The Possibility of Evil

Shirley Jackson's Dark Tales (2016) is a collection of short stories. These seventeen tales were originally published in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies Home Journal, Vogue and elsewhere.

I picked up Dark Tales as I wanted some good short stories to read to get me back in a reading groove. I often find that when I have a lot on my mind, or I have fallen into a reading slump (after reading a big novel or one I did not enjoy), that short stories are just the refresh I need to put me back on a reading path. Dark Tales did not disappoint, with stories of the perfect length to read before bed. 

For me, the collection highlights are:

• 'The Possibility of Evil' about an elderly woman in a small town who prizes her roses and has very strong views on her fellow townsfolk.
• 'The Honeymoon of Mrs Smith' in which a woman knowingly marries a man who is going to kill her. 
• 'Louisa, Please Come Home' about a young woman who runs away from home, and when she seeks to return three years later is unable to.
• 'The Summer People' about a retired couple who stay at their cottage past Labour Day.
• 'The Story We Used to Tell' about two friends who get trapped by a disturbing painting.
• 'Family Treasures' about an unpopular girl in a college dormitory who has a secret. 
• 'The Good Wife' in which a man suspects his new wife of having an affair.
• 'All She Said was Yes' about a girl who is taken in by her neighbours when her parents die.

With any short story collection, there are always a few that don't resonate. In Dark Tales, I found it hard to enjoy 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' or 'Jack the Ripper'. Some of the stories reminded me of tales from the Twilight Zone, like 'The Bus' in which an elderly woman is trying to get home but has troubles with the only bus company that can take her there. I am not a big fan of horror or supernatural, but I do like stories that are eerie, creepy and unnerving like many of those found in Dark Tales.

Shirley Jackson is best known for her gothic mystery and supernatural horror stories including The Lottery and Other Stories (1949),  Hangsaman (1951), The Haunting of Hill House (1959) and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962).  I look forward to exploring more of her work.

Vital Signs

Sarah Holland-Batt won the 2023 Stella Prize for her poetry collection The Jaguar (2022). I heard her speak, and read various poems from The Jaguar at the Sydney Writers' Festival in May, and knew I would enjoy her verse. Over the past few months I have read and reread these poems, finding new wisdom and beauty on each encounter. 

Many of the poems in this collection are about the author's father who died in 2020 after living with Parkinson's disease. There are haunting poems about his mental deterioration ('My Father as a Giant Koi', 'Empires of Mind'), life in hospital and the nursing home ('The Gurney', 'Lime Jelly') and his eventual death ('Terminal Lucidity', 'Nessun Dorma'). Despite the dark themes, these are poems filled with love and beauty. The titular poem is an unexpected delight about a sports car her father is obsessed with.

Other poems in this collection focus on travel to Morocco, Egypt, America and beyond ('Night Flight', 'Sketches from the Nile'), romance ('Instructions for a Lover', 'The Proposal') and more. In each, Holland-Batt deftly uses language to evoke images, her light touch on deep subjects, and a subtle humour to engage the reader. 

One of my favourites in this collection is 'Classical Allegory', greatly reminding me of Dorothy Parker's verse.

The Stella Prize judges describe this collection as 'accessible, lyrical and wise' and I would heartily agree. This is a collection I will return to, time and again.

The Jaguar is Holland-Batt's third collection of poetry, and I am keen to check out her earlier works Aria (2008) and The Hazards (2015).

Le Pain Maudit

On 15 August 1951, in the French town of Pont-Sant-Esprit, a mass poisoning event occurred impacting 250 people and causing 50 to be placed in asylums, while seven people died. Villagers reported symptoms of nausea, cold chills, vomiting, hallucinations and convulsions. Originally believed to be a food borne illness caused by 'cursed bread' or le pain maudit, in the lead up to this event there were other towns affected with similar outbreaks, all linked to bakeries that made their bread with flour from one supplier. 

This true story underpins Sophie Machintosh's novel Cursed Bread (2023), longlisted for this year's Women's Prize. Set in a post-war French town, Eloudie is the wife of a baker, who longs for a life of more passion and intimacy. The couple have drunken, unsatisfying sex a few times a year; her frustration and desire is evident. She admires the way he carefully kneads the dough, and wishes he touched her with such affection. Working in the bakery, she lives vicariously through her customers who give her tidbits of gossip when they come to buy their bread. Likewise, at the lavoir, the town's women gather to do laundry and share intrigues.

