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Chargement... Sleep No More (1948)par L. T. C. Rolt
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. L.T.C. Rolt wrote only one slim anthology of weird tales, Sleep No More: Railway, Canal & Other Stories of the Supernatural, but he has nevertheless achieved a cult following which often elevates him into the lofty company of M.R. James, the grand master of ghost stories. While one can detect occasional similarities of style and effectiveness, it is a bit of a reach to put them in the same class. And it is indeed the high expectations that leave me somewhat disappointed by Sleep No More. Though there are a few stories that are truly top notch with Jamesian qualities, overall it is a decidedly uneven anthology. “Bosworth Summit Pound”, “The Garside Fell Disaster”, and “Music Hath Charms” are very effective ghost stories: expert storytelling with a level of detail that lend an authoritative stamp a la M.R. James. And mention must be made of “World’s End,” a very odd little weird tale that packs a surprisingly powerful punch. But the remainder, not necessarily bad but paying generally lesser dividends, are an assortment of stories in some of the genre’s classic settings such as mysterious valleys, foreboding moors, and inherited manors. And it should also be noted that the subtitle is misleading as it implies multiple stories of railways and canals, but there is actually only one of each: “Garside” and “Bosworth”, respectively. The stories are fairly uneven in their quality. Some are very creepy and well done, while others lack conviction and are kind of bland. I had read "Bosworth Summit Pond" in the Oxford Book of Ghost Stories. It was actually the reason I ordered this collection, hoping for more ghost stories set on the canals. Given Rolt's background and the subtitle of this collection, I was expecting the inland waterways to feature prominently. Unfortunately despite the subtitle, that was the only canal story in the collection. Some of the stories are reminiscent of M.R. James, especially the two that take place in roadside inns. Rolt is an engaging writer and in the strongest tales there is a good atmosphere. Overall I decided not to hold on to this collection though. A nice collection of horror stories, set in various parts of England, and, especially, Wales. I only remember one canal story and one train story, but the rest are well worth a read. Most of these stories are quite short, which is a bit disappointing as I would have happily spent more time in their company, but, on the other hand, they mostly get right to the point—atmosphere, mystery, bad things, maybe a summation, but maybe instead an open-ended dread. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
This book contains 15 tales of the supernatural from L.T.C. Rolt, author of Landscape with Machines and Narrow Boat. Stories include The House of Vengeance, The Garside Fell Disaster, The Mine, and Mountaineer. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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Last comment: There is a passage in the story "Agony of Flame" that sounds too heartfelt to be just the voice of the character. I suspect this is Rolt himself, "We Saxons don't understand the Irish, you know, and I don't suppose we ever shall. We label their mysticism "Celtic Twilight" and dismiss it jokingly as a sort of childish whimsy. But if you were to find yourself alone in the west of Ireland in circumstances such as I'm describing, maybe the joke would begin to lose its point. Brought up in a more bracing climate we don't give ourselves time to stop and think, but burn out our lives in an elaborate world of our own artifice. But out there, in the loneliness and the soft, relaxing, misty air, self-importance quickly dissolves, life seems ephemeral, and you begin to understand the Celt a little better; his sense of the past; his lack of ambition which we call shiftlessness; the melancholy that never leaves him, even in his joy."
Several of the stories take place in desolate landscape where the land itself is steeped with sinister history and energy. According to Susan Hill, Rolt was a fan of M. R. James and that is apparent. "Cwm Garon" could easily blur into "A View from a Hill".
One does not need to be a railway enthusiast to enjoy these stories. While trains are omnipresent and it is clear that Rolt was intimately familiar with railway operations, the stories are readily accessible to the reader. "The Garside Fell Disaster" might make one more apprehensive about train tunnels, though.
I've got two bookshelves of stories by M. R. James, Bierce, Blackwood, Nesbit, Wharton, etc. I am thrilled that there is a renewed interest in Rolt, that this tidy collection is available; it will sit proudly in my collection. Only wish there was another volume of Rolt spookers to look forward to. ( )