Léon Bloy's The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales will be published by Snuggly Books in October 2016.
Information about Léon Bloy:
Léon Bloy (1846-1917) was a French writer and journalist who was the author of essays, novels, short stories as well as a diary in eight volumes. In 1867 he made the acquaintance of Jules-Amadée Barbey d'Aurevilly, who not only stoked up his literary ambitions but was also responsible for his conversion to ardent Catholicism. Although primarily remembered today for his journals and essays, his volume of short stories Histoires désobligeantes (of which the present volume is a translation) might well be his definitive work.
Information about The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales:
Praised by Borges, the Unkind Tales of Léon Bloy were produced in a phase of literary evolution that was exploratory and experimental, and hence intrinsically exciting. Lingering on the frontiers of Decadence, Naturalism, and Symbolism, these stories of the damned and the foolish, of terrible fates and ludicrous situations, helped map out the terrain of the conte cruel and are, probably, the author’s most noteworthy work.
In this, an authoritative translation of the volume originally published as Histories désobligeantes, Brian Stableford, in both his insightful introduction and his superb rendering of the tales, shines a much-needed light on Bloy’s savage genius.
A REVIEW OF LÉON BLOY'S THE TARANTULAS' PARLOR AND OTHER UNKIND TALES
Léon Bloy's The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales is a feast of dark imagination, decadent imagery, savage happenings and literary storytelling. It's one of the best short story collection of the year and can be recommended to speculative fiction readers and literary fiction readers. It is something out of the ordinary for readers who love literary stories.
Brian Stableford has done a magnificent job at translating this collection into English. Because he has invaluable insight into the source material and its nuances, his translation is outstanding. Just like in Jean Lorrain's Nightmares of an Ether-Drinker, The Soul-Drinker and Other Decadent Fantasies, and Monsieur de Phocas, the translation highlights and emphasises the brilliant savagery and decadent nature of the original stories in an effective way.
It's great that Brian Stableford and Snuggly Books have made this collection available for English-speaking readership, because it's something different - and extremely addictive - to readers who are fascinated by cruel, unkind, savage and strange stories that explore how people live their lives, what kind of choices they make and what happens to them. It's a thought-provoking and unique reading experience that will haunt readers for a long time after they've read the final story.
The introduction by Brian Stableford is excellent and provides readers with general information about the author and his way of life. I strongly urge readers to read the whole introduction, because in order to fully enjoy the stories it's good to know at least something about the author and the age in which he lived, because the stories reflect the late 19th century. When you're familiar with the author's life, you'll get the most out of the stories and you'll be able to examine them in a rewarding way. (I also want to mention that the informative footnotes are excellent and provide readers with information about many things.)
This collection contains the following short stories:
- The Tisane
- The Old Man of the House
- Monsieur Pleur's Religion
- The Tarantulas' Parlor
- Plan for a Funeral Oration
- The Captives of Longjumeau
- A Bad Idea
- Two Phantoms
- The Terrible Punishment of a Dentist
- Alain Chartier's Reawakening
- The Obliging Stroker
- The Monsieur's Past
- "Whatever You Want!"
- The Last Firing
- The End of Don Juan
- A Martyr
- Suspicion
- Calypso's Telephone
- Worn Out
- A Failed Sacriledge
- "There's Trouble Brewing!"
- The Silver Mote
- A Well-Nourished Man
- The Bean
- Digestive Proposals
- A Cry from the Depths
- The Reading Room
- No One's Perfect
- "Let's Be Reasonable!"
- Jocasta on the Sidewalk
- Cain's Lucky Find
- The Animal-Lover
These stories beautifully linger on the borders of Decadence, Naturalism and Symbolism, because they're experimental, brilliantly sharp and fascinatingly savage. Their brutal and cruel nature impressed me, because it is not often that one has an opportunity to read about issues related to life, marriage and relationships in such a stunning and sharp way. In these stories, readers are put into the middle of ludicrous situations and they get to read about people who do not always behave in a normal or morally acceptable way.
The contents of these amazing stories range from perversions and criminality to suffering and temptations, and also from seeking gratification to seeking redemption. In some of the stories, the author writes about such matters as religion, faith and sexuality in a surprisingly insightful way.
