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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
Well, it’s like I said a couple of times: I love the writing of Megan Abbott.
This was a big surprise in a mini-format. A Novella.
Cost you seven bucks from Mysterious Press via Penzler’s Bibliomysteries series of short stories/novella.
You?
Don’t be a simp.
You pay the postage, ok?
This is one of Megan’s classics.. set in Hollywood post WWII.
Young woman from the Midwest goes to H’wood to be a star. She’s an actress who starts banging various assholes associated with the studios.
Winds up with syphilis a couple of times during an “affair” with a “Mister D”. He pays for her favors. And penicillin doses.
You were a luscious piece of candy”, he said,
So she becomes a makeup artist working at Republic and Allied Artist studios.
Rents a cottage overlooking the old Hollywood sign.
Really real stuff ensues.
Sorry. I hate loving every card I play.
This novella is a solid 87 stars.
God but I love Megan Abbott’s storytelling.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Super quick read, but it felt too rushed. The mystery was kind of all over the place. Is it supernatural? Is the narrator hallucinating? I think this could have been longer and gone more in depth with the characters, then maybe it would have made more sense. The writing is good of course, but the story fell flat for me.
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
Set in 1953, The Little Men is less of a mystery and more of a “holy $#” that was good read. The nicely woven tale concerns a young woman who the reader always borders on disliking and who may has her problems. Penny arrived in Hollywood with dreams of making it big, and while she did make something, one wonders if it was big. It sure doesn’t sound that way.
It is to Abbott’s credit that while Penny is not someone we would want to be friends with, there is a level of sympathy for her. This is important for trouble follows Penny or she keeps stumbling on it. Penny finds herself a nice place to live, and then as in every Hollywood Horror movie ever written, the weird things start to happen. The mysteries start to occur. She is helped by her two neighbors.
The conceit behind the Bibliomysteries is to have books as a center or main sub-point in the short stories. While the books here haves less impact than the other Bibliomysteries that I have read, they are still important. This hasn’t the charm that was in Elizabeth George’s installment of the series. Abbott’s story is another kettle of fish all together.
It’s really impossible to discuss more of the plot without giving anything away. The atmosphere and writing are very good, and the story has made me want to read more work by Abbott. If you have ever read one of the Year’s Best Collections, this short story is an equal to any stories that have appeared in such books.
While some might find the price of just under two dollars (1.99) a bit steep for a short story, it is worth it. This isn’t a self published, badly edited book. It is a wonderful and spooky read.
Set in 1953, The Little Men is less of a mystery and more of a “holy $#” that was good read. The nicely woven tale concerns a young woman who the reader always borders on disliking and who may has her problems. Penny arrived in Hollywood with dreams of making it big, and while she did make something, one wonders if it was big. It sure doesn’t sound that way.
It is to Abbott’s credit that while Penny is not someone we would want to be friends with, there is a level of sympathy for her. This is important for trouble follows Penny or she keeps stumbling on it. Penny finds herself a nice place to live, and then as in every Hollywood Horror movie ever written, the weird things start to happen. The mysteries start to occur. She is helped by her two neighbors.
The conceit behind the Bibliomysteries is to have books as a center or main sub-point in the short stories. While the books here haves less impact than the other Bibliomysteries that I have read, they are still important. This hasn’t the charm that was in Elizabeth George’s installment of the series. Abbott’s story is another kettle of fish all together.
It’s really impossible to discuss more of the plot without giving anything away. The atmosphere and writing are very good, and the story has made me want to read more work by Abbott. If you have ever read one of the Year’s Best Collections, this short story is an equal to any stories that have appeared in such books.
While some might find the price of just under two dollars (1.99) a bit steep for a short story, it is worth it. This isn’t a self published, badly edited book. It is a wonderful and spooky read.
Loved this! Not sure it counts as a “book” for my reading challenge but this was clever and classic Megan Abbott. The Hollywood sign, old timey apartment buildings with palm trees and swimming pools, loved this. Felt like I was there. You think the MC is going crazy but in the end there’s a rational explanation for it, which actually ends up more absurd than the supernatural plot devices, which is Abbott’s strong suit.
This one, unfortunately, was not for me - sometimes a short story/novella can be the perfect length, sometimes it's just not enough space for the writer to more fully engage with the piece. This one felt hemmed in by the restrictions of this series, and not in a good way, as there were a lot of portents and mysteries doings, but nothing really made sense in the end. But, I'll try something else from Ms. Abbott.
I received an E-ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I received an E-ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
At night, the sounds from the canyon shifted and changed. The bungalow seemed to lift itself with every echo and the walls were breathing. Panting.
After finishing a 1300-page behemoth, I haven't been too keen starting anything new that is past 200 pages, so it was a nice coincidence to stumble upon Abbott's short story. She's someone who's been in my mind for quite a while now, and dipping my toes into her writing through a mystery story set in 1950s L.A. felt appropriate.
Now, let me tell you: the setting and premise alone would have been enough to draw me in, Abbott or no Abbott, but she really is a good writer, isn't she? There's everything I love and could possibly love about noir, but somehow The Little Men feels fresh. It occasionally veers into a creepy territory, moving away from a conventional mystery story and becoming more like a suspense story about a woman's obsession. There's this foreboding atmosphere seeping through everything, whether it's the imperfect actresses that Penny tries to transform into perfect ethereal beings with makeup or the eerie rustling of palm trees and the scent of apricot in the bungalows.
I want more. Next year will be the year when I will finally read Megan Abbott novels.
That was great, quick fun. Probably as close to a horror story as I've read by Megan Abbott, which was a fun change.
This novella set in the '50s is about Penny, an ex-actress/current makeup artist, who rents a charming little bungalow that seems perfect until she learns about the previous tenant and starts seeing and hearing things in the middle of the night. Although it's not something I'd usually read, I thought the writing was great and really liked the characters. I just wish the short story wasn't so short.
I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes.
I received this book from NetGalley for review purposes.