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Amazon.co.uk Review
The short story is, in many ways, the perfect medium for the audio book, and Ruth Rendell continues to be a passionate supporter of the form, providing some vintage entries in her latest collection, Piranha to Scurfy and Other Stories. In Penelope Wilton, Rendell has the perfect reader for this beguilingly disparate selection of tales, united by the usual cold-eyed Rendell narrative voice. Wilton has long been one of this country's finest actresses, equally adroit at comedy and the most demanding drama. Here, she finds a neutral, dispassionate voice that is the perfect conduit for Rendell's understated prose. The title story (the longest in the book, and a reference to an encyclopaedia entry) is something of a departure for Rendell: although her work has always been rich in elements of the macabre, this is her first full-scale horror tale, and a curious concoction it is. Taking equal parts of Stephen King (of whom a suave surrogate appears in the piece), the great English ghost story writer MR James and Rendell's own individual ground of twisted psychology, the tale is ostensibly an atmospheric study in burgeoning mental terror, as a lonely and socially maladroit man finds himself driven to the point of madness when the demon of a bestselling horror tale appears to infiltrate itself into his daily life. Wilton's reading never lays on the horrors with a trowel, allowing the steady accumulation of detail to make its telling effect. The characterisation, perfectly delineated by the actress, has all the dark fascination of Rendell's best work, and if that final shiver of horror isn't quite delivered, Rendell enthusiasts will be more than diverted. The other tales are equally compelling, with The Professional and The Astronomical Scarf being particularly well turned. There is also a pleasingly steady progression of mood throughout the tales, and Wilton finds the dark humour of such pieces as High Mysterious Unionas acutely as the fatalistic menace of the other tales.
--Barry Forshaw
Review
Rendell is a great storyteller who knows how to make sure that the reader has to turn the pages out of a desperate need to find out what is going to happen next --John Mortimer, Sunday Times
Plenty of style and many a wry reflection on the human condition ... Rendell's mission in these well-crafted short stories is ... to exhibit a cool skill in the telling of moral fables. This is serious entertainment --Frances Fyfield, Express
In her writing, horror does not shake its gory locks directly at us, but hovers on the periphery of our inner vision, hidden among the ordinary, the everyday --Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph
Rendell's mastery of the difficult short story genre is unsurpassed . . . Her mesmerising capacity to shock, chill and disturb is unmatched --The Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Plenty of style and many a wry reflection on the human condition ... Rendell's mission in these well-crafted short stories is ... to exhibit a cool skill in the telling of moral fables. This is serious entertainment --Frances Fyfield, Express
In her writing, horror does not shake its gory locks directly at us, but hovers on the periphery of our inner vision, hidden among the ordinary, the everyday --Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph
Rendell's mastery of the difficult short story genre is unsurpassed . . . Her mesmerising capacity to shock, chill and disturb is unmatched --The Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This comprises of short stories and two novellas. The title story is about a man who spends his life reading and correcting the novels that he reads. He then writes to the authors to complain about all the errors he finds in their books. He makes the mistake of taking on a horror writer and his life becomes filled with terror as he convinces himself that the book is haunting him. I wondered if the author was based on Stephen King. A brilliant start to this book which is followed by several short but snappy stories, that all have chilling twists to their endings. This set of stories reminded me of Roald Dahl's works, and I fully recommend this book.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a die-hard fan of Ruth Rendell's novels it grieves me somewhat that I just cannot take to her short fiction, and it's not for want of trying! I came to this one after "The Copper Peacock", which also left me feeling flat and so what-ish, and I was hoping that this would be better. But no. Her short pieces simply do not have the eyebrow-lifting masterly shocks and twists that come with her long fiction, nor your involvement with the plot. The short stories are predictable to the point of being turgid, and her characters simply aren't interesting enough to carry us along. The title story, the opening novella to the piece, is the kind of thing that I feel Stephen King could do standing on his head (if he was so inclined anyway!), and to much better effect. Ambrose Ribbon is a fussy middle-aged bachelor, who spends his lonely existence buying books and correcting them for mistakes, and then sending letters lambasting the authors for their shoddiness (has this happened to Rendell then? was the question I kept asking myself when I read it). When Ambrose decides to take on a horror fantasy writer he gets more than he bargained for. He becomes convinced that the book is haunting him, (mind-bogglingly dull is that), and all the time it is his guilt that he murdered his overbearing mother coming out. Very ho-hum. It is completely devoid of surprises, suspense, or any kind of chilling effect whatsoever. Where your flesh should be creeping you will be pinching yourself to stay awake instead! "Computer Seance" tries immensely hard to be a jokey piece with a cruel Saki-style punchline, but it's let down entirely by being predictable (again!) and mercilessly unfunny. I have to confess I gave up after that. I'll be sticking to her novels in future.
Format:Hardcover
Perhaps it's not surprising that I am the first to dare to review this book, after reading the chilling title story 'Piranha to Scurfy'. If you've read it you'll know exactly what I mean by that, though I really do have to stick my neck out and correct Amazon here by pointing out that this story is in fact not the longest in the book, this distinction belongs to 'High Mysterious Union', in my opinion the most sinister and accomplished story. Overall, a fine showcase for Ms Rendell, with stories ranging from the fairly mundane and average to the outstanding. As always with Ms Rendell, things are very rarely what they seem, and the twist of the truly unexpected is what keeps her writing fresh. Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Weak Collection of Character Studies and Tired Devices
Never having read Rendell, who is widely thought of as being amongst the best contemporary crime writers, I figured this new collection might be the place to start. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2001
Fantastic collection.
I love Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, and this superb book of short stories didn't disappoint. I thought the best was the title story, although 'The Wink' was also very satisfying. Read more
Published on 16 Dec 2000
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