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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Released in three volumes, Le Fanu's In a Glass Darkly was never meant to be judged as a whole book, so I'll forego broad judgements:
Green Tea [2.5/5] is a rather limp start to things. It has aspirations, I'll give it that much, but it is in the end a straightforward rumination on faith. I'll admit its biggest sin is aging, and I'm sure this worked a lot better when religious beliefs were a lot more ubiquitous. The demonic vessel for this message can at times be described rather effectively, but its form of is more amusing than anything else. It's a tale that's been done time and time again since, and its unique attributes just haven't held their effects.
I'll give The Familiar [2/5] no such sympathy. It's a brisk affair, which is perhaps the strongest compliment I can pay it, largely because it has absolutely no interest in a rumination on anything. The idea of monster as allegory is largely obfuscated to the reader, instead replaced by the monster as a rather mean fellow. Any symbolic qualities only come in at the very end where they're tacked on in the bluntest way you could imagine - "here is what this story was about, we'll tell you a bunch of character elements now that were never set up for". That this was a modified reprint of a preexisting story, yet still so uneven, does not inspire confidence in the value of telling it.
A balance is at last struck with Mr Justice Harbottle [3.5/5]. A judge renowned for executing people is visited by deathly spectres - it's not exactly subtle, but it's good! It banks very much on the personality of the eponymous character, who is just affable enough for you to love to hate him. Everyone else is a sketch of a character built largely through his perception, to great benefit - none of that overcompensating on plot events in the prior tale! The apparition of this one still isn't quite scary, but it is significantly more effective than its predecessors, particularly during the otherworldly sequence.
After the three short stories, the collection takes a turn towards the novella format and frees itself for more unique tales. In the case of The Room in the Dragon Volant [4/5] there's no denying a Poesque quality. It inherits the mystery structure that Le Fanu's American counterpart excels in to become not a spooky tale of the paranormal but a slow-burn thriller which winds up being the most chilling of the lot! A lot of that lays in its protagonist, considered Quixotic even by the text itself, who is the first we can empathise with enough to truly care about what happens to them (which, in all fairness to Harbottle, was not at all the point there). He's not an exceptionally affiable sort, but he's scrappy enough that you want to see him win - in that regard, it's almost a revisit to what Le Fanu perhaps wanted to do with The Familiar's ultimately dull protagonist.
Finally comes Carmilla [3.5/5], for which I picked up this anthology in the first place. I had hopes, tempered by the lacking Green Tea and The Familiar, that it would be the cream of Le Fanu's crop. And indeed, for much of its runtime it's a tale bordering on tragic, driving towards an inevitable conclusion despite ambiguating Carmilla's role in the story. She's like a chaotic porcelain doll and her burning love for the protagonist is as beautiful as it is disturbing. It's just a shame that Le Fanu seemed to become completely disinterested near the end. A rather unceremonious conclusion that leaves several plot threads - including a character rather vital to the story - unanswered to is followed by a dry after-the-fact expository chapter. It's such a sudden and jarring shift in quality that I almost believe Le Fanu was bored of writing the story to the point of tacking on the first draft's climax and releasing it without any attempt to bridge the two parts. A legion of derivatives may have dulled the impact of vampirism, but there's no excuse that could forgive that wet fart of an ending.
Green Tea [2.5/5] is a rather limp start to things. It has aspirations, I'll give it that much, but it is in the end a straightforward rumination on faith. I'll admit its biggest sin is aging, and I'm sure this worked a lot better when religious beliefs were a lot more ubiquitous. The demonic vessel for this message can at times be described rather effectively, but its form of
Spoiler
a glowing-eyed monkeyI'll give The Familiar [2/5] no such sympathy. It's a brisk affair, which is perhaps the strongest compliment I can pay it, largely because it has absolutely no interest in a rumination on anything. The idea of monster as allegory is largely obfuscated to the reader, instead replaced by the monster as a rather mean fellow. Any symbolic qualities only come in at the very end where they're tacked on in the bluntest way you could imagine - "here is what this story was about, we'll tell you a bunch of character elements now that were never set up for". That this was a modified reprint of a preexisting story, yet still so uneven, does not inspire confidence in the value of telling it.