The author's writing style feels fresh and vivid. His writing style can perhaps best be described as a combination of Jean Lorrain, Joris-Karl Huysmans and Edgar Allan Poe. His savage way of writing about various themes and issues is strikingly effective and impressive. I can guarantee that when you begin to read his stories, you'll be totally hooked by them.
Here's more information about the stories and my thoughts about them:
The Tisane:
- A story about Jacques who hears his mother's terrifying confession at the church and is shocked by it.
- An excellent short story with a memorable ending.
The Old Man of the House:
- A striking story about Madame Alexandre, her business and her old father.
- This story has a fascinatingly brutal ending.
Monsieur Pleur's Religion:
- A story about an old miser called Monsieur Pleur, his habits and his life.
- I like the way the author writes about Monsieur Pleur, because there's something intriguingly striking about his writing style.
The Tarantulas' Parlor:
- In this story, a man spends a night with a poet and hears him read one of his dramas and sonnets.
- This is an atmospheric story with an approriately strange ending.
Plan for a Funeral Oration:
- A story about a dead man who is called Lazarus.
- The author writes intriguingly about the dead man, because his descriptions border on the line of being vividly flamboyant and partly philosophical.
The Captives of Longjumeau:
- In this story, a couple feels that their captives of Longjumeau and are unable to leave and travel elsewhere.
- I liked this story a lot, because it was fascinatingly weird.
A Bad Idea:
- An interesting story about four men who live together and never spend a minute apart.
- This is definitely one of the best stories I've read this year, because it's a unique depiction of a bit different kind of life and friendship.
Two Phantoms:
- A story about the friendship of Mademoiselle Cléopâtre du Tesson and Miss Penelope Mirabelles Magpie.
- I love the atmosphere in this story.
The Terrible Punishment of a Dentist:
- A story about a dentist who has committed a murder.
- Ah, what an ending this story has! I found the ending to be fascinatingly cruel and brutal.
Alain Chartier's Reawakening:
- In this story, a man is shaken by a letter that has been written by a woman who seems to love her.
- The author writes well about how the man feels about the situation he is in.
- This story has an excellent ending.
The Obliging Stroker:
- A story about a man and his friend, Thierry.
- This is a fine example of a story that will stick to your mind because of its atmosphere.
The Monsieur's Past:
- In this story, a man goes to ask for money from the uncle of a woman he knew.
- I liked the ending of this story very much.
"Whatever You Want!":
- A well written story about Maxence and an aged prostitute.
- This story is a prime exampe of a fascinating story with decadent elements.
The Last Firing:
- A story about a man who has retired from his profession as a whitener of sepulchers.
- I found the funeral scene excellent, because it had a bit of Poe-esque quality to it.
The End of Don Juan:
- A fantastic story about Marquis Hector de la Tour de Pise and his life.
- It was fascinating to read about what was revealed about the man and how he lived his life. What was written about his children was very intriguing and also a bit disturbing.
A Martyr:
- A stunning story about Madame Virginie Durable who is the very type-specimen of martyr and also an atrocious shrew.
- Ah, what a pleasure it was to read this story, because the author's vision of Madame Durable's life is fascinatingly striking and depraved.
Suspicion:
- In this story, a man called Aristobule is suspicious of everything.
- I liked the ending, because the author delivers an abrupt and brutal ending to the story.
Calypso's Telephone:
- A story about Madame Presque, her marriage and her financial problems.
- I love the way the author writes about Madame Presque and what she does.
Worn Out:
- In this story, a hungry and starving man meets an unknown man who makes him an unexpected offer.
- An excellent and atmospheric story.
A Failed Sacriledge:
- In this story, a vicomtesse confesses things to the priest.
- An excellent story with a perfect ending.
"There's Trouble Brewing!":
- A story about a group who calls themselves the elect of the eternity.
- This story has silent power that I found intriguing.
The Silver Mote:
- This is an exceptionally intriguing story featuring a man who seems to be afflicted by clairvoyance.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.
A Well-Nourished Man:
- A story about a man who learns of the death of a well-nourished man.
- In this story, the author refers to and writes about gluttony in an interesting way.
The Bean:
- A story about Monsieur Tertullien who has lost his wife.
- This story has a good ending.
Digestive Proposals:
- An interesting story, in which it is discussed how to put an end to the poor.
