Джон Мэнчип Уайт «Whistling Past the Chrchyard»

This collection can be a bit hit and miss with its contents. Some stories are remarkable, others are not so good. They remind of a lot of the classic ghost stories. They go by the normal narrative bridge, and often ends in twists or shocks, such as a final scene of horror or a final revelation. So here I'm going over the highlights.

'Langa Valela', the first story, offers a good start.

'The Well' is a macabre entry about greed and revenge.

'The Commodore' I liked when I read it. It has some nice writing and prose, and the supernatural aspect isn't too close to the surface or explained.

'Nightingales' is my favourite of the bunch. Though it is short I found it to be powerful.

'Carry Me Home' is a story of a scholar researching his favoured Welsh poet.

'The Ruby Fly' is a well done story, and I cannot decide if it is a revenge story or not.But it is a lovely and well-wrote story

'The Spirit of Wales'--this was strange. It is fraught with drunken eroticism and perversion, weird stone statues, and focuses on the narrative of a man whose bones have been all but decimated. It was enjoyable.

In 'The Quarry' a man sees a vision of the future. It has a wonderful ending.

In 'The Room' a ghost is destined to live over and over a scene in a rented room.

'The Basement' was another gem. It is subtle and creeping. The part concerning the boy is especially creepy.

Finally 'Crawlers' ends the lot. And what a magnificent ending! I re-read it at night and it generally scared me. The way the narrative is set-up, with a man recounting another man's tale, excuses the lack of detail as to what is actually going on. I wonder if some the stories presented before the main narrative were going to be actual stories in the collection.

Edition: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1992

Full contents:

Langa Valela

The Well

The Commodore

Toccata

The Rowans

Nightingales

Carry Me Home

The Ruby Fly

The Spirit of Wales

A Sailor Dies at Sea

The Quarry

The Wild Goose

The Room

The Catch

The Crimson Shamrock

The Basement

Crawlers