Into this humdrum domestic life come 'the Ambassador' and his glamorous wife Violet. Her fine undergarments are the subject of much speculation at the lavoir, by the women both jealous of and attracted to this stranger. Becoming friends, Eloudie and Violet immerse themselves in each other's lives, while the ambassador flirts with Eloudie, and the baker continues his quest for the perfect loaf. 

Eloudie narrates the novel largely in the form of letters written to Violet after the shocking events of the poisoning. In this correspondence, she reveals her desire for Violet, and in parts her letters are delectably erotic. Telling the tale in retrospect, Eloudie comes across as bitter and vague, and her memory of events may not be trustworthy. At times, Eloudie is an interesting character, and through her eyes we see all others, which may account for the vivid portrayal of Violet and the unsatisfying outline of the baker.

I really wanted to enjoy this novel, and had high hopes given Mackintosh's reputation as an author (longlisted for the Booker in 2018 for The Water Cure) and the intriguing subject matter. While Mackintosh's prose is wonderful, the storytelling was not, and I was really disappointed. I wanted more of the cursed bread, which really only happens in the last few pages when the villagers are hallucinating and ill in response to the poisoning. Indeed the impetus for the story could have been anything else, as it is essentially about a dissatisfied woman continually searching for the life she thinks she wants. 

Booker Prize Longlist 2023

This week the Longlist was announced for the 2023 Booker prize. The thirteen titles nominated are dominated by four authors from Ireland. There are four debut novelists, and three authors who have previously been on the Booker longlist.

The Booker Prize Longlist is often a mixed bag of novels, but what I love about the Longlist is that it introduces me to many authors and books I do not know. For example, from last year's Longlist I read and really enjoyed Graeme Macrae Burnet's Case Study, Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These and Percival Everett's The Trees. 

Eli Edugyan, chair of the judges, said of the 2023 Booker Longlist:

'The list is defined by its freshness - by the irreverence of new voices, by the iconoclasm of established ones. All 13 novels cast new light on what it means to exist in our time, and they do so in original and thrilling ways. Their range is vast, both in subject and form: they shocked us, made us laugh, filled us with anguish, but above all they stayed with us. This is a list to excite, challenge, delight, a list to bring wonder. The novels are small revolutions, each seeking to energise and awaken the language. Together - whether historical or contemporary - the offer startling portraits of the current.'

I haven't read any of the books on this year's Longlist yet, so let's take a quick look at the nominees:

Ayobami Adebayo - A Spell of Good Things  (Nigeria)
Set in Nigeria, Eniola is a teenage boy who runs errands to raise money when his father loses his job. His family is struggling, unable to pay school fees or rent. Wuraola is a young doctor working in a public hospital. She is engaged and seems to have it all. Despite their different socio-economic positions, Eniola and Wuraola's paths cross unexpectedly. The Judges describe this as a 'powerful, staggering read'. This is Adebayo's second novel. Her previous book Stay With Me was shortlisted for the 2017 Women's Prize.

Sebastian Barry - Old God's Time (Ireland)
Tom Kettle has retired as a police officer and is enjoying his new home on the Irish coast. He spends his days joyfully remembering his marriage to June, and sadly recalling trauma from his childhood. His isolation is disrupted when two former colleagues show up to ask about a cold case which still haunts him. The Judges write that 'both the legacy of historic child abuse in Ireland and the enduring power of love are sensitively explored in this compassionate and quietly furious book'. Barry was previously shortlisted for the Booker for A Long Long Way (2005) and The Secret Scripture (2008).

Sarah Bernstein - Study for Obedience (Canada)
A woman moves to a 'remote northern country' to be her brother's housekeeper. He lives on the edge of a small village. She realises that the local community views outsiders with curiosity and suspicion. The Judges describe this as 'an absurdist, darkly funnily novel about the rise of xenophobia, as seen through the eye of a stranger in an unnamed town...'. Bernstein is a Canadian writer now residing in the Scottish Highlands. Her previous novel was The Coming Bad Days (2021).

Jonathan Escoffery - If I Survive You (America)
This is Escoffery's debut novel, which the Judges lauded 'for its clarity, variety and fizzing prose.' Told as linked short story form,  from different perspectives, timeframes and places, the novel focuses on the family of Topper and Sanya. In 1979, the couple flee the political violence in Kingston to Miami, where they hope for a better life. As immigrants, they are not welcomed and their sons grow up facing racism, poverty and displacement. 