- This story has quite a good ending.
A Cry from the Depths:
- A fascinating story about Madame Demandon's daughter, Cymodocée, and her life.
- The author's descriptions of the decor of the Madame Demandon's sinister abode are stunningly vivid.
- The author writes excellent about Cymodocée and her suffering.
The Reading Room:
- A story featuring a reading room that only one person can enjoy at a time.
- An excellent story.
No One's Perfect:
- A story about Esculape Nuptial who kills people.
- This is one of the best and most memorable stories in this collection.
"Let's Be Reasonable!":
- In this story, Suzanne wonders why her father, Ambroise, isn't eating anything. Suzanne doesn't understand what is wrong with her father.
- A well written and interrsting story.
Jocasta on the Sidewalk:
- A story about a young man who has lost his mother.
- The author writes well about the uneasy relationship between him and his father.
- The ending is excellent.
Cain's Lucky Find:
- In this story, participants of a dinner party recount what kind of things they've found on public highway.
- This story has an excellent ending.
The Animal-Lover:
- In this story, a man tells a story to others about how he defended a stranger.
- A perfect and atmospheric story.
'The Tisane' is a brilliant story about a man who hears his own mother's confession and is terrified by it. I like the way the author builds up tension and finishes his story in a brilliantly cruel and unexpected way. I think that readers who have read Edgar Allan Poe will find this story especially intriguing.
'The Tarantulas' Parlor' is fascinating account of a night spent with a poet who recites one of his dramas and sonnets. This story has echoes and elements of Gothic prose. I liked the way the author wrote about the happenings and created a strange atmosphere.
'A Bad Idea' is one of the most interesting stories I've had the pleasure of reading this year. The author writes intriguingly about four men who spend time together and what happens to them when one of them falls in love with a woman. The descriptions about the men and the woman are fascinating, because the men have vowed themselves to an existence in which they're entirely committed to each other.
'A Failed Sacriledge' is a story in which the author writes excellently about faith, religion, atheism and secrecy of confession. It's a powerful tale of a vicomtesse who is not as pious and gentle as one might expect. This is one of the most memorable stories I've ever read.
'No One's Perfect' impressed me a lot, because it tells of a killer and his life. It was intriguing to read about the man and what happened to him when he met Loulou, because the story developed nicely toward the ending.
'Worn Out', 'There's Trouble Brewing!', 'The Silver Mote', 'The Bean' and 'The Animal-Lover' are prime examples of well written stories that are something a bit different. I enjoyed them and found them to be satisfyingly strange. (It is perhaps a bit unfair to single out these stories, because many of the other stories are also something different, but I wanted to choose these stories due to their sophisticated complexity and atmosphere.)
Although these stories are relatively short, they're filled with sharp and observant prose that has been coupled with evocative atmosphere. The author evokes such strong images in the reader's mind with his descriptions of the characters' fates and choices that you can't help but be impressed by his skillful storytelling and his ingenious ability to write about decadence and depravity.
These stories are best enjoyed one or two at a time, because they are thought-provoking and benefit from careful reading. When you read them this way, you'll notice how gorgeous they are and how much style and substance they have. If you rush through them, you'll miss out on a lot of minuscule details.
The author's literary prose is excellent. If you're not used to reading decadent and savage prose, it may take a while for you to get used to the author's writing style, but once you get used to it, you'll find it intriguing. In my opinion, the author has his own unique and original writing style that separates him from other authors.
I like the author's way of creating a subtly strange atmosphere in his stories. His stories often end in a brilliantly effective and memorable way, because the characters' fates are often somewhat brutal and cruel. There's something fascinatingly twisted about his dark imagination that I find captivating. I especially like the way he writes about the happenings and delivers surprise endings.
The cover image, 'Val van de magiër Hermogenes' (1565), which is an engraving by Pieter van der Heyden made after a drawing by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, fits this short story collection perfectly. These old works of art are stunningly beautiful and effective as cover images for collections and novels that feature decadent and depraved stories.
Léon Bloy's The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales is essential - or perhaps I should say mandatory - reading material to everyone who loves decadent and savage stories. I strongly urge readers of literary fiction and speculative fiction to read this short story collection, because it's one of the best collections of the year. It's a rich and rewarding reading experience.
Highly recommended!