Review: Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio

Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very enjoyable collection of (very) short stories, dealing with the paranormal, ghosts, fox spirits and things of that nature.

I actually had a lot of fun reading them and finished it much more quickly than I thought I would.


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Review: Where the Wild Ladies Are

Where the Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book of short stories inspired by Japanese folk tales, but that also tie into themselves and relate to each other tangentially. These were fun, all dealing with ghosts and (often) with relationships. At the end there is a brief explanation as to how each story relates to a famous folk tale, although I realize that, not knowing these stories ahead of time, much of the significance was probably over my head.

Still, they were fun to read.


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Review: Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection

Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection by Stephen Fry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As pretty much 100% of the reviewers have said, having anything narrated by Stephen Fry makes it a pleasure to listen to. My only gripe might be that this was a missed opportunity to read The Haunted Dolls' House, by M.R. James and Dracula's Guest by Bram stoker (is that the one with Walpurgisnacht?). I remember those from when I was young and would love to hear them again narrated by Stephen Fry. Maybe for the second edition?

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Review: The Judge's House

The Judge's House by Bram Stoker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this. Not the ending you would expect, given the rationality of the protagonist.



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Review: The Open Door

The Open Door by Charlotte Riddell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Quite a good story with an interesting ending.

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Review: The Empty House, by Algernon Blackwood, 1956 edition

The Empty House, by Algernon Blackwood, 1956 edition by Algernon Blackwood
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not my favorite ghost story

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Review: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A good story. All the better when Stephen Fry is narrating it. 

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Review: Lost Hearts

Lost Hearts by M.R. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun ghost story. It worked for me. 

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Review: Was It an Illusion? A Parson's Story

Was It an Illusion? A Parson's Story by Amelia B. Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Victorian writing style got to me, but in the end this was worth it. 

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Review: The Conception of Terror: Tales Inspired by M. R. James - Volume 1

The Conception of Terror: Tales Inspired by M. R. James - Volume 1 by M.R. James
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm sorry. Apparently these were re-tellings of classic ghost stories (that I haven't read), but I found each one worse than the other. I actually found the dramatization ok (unlike many other reviewers), but the stories themselves seemed weak, had plot holes (even taking into account that they're fantasy stories, so you can pretty much make up the rules) and didn't really seem to end coherently.

I can't say much more without spoilers, but I guess I'm not a fan of M.R. James.

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Review: Tales of Moonlight and Rain

Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some great stories, although I'm sure 98% of the symbolism/references/allusions were lost on me. Plenty of endnotes and explanations before each story, but it was still a lot.

I ended up just reading the stories through, and then, after each story, going back to its intro to read more about its context etc. I just enjoyed reading them as stories by themselves first, and then seeing what all I had been missing.

Some of them were also pretty scary, and plenty of references to Chinese/Japanese myths and Tale of Genji.



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