The Other Nineteenth Century (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
I've always found Avram Davidson to be amongst the subtlest of writers. Where other writers will use words like meat cleavers or blunt instruments, Davidson will use them as a prankster might a feather or a surgeon a scalpel. At his best, which is in the realm of the short story, he leaves the reader with haunting memories, a growing sense of awe or a shattering revelation; other times, it's a smile, a sigh and a shake of the head. But he always leaves the reader knowing that he had read something special, even if he's not exactly sure what...at the moment. The stories in this collection are not interconnected, but they are generally set in a Nineteenth Century of Davidson's imagination, where history is not always as we remember it. Many of the stories pivot about crucial, if sometimes obscure, points in history; at times the meaning of the story may be lost on the reader not intimately aware of the incidents in the lives of Byron or Shelly or Joseph Smith, but, fortunately or not, each story is followed by an afterword by the compiler of the collection where a blunt instrument or meat cleaver, as appropriate, may be applied. Sometimes science fiction, sometimes fantasy, sometimes unclassifiable unless we resort to the old labels of "fable" or "parable," the stories all have the touch of a master storyteller. and while they may not be for everyone, they will certainly be of interest to the reader looking for something more than just a good story.
As usual I have the receipt in this book to (initially) use as a bookmark. The date on said receipt is 02-21-03: so I began this work 12 years after purchase. I wish I started it sooner; actually wish I was able to read these stories when initially published.Most anthologies of short stories, of one author's work or a collection of authors upon a theme, tend to have a wide range of hits, misses and nearly so. This one I found to be full of more hits than misses. Honestly for me I found no misses.Many of the stories with a historical grounding - 'One Morning with Samuel, Dorothy, and William', for example - had that sting for me when I realized the historical persons or events involved, especially when told from a different angle or a change fact. As I progressed through the story I kept catching a phrase or sentence that made me say: 'There is something here I am missing' or 'This sounds familiar'. Some authors leave me feeling like an uneducated fool who doesn't get it; Davidson's style is subtle and sly and opens the minds eye with suddenness that is not a slap.The final assessment: read this.
What do You think about The Other Nineteenth Century (2002)?
