Library Loot 25.9.2010 & R.I.P Short Story: The Cask Of Amontillado

Library loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encouragers bloggers to share the books they have checked out from the library. If you would like to participate, Mr. Linky is this week over at Marg's blog The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.

My loot this week is quite small. I have so many books from previous loots waiting for their turn that my card is almost full. The upper limit of loans on a card in our library is 40. I guess, I have something like 36 items on my card at the moment: novels in English and in Finnish, plus some nonfiction, including a few books I've borrowed for professional reasons. I'm very interested in multicultural/intercultural/diversity issues and am trying to broaden my knowledge on diversity management at the moment. But, lets go back to my loot. :)

• Dinesen, Isak (Karen Blixen): Anecdotes of Destiny
  The back cover promises five superb tales of gothic wit and mysticism. Sounds perfect for R.I.P. Short Story Challenge. I just love the movie Out of Africa starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford that was based on Blixen's memoir of the same name. "I had a farm in Africa..." for me that is one of the most memorable first lines in books and ever since I saw the movie and also a wonderful old interview programme with Blixen I have wanted to read her works. Somehow, however, I never have before this! Now I am determined to correct that by reading at least one story from this book for R.I.P.
• Engle, Margarita: The Firefly Letters
  When I first saw this book at work I immedietely knew it would be a must read for me! Engle tells the story of Swedish women's rights pioneer Fredrika Bremer's mid 19th-century journey to Cuba. And she tells it as one long poem!
• Goodall, Jane & Thane Maynard & Gail Hudson: Hope for Animals and Their World
  I admire Dr. Jane Goodall for her pioneering work among the chimpanzees in Gombe and for her work for peace. This book is a collection of survival stories about animal species that have been endangered but are now recovering. And isn't the cover photograph just lovely! Dr. Jane and the little chimp both looking at the sea. :)
• Miller, Kei: The Last Warner Woman
  This is a novel about the life of Jamaican born Adamine, who is born in one of the last leper colonies on the island, later learns she has the gift of "warning", moves to England, and as an old woman tries to tell her own story and compete with a novelist writing a book about her and twisting her words. I don't think I have ever read anything by a Jamaican author. This book seems like a good first in that aspect.

On the R.I.P. front I'm not been able to keep my selfimposed schedule of posting on R.I.P. short stories every Monday and Friday. I had every intention to post yesterday, but fell asleep on the couch before I even got started! Well, this is going to be a combined Library Loot & R.I.P. post now.

I found the Read Print site just resently. There are, for example, many short stories by Edgar Allen Poe on the site, and for this post I chose to read the one called The Cask of Amontillado. Actually after starting with the story I pretty soon realised I had read it once before. It was well worth a reread.

In this short story Montresor feels he has been gravely insulted by Fortunato and wants to punish Fortunato accordingly, "not only punish, but punish with impunity". Fortunato, however, has no idea there is anything but amiable feelings between them. When Monresor approaches Fortunato, compiments his knowledge in vines, and tells he has aquired some Amontillado, but has his doubts about the vine, Fortunato is more than happy to assist in determinig the quality of the purchase. What follows is a journey down to the vaults below the Montresor palazzo -and to a complete and horrible punishment of Fortunato by Montresor.

Edgar Allen Poe, of course, was a master of his art. This story in all its gothic creepiness is a perfect example of that.

R.I.P Short Story: Miss Mary Pask by Edith Wharton

The Pulitzer Prize winning author Edith Wharton may be better known for her novels depicting upper class Americans, especially New Yorkers, but she also wrote some ghost stories. Those stories have been published in The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. What then, for her, qualified as a ghost story? In her own words a ghost story

"...must depend for its effect solely on what one wight call its thermometrical quality, if it sends a cold shiver down one's spine, it has done its job and done it well, and many a tale that makes others turn cold leaves me at my normal temperature. The doctor who said there were no diseases but only patients would porbably agree that there are no ghosts, but only tellers of ghost stories, since what provides a shudder for one leaves another peacefully tepid. Therefore one ought...simply tell one's ghostly adventures in the most unadorned language, and "leave the rest to Nature..." [ Preface, p. 4]

In the story I read today, Miss Mary Pask, Edith Wharton manages just that. The narrator of the story has been painting in Brittany, when suddenly he remembers that a friend of his, Mrs. Bridgeworth, has a sister living nearby. As Mrs. Bridgeworth has told him that her sister, Miss Mary Pask, is often lonely, the narrator feels he ought to go and visit her. The journey to the remont location where Miss Pask lives is full of fog and darkness and builds a proper ghost story atmosphere. Finally he is at the door of Mary Pask's little house. Her help answers the door and says that Miss Pask would, of course, see the narrator. Only when he stands alone in the dark waiting for Miss Pask does he remember that already almost a year ago he learned from Mrs Bridgeworth that Miss Pask had died. And just then, there is Mary Pask standing on a landing above him! She comes down and starts a conversation with the somewhat terrified narrator.

"'It's so wonderfully good of you - I suppose Grace asked you to come?' She laughed again - her conversation had always been punctuated by rambling laughter. 'It's an event - quite an event! I've had so few visitors since my death, you see.'
     Another bucketful of cold water run over me; but I looked at her resolutely, and again the innocence of her face disarmed me.
     I cleared my throat and spoke - with a huge panting effort, as if I had been heaving up a gravestone. 'You live here alone?' I brought out.
     'Ah, I'm glad to hear your voice - I still remember voices, though I hear so few,' she murmured dreamily. 'Yes - I live here alone. The old woman you saw goes away at night. She won't stay after dark...she says she can't. Isn't it funny? But it doesn't matter; I like the darkness.' She leaned to me with one of her irrelevant smiles. 'The dead,' she said, 'naturally get used to it.'" [p. 138]

I'll leave the plot description there. Miss Mary Pask is such a great story you have to read it yourself! :) Wharton manages to build a nicely creepy, but not too scary, atmosphere, and just when you think this is your average ghost story there is the perfect twist in the end!

