Song for the Unraveling of the World
Brian Evenson’s collection gathers stories of collapsing perception: a newborn without a face, a filmmaker obsessed with silence, a therapist who appears impossibly in a patient’s room. Doubt, delusion, and self-deception form the core of the horror.
Work Information
The sound of the world unraveling comes from places where everyone believes themselves sane.
These stories open existential doubt from small disruptions in ordinary life. Combining the sharpness of genre horror with literary abstraction, the collection illuminates the dark impulses by which people justify themselves.
Review Summaries
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Readers value the ambiguous terror and precise prose. Because the stories do not over-explain, they suit readers who enjoy unease that lingers.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Coffee House Press
- Published
- 2019-06-11
- Pages
- 240 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 13.97 x 1.91 x 20.96 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9781566895484
- ISBN-10
- 1566895480
- Price
- 3668 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Horror/Occult
From a modern master of the form, a new short story collection that dexterously walks the tightrope between literary fiction, sci-fi, and horror. A newborn’s absent face appears on the back of someone else’s head, a filmmaker goes to gruesome lengths to achieve the silence he’s after for his final scene, and a therapist begins, impossibly, to appear in a troubled patient’s room late at night. In these stories of doubt, delusion, and paranoia, no belief, no claim to objectivity, is immune to the distortions of human perception. Here, self-deception is a means of justifying our most inhuman impulses—whether we know it or not.
Brian Evenson is the recipient of three O. Henry Prizes and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the World Fantasy Award. He is also the winner of the International Horror Guild Award and the American Library Association’s award for Best Horror Novel, and his work has been named in Time Out New York’s top books.
Reviews
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paranoia
great horrific short stories.
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This tantalising brain-fly of a book
This tantalising brain-fly of a book cannot be squashed without smashing its reader’s skull. And if that is too glib or clever-clever, so be it. It works for me. Same difference, really. The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long or impractical to post here. Above is one of my observations at the time of the review.
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Brilliant As Usual, Pure Brian Evenson!
“Songs For the Unraveling of the World” is an instant classic and already appears on many respectable “Best Horror and Disturbing Books Ever Written” lists. Usually ranging from one hundred best; 75 best; 50 best; 30 best; etcetera. It did show up on a list of 19 best horror books ever written and the second reason I purchased it, not just on Kindle but with the Audible version for Whisper-sync as well. The first reason I purchased it was after reading a sampling of his works in Ellen Datlow’s “Best Horror of the Year “ volumes. (I own them all and don’t recall where they are at the moment, my apologies!) “No Matter Which Way She Turns” is the story that sold me and the first story in Brian Evenson’s anthology of 22 twisted tales that sets this awesome read up for the following 21 brilliant pieces of works. WIERD AF fiction, twisted, dark humor, and just good Ol’ horror and dark fiction. (Little redundant, my bad) For anyone who enjoys reading dark fantasy, fictions of horror and twisted humor- this is a must read, period! I’m not saying you will LOVE every story wrapped up in this blanket of terror, but I confident you won’t HATE any of them either- that’s huge! There is traditionally at least one story in many anthology’s where I ask myself: “Seriously? Did I miss something; because right now as it stands- I think this story blows!! What the hell were they thinking!??!” LOL! But it’s true unfortunately. Brian Everson has been turning books of genius since the Millennium and I have enjoyed every single one! I hope you will join me on this adventure of The Unraveling of the World!! Ski PaPA LaUghiNG- BeaR South Lake Tahoe, Ca.
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A song in different genres for the unraveling of the world
My first book by Evenson after hearing many good things about him. It took awhile for this to grow on me and it wasn't because of how it started off, but how it progressed in the middle. The first stories grabbed me right away, but in the middle the detail and subject matter seemed less intriguing. I believe most of that had to do with the different genres Evenson visits. Cosmic, Sci Fi - space, mystery, Twilight Zone - like, psychological are all types of stories you will find here laced with horrors both known and unknown in all of them. My favorites were Born Still/Born - a man has a familiar uninvited visitor each night while he's sleeping. The Second Door - A brother and sister are trapped, isolated in a submarine like room with only two windows. One is inviting, the other is pitch black. Where do they lead? Lastly, Wanderlust is about a man who tries to escape at great lengths the gnawing feeling he is being watched. All the stories are well written and I felt two were just okay. Can't wait to by this author.
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Beautiful writing about unspeakable things
I read this collection, cover to cover, on a cross-country flight in broad daylight with a cup of coffee in hand. That's probably about as atmospheric as I dare with this immaculately written story collection, hands-down the scariest think I've read in a very long time. (Except "Trigger Warning." That's one's laugh-out-loud funny, which you'll find very helpful at that point in the book.) Short stories -- some very short indeed -- and beautifully told, this is a candy jar of uncanny horror, not to be confused with a jar of Halloween candy and horror, which...well, read it and find out why that prospect makes me twitch now, twitch like I've been electrically shocked. Yeah, just like that.