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Post by wireman on Mar 31, 2021 12:47:49 GMT
Today, we will discuss Ashputtle by Peter Straub from the collection Interior Darkness
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Post by wireman on Mar 31, 2021 15:02:32 GMT
This was a weird little story. My take on it is that sometimes the people you trust (the teacher) may not be what they seem. In the story, there was a lot of hinting at possible worse things about her than was being told in the story.
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Post by spideyman on Mar 31, 2021 19:51:36 GMT
Agree with you wireman, about a lot of hinting. I'd say she has a love / hate relationship with the children. Found the story complex with going from the current time- as a teacher, and her past with her mom. The delusions she had. Guess that was needed to see the complexity. Twisted story indeed.
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 1, 2021 13:14:25 GMT
A very disturbing story. This seems to be a continuing theme with Straub, as mentioned previously by wireman , the idea of things/people to not being what they seem. An innocent seeming teacher can actually be a serial killer. I liked the way in which Straub introduced her, he detailed periods from her upbringing which would eventually lead to her doing what she is doing. This is a case study of a special type of killer, the travelling killer who goes all over so as to not draw suspicion, really scary story based in realism. Excellent.
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Post by wireman on Apr 1, 2021 13:22:12 GMT
A very disturbing story. This seems to be a continuing theme with Straub, as mentioned previously by wireman , the idea of things/people to not being what they seem. An innocent seeming teacher can actually be a serial killer. I liked the way in which Straub introduced her, he detailed periods from her upbringing which would eventually lead to her doing what she is doing. This is a case study of a special type of killer, the travelling killer who goes all over so as to not draw suspicion, really scary story based in realism. Excellent. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 1, 2021 13:48:02 GMT
A very disturbing story. This seems to be a continuing theme with Straub, as mentioned previously by wireman , the idea of things/people to not being what they seem. An innocent seeming teacher can actually be a serial killer. I liked the way in which Straub introduced her, he detailed periods from her upbringing which would eventually lead to her doing what she is doing. This is a case study of a special type of killer, the travelling killer who goes all over so as to not draw suspicion, really scary story based in realism. Excellent. |
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Post by wireman on Apr 1, 2021 14:01:10 GMT
In the stories we have read so far, Straub is not direct about the deranged things his characters may be doing but likes to hint at things and let the reader fill in the blanks. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 1, 2021 14:48:17 GMT
Yep. Also, other than the first story there doesn't even seem to be a hint at the supernatural either. |
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Post by spideyman on Apr 2, 2021 13:19:32 GMT
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 2, 2021 14:00:08 GMT
The Merry Men is an awesome short story, many believe it was the basis for Joseph Conrad's The Heart of Darkness, but it is quite long, we could maybe break it up into sections, do chapters 1 - 3 for one week or something like that, and 4 - 6 for the following.
I did find a cool online version of The Bottle Imp, that Stevenson story I was telling you about earlier. We could be The Bottle Imp for this upcoming week, its not very long, and do The Merry Men later, or we could go vice versa, up to you.
Here's the link anyway.
englishonlineclub.com/pdf/R.%20L.%20Stevenson%20-%20The%20Bottle%20Imp%20[EnglishOnlineClub.com].pdf
Its got illustrations with it, which is pretty cool. Hopefully its available in the US.
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Post by spideyman on Apr 2, 2021 14:38:16 GMT
Either option sound good to me. Flip a coin between you and wireman and let me know. 
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Post by wireman on Apr 2, 2021 15:28:35 GMT
There is also a story called Olalla in the collection that Spidey posted. I read somewhere that was his best horror story. So that's an idea for later. Let's do The Bottle Imp this week and we will keep some of the other Bobby Lou Stevenson stories in mind for a later date.
Next Wednesday, The Bottle Imp
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 2, 2021 15:39:36 GMT
There is also a story called Olalla in the collection that Spidey posted. I read somewhere that was his best horror story. So that's an idea for later. Let's do The Bottle Imp this week and we will keep some of the other Bobby Lou Stevenson stories in mind for a later date.
Next Wednesday, The Bottle Imp
Also, I doubt RLS was ever called Bobby in his lifetime. |
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Post by spideyman on Apr 2, 2021 16:27:58 GMT
There is also a story called Olalla in the collection that Spidey posted. I read somewhere that was his best horror story. So that's an idea for later. Let's do The Bottle Imp this week and we will keep some of the other Bobby Lou Stevenson stories in mind for a later date.
Next Wednesday, The Bottle Imp
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Post by wireman on Apr 2, 2021 16:43:10 GMT
There is also a story called Olalla in the collection that Spidey posted. I read somewhere that was his best horror story. So that's an idea for later. Let's do The Bottle Imp this week and we will keep some of the other Bobby Lou Stevenson stories in mind for a later date.
Next Wednesday, The Bottle Imp
Also, I doubt RLS was ever called Bobby in his lifetime. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 2, 2021 17:06:12 GMT
Sounds good.
Also, I doubt RLS was ever called Bobby in his lifetime. |
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Post by edwardjohn on Apr 2, 2021 17:07:52 GMT
Bobby is his Florida Man name.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_State_Historic_Park#Stevenson_House |
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Post by cat on May 29, 2021 18:08:22 GMT
This story was disturbing. Very disjointed, The way it jumped around, but not in a way that was confusing, just disturbing. I can't say I liked this one very much. The things that were hinted about and some things that were spelled right out for the reader should have been enough to flag this person as a crazy loony tunes.
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