I have read some of the stories in this collection before, but I liked this one so much that stay tuned for more! I will review more of Wharton's ghost stories in my upcoming R.I.P. posts. Next one will be up on Friday.

R.I.P Short Story: Island of the Setting Sun

Ok, I've decided to post on Fridays and Mondays about the short stories I'm reading for the R.I.P. challenge. I already mentioned in my initial R.I.P. post that I will most probably read some short stories or extracts published in The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy. I've now read three stories from the anthology and it's quite interesting to read Finnish authors in translation! 

The story I chose to write about tonight is by one of my favorite authors: Mika Waltari. Many of Mika Waltari's (1908-1979) books are nowadays consireded to be Finnish literary classics, but in his time he was sometimes said to write too popular or entertaining books for them to have been considered serious or great literature. He wrote both contemporary and historical novels. His most well-known novel is The Egyptian, a junkster book set in Ancient Egypt and telling the story of Sinuhe the doctor. He also wrote a manual for aspiring writers that is a classic in its field over here. As a teenager, he was only 17 at the time, he published a collection of horror stories using the pen name Kristian Korppi. Korppi is raven in Finnish and the little introduction in The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy mentiones that he might have chosen that particular pseudonym because of Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name.

Island of the Setting Sun is a mysterious story about a Viking raid to an unknown island on the other side of a great ocean. As The Egyptian (first published in Finnish in 1945) is told by Sinuhe so is this story (first published in 1926) told by an unnamed Viking king. First-person narrative is very typical of Waltari as is well-worded descriptive passages. I find it quite amazing that he was so young when he wrote Island of the Setting Sun, but then, of course, he was a very talented writer. :) The story starts with:

 "I, the final king of the vanquished Viking tribe of the Valley of Three Suns, have commanded Father Anselmus, newly arrived from the land of the Gauls, to commit to posterity that which I am about to impart: the tale of our journey to the Island of the Setting Sun; else it shall be lost, it shall dissapear along with me into the land of eternal shadows, where my ancestors have stepped before me, and in whose footsteps I, the last of my kin, a few years hence must follow"

As a young man the king wanted adventure and he talked some of his fellow Vikings to join him on a raid across the ocean. Already after a fortnight at the sea their slaves start to die, then a great storm breaks. Just when the king thinks all is lost the skies and sea calm down and the men see land. It is the Island of the Setting Sun. It's inhabitants are totally silent, short and pale with captivating green eyes. A battle follows and the vikings win. Something strange is happening, however. When the Viking king visits the temple of the greeneyed people, he falls passionately in love with the statue of their goddess. The passion is all comsuming, but so is the curse of the goddess.

I liked this story very much. I liked the athmosphere Waltari created, it was a little bit creepy, but not too much. :) That the story was set in Viking Period was a nice plus. And see, in the passage I quoted above, how subtly, by simply naming a priest as the scribe for the king's story, the 17-year-old Waltari manages to convey the fact that the time of the Vikings is nearing its end.


That's it for tonight. I find it hard to write a post and follow the US Open women's semifinal tennis match on TV simultaneously. Should have eyes in the back of my head! :) Next short story peril post will appear on Monday.

R.I.P V Challenge

During the little over a year I've been book blogging (and I just realised I totally forgot my first book blogoversary back in June!! Oh well, let's celebrate all the more next summer. :)) I remember seeing numerous posts praising Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings' Readers Imbibing Peril challenges. As I don't celebrate Halloween and ghost stories are a bit outside of my comfort zone (yes, I know, it's not just about ghost stories:)) I had thought that maybe I should just concentrate on those challenges I committed myself in the beginning of the year, but... Everybody seems to love Carl's challenge and all those lovely lists of books exactly outside of my comfort zone made me rethink. So, this will be my first time taking part in the R.I.P Challenge. And may I say at once that I love, love, love the challenge banners by Jennifer Gordon. Her art is just amazing!

I'll join both short story peril and peril the third. I'll try and post regularly about the short stories I will read for the challenge. I'm thinking of deciding on a day or days of the week and keep posting on those days especially about this challenge. I will also try to read one novel that qualifies for this challenge.

Here's a short list of possible R.I.P reads:

For short story peril:

• The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy
  A collection of short stories and extracts from longer texts. 
• The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
  I've read some of these & liked them. Could read some more.
• The Penguin Book of Ghost Stories: from Elizabeth Gaskell to Ambrose Pears
  Elizabeth Gaskell! A must read!

For peril the third:

• Alan Bradley: The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag
  Have read sooo much about Bradley's books in various book blogs! Unfortunately our library doesn't have the first book in the series.
• Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White
  This would be a reread, but the first time in original language. This book made a huge impact on me when I read it as a teenager.
• Helen Grant: The Vanishing of Katharina Linden
  I've read about this one, too. Sounds interesting.
• Elizabeth Peters: Tomb of the Golden Bird
  Amelia Peabody, Egypt, humorous gothic, and I hope The Master Criminal will make an appearence! What more could one want!
• Philip Sington: The Einstein Girl
  Mystery set in the 1930s.

I'll start with a short story post either tomorrow or on Saturday.