Elaine Feeney - How to Build a Boat  (Ireland)
Set in the West of Ireland, Jamie O'Neill's mother Noelle died when he was born. At age 13 all he wants is to connect with is mother and to build a Perpetual Motion Machine. His teachers Tess and Tadhg support him in his creative endeavours. The Judges write that this is 'an absorbing coming-of-age story which also explores the restrictions of class and education in a small community.' This is Feeney's second novel, after her 2020 debut As You Were.

Paul Harding - This Other Eden  (America)
On Apple Island, off the coast of Maine, castaways have built their home. In 1792 Benjamin Honey, a former slave, arrives to make a life with his Irish wife Patience. Descendants of this couple remain on the island generations later, when in the early 20th century white missionaries arrive.  The Judges were 'moved by the delicate symphony of language, land and narrative that Harding brings to bear on the story of the islanders,' Harding is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of Tinkers (2010) which I did not enjoy, so I am not in a rush to read this one.

Sian Hughes - Pearl  (England)
Marianne is eight years old when her mother goes missing, leaving her with her infant brother and grief stricken father in a small village. As a teen she remains haunted by her mother's disappearance and explores the many unanswered questions the loss of her parent raises. The Judges describe Pearl as 'an exceptional debut novel... both a mystery story and a meditation on grief, abandonment and consolation.'

Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow - All the Little Bird-Hearts (England)
Sunday lives with her sixteen year old daughter Dolly. They live a fairly structured life, which is disrupted when a glamorous couple, Vita and Rollo move next door. Vita is completely different from Sunday, who is autistic, and as their friendship grows the author explores mother/daughter relationships. The Judges say this 'is a poetic debut which masterfully intertwines themes of familial love, friendship, class, prejudice and trauma with psychological acuity and wit.' 

Paul Lynch - Prophet Song (Ireland)
Set in Dublin, Eilish Stack is a mother of four. One night, two officers from Ireland's secret police show up seeking her husband. As the government lurches towards tyranny, Eilish does whatever she can to keep her family together. The Judges write 'Paul Lynch's harrowing and dystopian Prophet Song vividly renders a mother's determination to protect her family as Ireland's liberal democracy slides inexorably and terrifyingly into totalitarianism.' This is Lynch's fourth novel. I love dystopian fiction, so will seek this one out.

Martin MacInnes - In Ascension (Scotland)
Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, enchanted by the sea. She becomes a marine biologist and joins an expedition to explore a trench in the Atlantic Ocean, and the on to a space agency in the Mojave desert. She then has to make a choice between a career opportunity and her family. The Judges says 'In Ascension is a Solaris for the climate-change age'. This is MacInnes' third novel. 

Chetna Maroo - Western Lane  (Kenya/Britain)
Gopi is a keen squash player who has become obsessed with the sport since her mother died, distracting her from her grief.  Trained by her father, she grows distant from her sisters. The Judges said 'Western Lane is a deeply evocative debut about a family grappling with grief, conveyed through crystalline language which reverberates like the sound "of a ball hit clean and hard... with a close echo".' This is Maroo's first novel.

Paul Murray - The Bee Sting  (Ireland)
The Barnes family is falling apart. Dickie is about to lose his car business. While his wife Imelda is selling her jewellery, Dickie is off in the woods building a bunker to see out the apocalypse. Their daughter Cass is binge drinking through her final exams and younger brother PJ is planning to run away. Where did it go wrong, and can they find their way back? Best known for Skippy Dies, The Bee Sting is Murray's forth novel.

Tan Twan Eng - The House of Doors  (Malaysia)
Based on real events, this novel explores love and betrayal. W Somerset Maugham is unwell, in an unhappy marriage and struggling to write. With his secretary/lover Gerald, he visits his old friend Robert Hamlyn and his wife Lesley, who live in the Straits Settlements of Penang. Here he forms a close relationship with Lesley and she confides a tale of murder, which inspires Maugham's story 'The Letter'. Eng was longlisted for the Booker in 2007 for The Gift of Rain, and shortlisted in 2012 for The Garden of Evening Mist. 

Once again I am disappointed that there are no Australian authors nominated. I didn't make any predictions this year as to who would be on the list, but had thought that Barbara Kingsolver (Demon Copperhead),  Eleanor Catton (Birnam Wood), Maggie O'Farrell (The Marriage Portrait) and Zadie Smith's The Fraud might make it.  

I must admit I am not really excited by this longlist. Of all the titles, the only ones I am interested in are those by Sebastian Barry, Paul Lynch and Tan Twan Eng. 

The Shortlist will be announced on shortlist on 21 September 2023 and the winner on 26 November 2023. Better get reading!