What do You think about Song Of The Silent Snow (2000)?
This is a collection of short stories. As with all collections of short stories it varies in quality. It does not have the same intensity as the very best of Selby's writings, but some of it is really very good. He is at his best when he is exploring the intimate horrors of the lowest dregs of society in the tales. I find Selby to be always right on the money when he does. This he is the most accurate person on the life in the gutter of America. His writing has its brilliance and subtlety but it is not as full of rage as his best work. My book compared him to Dante which is a very intelligent comparison.As always he is a deeply Christian and ethical writer. He has a remarkable compassion and empathy which I think goes far beyond almost any writer and it is the most striking thing about his work. A great but uneven collection, which confirms my opinion that Selby is one of the most unjustly neglected writers in history.Beautiful, horrific and true.
—Julian Meynell
HSJ’s only story collection, released in 1986, lacks the power of his novel work—those books thrive on slow-building doom and the repetitive grind of addiction and madness, whereas these vignettes can’t attribute their weaknesses to style. Selby’s affinity and loyalty to the down-and-outs of New York never relented, unlike Lou Reed, who switched from bourgeois reformist to street-smart wiseguy in the space of two albums (listen to New York then play the laughable The Blue Mask to see my point). Like Reed’s 80s lyrics, some of the material here is nigh-unreadable: Selby makes Writing-101 mistakes in stories like horror schlock ‘The Sound’ or the diabolical mess ‘Liebesnacht.’ A more direct approach suits the form, with the epistolary ‘Im Being Good’ and ‘Indian Summer’ among the stronger hits—surprising shocks of reality from lives barely held together with lint-fluffed sticky tape. But Selby’s style (and inability to advance beyond that style) simply doesn’t satisfy in the same way as those masterpieces, and Selby’s standards are lightyears beyond the writing in evidence.
—MJ Nicholls
I'm very surprised that SOTSN doesn't seem to be a popular one for Selby. I personally loved every page of it, and some of the stories really left me feeling raw. Hubert's writing isn't the same as always - he still goes for the brutally realistic and the disturbing, but here he has mixed it up with stories that are far more tender to the touch. His writing is always full of love, no matter how hellish the situations can be, but the love shines through the pages here like it hasn't in any of his books before. He writes beautifully, delicately, dealing with the downtrodden and the misunderstood with tenderness and caring, no matter what happens to them. As opposed to the standard Selby fare (disturbing, violent, grisly), there are a few stories that really shine with sentimentality that never gets so overdone as to become cloying. Notable stories would include Of Whales and Dreams, and Song of the Silent Snow, which I think was my personal favourite. The imagery is vivid and fantastic, but the character is filled with emotional trauma just begging to be tended.This is probably my shittiest book review ever, but I really loved this book. It's just beautiful, I have no other words. Read it whether you like Selby or not.
—Ryland Dinneen
