A Trick of the Shadows

 

A Trick of the Shadow by R. Ostermeier
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Broodcomb Press is doing some amazing things. Their trade paperbacks are, first of all, beautiful books - about the best quality you'll ever see in a TPB. Secondly, they are distinctive. There is no mistaking a Broodcomb book for something else, which speaks to their dedication to a tight, easily identifiable aesthetic; so kudos for that.

But what really stands out is, of course, the prose. I've previously reviewed The Night of Turns and Upmorchard and noted the style of both. They are smooth and and clean, and yet idiosyncratic, especially Ostermeier's voice. There's a certain "tic" that I can't quite suss out that is a sort of literary fingerprint. I'd have to spend more time than I have to pull out an example, but I know it when I read it. Something for me to watch when I next read another Ostermeier book (which I will). I'd love to know how much crafting goes into the writing - how many rewrites, edits, notebooks full of scratched out paragraphs, etc. I know my own experience, but what I wouldn't give to watch Ostermeier write a couple of stories from beginning to end.

And how do the stories in A Trick of the Shadow fare? I liked all of them, loved most of them. There were two that didn't hit home for me, but that's because of my personal tastes, not because of any fault on Ostermeier's part.

To start, Ostermeier folds Mark Fisher's notions of the weird and the eerie in on themselves in "A Tantony Pig". It is a disconcerting method, to say the least, and deeply affecting. I rarely get legitimately scared while reading a story. This was one of those that scared me, even with the lights all on and other people in the house. The unexplained mysteries left behind in the wake of the story make it even more effective. There's a lingering aura that one feels long after reading the closing words.

In "finery" the old phrase about the clothes making the man is transformed and split into the clothes making the woman and the woman making the clothes. Both are inextricably sewn together, the weave and weft of what one wishes to be and what one one must admit she is.

"The Chair" is as disturbing as the title is banal. A strange device may or may not allow one to see another's dreams. I'm reminded somewhat of the Christopher Walken movie "Brainstorm", but this is much more disturbing on a personal level. Children's dreams meet adult problems in this story of the loss of innocence amidst family dynamics where no one, yet everyone, is to blame. A strongly affecting story!

While I do like vagary in short stories, I don't like downright inscrutability. I found "The Object" more affecting than effective. Yes, there was an emotional response to reading it, but the utter chaos of the elements didn't work particularly well for me. Utter nihilism and loss, without some stirringly emotional connection feels empty and a bit academic. I supposed nothing's more horrific than academia. Still ... I liked the story, but didn't love it as much as I loved the others.

Body horror just isn't my thing. And "The Intruder" is all about body horror. It was highly unpleasant and disturbing, just like the experiences of the main character. The story was "clunky," and maybe that was by design. If so, it clearly engendered discomfort in this reader. Not that I like my reading comfortable. Au contraire. But stories that leave me feeling almost physically ill are not for me. Maybe for you? If so, this story is definitely for you.

I love folk horror. For folk horror of a different sort, "The Bearing" is hard to beat. The rurality and ritual tropes are present, but the horror doesn't arise from the strange inhabitants of the area. In fact they are trying to prevent the evil from gaining a foothold. Or a hoof-hold. One is left wondering if they actually succeeded, and the need for an annual rite all but ensures that some day they will get it wrong. But only once.

The longest story in the collection, "Bird-hags," is not easily categorizable, which means it's right in my wheelhouse. Part psychological horror, with a slight flicker of body horror, but a huge dose of cosmic ur-horror from the depths of our dreams, this novella hits many different notes, but hits each one soundly. The cosmic aspect is something disruptive to our world, yet uncaring. Not malevolent, just uncaring. I believe this is the sort of thing that Lovecraft was striving for, but Ostermeier uses far more simple language to greater effect, in this instance. This is possibly because the horror here is so darned personal. Perhaps it's because the narrator, while an adult, is showing the story from his childhood point of view, where innocence is slowly being eroded away.

A Trick of the Shadow is another gem in the Broodcomb Press crown. Gaze into it and let it dazzle your eyes! You will . . . see things . . .

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