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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Stalking
Minor: Infidelity
At 36 pages (according to my ereader; according to Goodreads, it's 71), this is a short, short story. But, oof, is it effective.
As part of the Bibliomysteries: Short tales about deadly books, this story has a short connection to mysteries, especially "Gaudy Night," one of my favorite Dorothy Sayers mysteries.
Penny is an ex-actress who has decided that makeup artistry will be more lucrative. But she is no innocent ingenue, our Penny. She has a past. And in 1953, this is not a good thing. But things are looking up. She's found a good apartment and she has a job. Too bad the apartment has a history. One that Peggy seems doomed to repeat...
As part of the Bibliomysteries: Short tales about deadly books, this story has a short connection to mysteries, especially "Gaudy Night," one of my favorite Dorothy Sayers mysteries.
Penny is an ex-actress who has decided that makeup artistry will be more lucrative. But she is no innocent ingenue, our Penny. She has a past. And in 1953, this is not a good thing. But things are looking up. She's found a good apartment and she has a job. Too bad the apartment has a history. One that Peggy seems doomed to repeat...
It’s surprising that I have never read one single book by Megan Abbott when her books have always been in my radar, popping up on recommendation lists all the time. Hopefully will be rectifying this mistake soon and without fail if the Little Men, a short story as part of the Bibliomysteries, is anything to go by. It was clearly an appetizer that had me craving for more of her writing.
Little Men has a failed actress turned make-up artist Penny moving to a charming bungalow called Canyon Arms. It is the 1950’s in Hollywood and women has it tough. Let go as the candy floss by Mr. D, she’s however trying her best to move on but still fight for what she believe she deserves.
The beginning of the story makes you believe in horror coz it was one hell of a writing that chilled me to the bone. As Penny uncovers the dark and turbulent past of the house from her neighbors and doubts the landlady’s activities, one can’t help but be caught in the vortex of Penny’s terror.
Extremely well-written for such a short tale, the ending leaves the reader guessing about Penny’s state of mind.
Little Men has a failed actress turned make-up artist Penny moving to a charming bungalow called Canyon Arms. It is the 1950’s in Hollywood and women has it tough. Let go as the candy floss by Mr. D, she’s however trying her best to move on but still fight for what she believe she deserves.
The beginning of the story makes you believe in horror coz it was one hell of a writing that chilled me to the bone. As Penny uncovers the dark and turbulent past of the house from her neighbors and doubts the landlady’s activities, one can’t help but be caught in the vortex of Penny’s terror.
Extremely well-written for such a short tale, the ending leaves the reader guessing about Penny’s state of mind.
my first taste of Megan Abbott, and it wasn't bad. The prose and atmosphere are great, I read it in one go and thought that the depictions of how Hollywood used to treat women at that time were poignant and well done. I liked the ghostly side of things a little less, but am still looking forward to reading more by this author.
A great short story full of scares that messes nicely with your head. Could have done with some more characterisation for the minor characters and the main protagonist comes across as needy. Very atmospheric.
This story is kind of creepy, giving off a Yellow Wallpaper kind of vibe. Very good, though.
This made me want to look into her noir books. I liked this, though. You could feel Penny's frenzy.
The Little Men is short. Very short. So short that it's probably better considered a short story than a novella. As such, this will probably be a very short review to match. The Mysterious Bookshop has published a series of short fiction from popular mystery authors that they're calling "Bibliomysteries". I'm definitely going to check a few more out, though I'll probably skip Anne Perry's because I may like murder in fiction but I'm not a fan of real-life murderers.
This story takes place in 1953 Hollywood, where failed actress Penny now works as a make-up artist on set. She's just been ditched by a Hollywood bigwig that uses and discards beautiful young women hoping that sleeping with him will grant them their big break on the silver screen. She rents a quaint little bungalow in Canyon Arms and befriends the elderly gay men living next door. They inform her of the bungalow's previous tenants, particularly a bookseller named Larry who committed suicide twelve years before, using the gas stove.
The furniture is still the same as it was when Larry lived and died there twelve years earlier, including all his books, and Mrs. Stahl, the landlord, admonishes Penny when she moves the bed a small distance from the wall. That's when things start to get weird. Penny is awakened every night at 2am by lights and noises. She begins to unravel, and we, the readers, become increasingly unsure of what is real and what is not, are she becomes sure that she is being tortured by little men. The books and their former owner seem to awaken something in Penny, influencing her increasingly bizarre dreams and filtering into her everyday life, increasing her paranoia regarding the landlord.
Megan Abbott is great at creating a setting, her use of language and grimy descriptions of Hollywood transporting you there. It's easy to imagine. She deftly manages Penny's confusion and paranoia, cleverly weaving a possible murder mystery with a ghost story. The Little Men is fast and incredibly absorbing, a fun mesh of genres that you can read in a very short amount of time.
This story takes place in 1953 Hollywood, where failed actress Penny now works as a make-up artist on set. She's just been ditched by a Hollywood bigwig that uses and discards beautiful young women hoping that sleeping with him will grant them their big break on the silver screen. She rents a quaint little bungalow in Canyon Arms and befriends the elderly gay men living next door. They inform her of the bungalow's previous tenants, particularly a bookseller named Larry who committed suicide twelve years before, using the gas stove.
The furniture is still the same as it was when Larry lived and died there twelve years earlier, including all his books, and Mrs. Stahl, the landlord, admonishes Penny when she moves the bed a small distance from the wall. That's when things start to get weird. Penny is awakened every night at 2am by lights and noises. She begins to unravel, and we, the readers, become increasingly unsure of what is real and what is not, are she becomes sure that she is being tortured by little men. The books and their former owner seem to awaken something in Penny, influencing her increasingly bizarre dreams and filtering into her everyday life, increasing her paranoia regarding the landlord.
Megan Abbott is great at creating a setting, her use of language and grimy descriptions of Hollywood transporting you there. It's easy to imagine. She deftly manages Penny's confusion and paranoia, cleverly weaving a possible murder mystery with a ghost story. The Little Men is fast and incredibly absorbing, a fun mesh of genres that you can read in a very short amount of time.
A deftly-told Old Hollywood mystery disguised as a ghost story. A failed starlet rents a bungalow where the previous tenant killed himself. It all goes downhill from there.
This is just a short story, but it was satisfying! I really enjoyed the old Hollywood setting (I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts about this Hollywood era), and could perfectly picture the Canyon Arms in my head. Abbott keeps you guessing, even at the end. Is Penny a reliable narrator? Is she crazy? Is it gas? Is it ghosts? Is the landlady messing with her? What about those guys next door? Abbott takes you on a brief but wild ride through this time in Penny’s life. This was easily read on a weekend morning, and was well worth the time.