiliation
Title: Humiliation (original title: Qué vergüenza) Writer: Paulina Flores (translated by Megan McDowell) Publishing House: Oneworld Publications Date of Publication: November 7th 2019 (first published 2015) Rating: 4 stars ‘’I had the hope I would be able to forget. I longed for the freedom of a heroine, a life of my own, a happy one. Back then I ridiculously faced…
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women
Title: The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women Writer: Various ed. by Marie O’Regan Publishing House: Running Press Date of Publication: October 18th 2012 Rating: 4 stars ”Although the stories vary from tales of ghostly children to those of lost pets, from murder to accidental death, from rage to sorrow and back again, one thing is central to…
The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural
Title: The Last Séance: Tales of the Supernatural Writer: Agatha Christie Publishing House: William Morrow Paperbacks Date of Publication: September 24th 2019 Rating: 5 stars ”As we entered the grove of trees a curious oppression came over me. I think it was the silence. No birds seemed to nest in these trees. There was a feeling about it of desolation…
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories from the North
Title: The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories from the North Writer: Various edited by Sjón Publishing House: Pushkin Press Date of Publication: October 9th 2018 Rating: 3 stars ”The wind buffeted me, blowing warm, dry air into my face. He’s here, it said. The one you love is waiting for you. You’ve arrived now. You must find…
Salt Slow
Title: Salt Slow Writer: Julia Armfield Publishing House: Picador Date of Publication: May 30th 2019 Rating: 5 stars ‘’At night, I fall asleep in shreddings and tatterings, my dreams shot through with shouts of violence, bitter notches like bad beads on a rosary. In the still-dark of early morning, I wake to wonder at my face in the wardrobe…