A balance is at last struck with Mr Justice Harbottle [3.5/5]. A judge renowned for executing people is visited by deathly spectres - it's not exactly subtle, but it's good! It banks very much on the personality of the eponymous character, who is just affable enough for you to love to hate him. Everyone else is a sketch of a character built largely through his perception, to great benefit - none of that overcompensating on plot events in the prior tale! The apparition of this one still isn't quite scary, but it is significantly more effective than its predecessors, particularly during the otherworldly sequence.
After the three short stories, the collection takes a turn towards the novella format and frees itself for more unique tales. In the case of The Room in the Dragon Volant [4/5] there's no denying a Poesque quality. It inherits the mystery structure that Le Fanu's American counterpart excels in to become not a spooky tale of the paranormal but a slow-burn thriller which winds up being the most chilling of the lot! A lot of that lays in its protagonist, considered Quixotic even by the text itself, who is the first we can empathise with enough to truly care about what happens to them (which, in all fairness to Harbottle, was not at all the point there). He's not an exceptionally affiable sort, but he's scrappy enough that you want to see him win - in that regard, it's almost a revisit to what Le Fanu perhaps wanted to do with The Familiar's ultimately dull protagonist.
Finally comes Carmilla [3.5/5], for which I picked up this anthology in the first place. I had hopes, tempered by the lacking Green Tea and The Familiar, that it would be the cream of Le Fanu's crop. And indeed, for much of its runtime it's a tale bordering on tragic, driving towards an inevitable conclusion despite ambiguating Carmilla's role in the story. She's like a chaotic porcelain doll and her burning love for the protagonist is as beautiful as it is disturbing. It's just a shame that Le Fanu seemed to become completely disinterested near the end. A rather unceremonious conclusion that leaves several plot threads - including a character rather vital to the story - unanswered to is followed by a dry after-the-fact expository chapter. It's such a sudden and jarring shift in quality that I almost believe Le Fanu was bored of writing the story to the point of tacking on the first draft's climax and releasing it without any attempt to bridge the two parts. A legion of derivatives may have dulled the impact of vampirism, but there's no excuse that could forgive that wet fart of an ending.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
CARMILLA is obviously and deservedly the crowning achievement here. The rest of the stories feel like overly long-winded Poe stories.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.75 STARS
CW: violence, mental illness, blood, death (including of loved ones, parents and children)
I read Carmilla for class and absolutely loved it. If this was only Carmilla, it would have gotten 4.25 stars! I loved that the story was pretty gay and even though a lot of the suspense and mystery is probably nonexistent for modern readers (because how could you not be familiar with vampire lore at this point in pop culture), I still enjoyed the story a lot. I especially loved the General telling his story and basically yapping for the latter half of the story.
The framing of that was also interesting and that basically convinced me to read the rest of this collection as well. I love Gothic fiction for its play with story framing and its awareness and consciousness for literature overall. I definitely enjoyed this a lot and it has cemented my love for Gothic fiction even more. I can totally see myself returning to this collection again.
CW: violence, mental illness, blood, death (including of loved ones, parents and children)
I read Carmilla for class and absolutely loved it. If this was only Carmilla, it would have gotten 4.25 stars! I loved that the story was pretty gay and even though a lot of the suspense and mystery is probably nonexistent for modern readers (because how could you not be familiar with vampire lore at this point in pop culture), I still enjoyed the story a lot. I especially loved the General telling his story and basically yapping for the latter half of the story.
The framing of that was also interesting and that basically convinced me to read the rest of this collection as well. I love Gothic fiction for its play with story framing and its awareness and consciousness for literature overall. I definitely enjoyed this a lot and it has cemented my love for Gothic fiction even more. I can totally see myself returning to this collection again.
Green Tea - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Familiar - ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mr Justice Harbottle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Room in the Dragon Volant ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Carmilla - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Familiar - ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mr Justice Harbottle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Room in the Dragon Volant ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Carmilla - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Green Tea 1.5
somewhat enjoyable but like a little bit silly
The Familiar 3
better with a decent plot line and suspense it just fell flat in places
Justice Harbottle 3.5
rlly enjoyed actually I like the courtroom drama
Dragon volant 2
Just didn't rlly do anything for me pretty boring
somewhat enjoyable but like a little bit silly
The Familiar 3
better with a decent plot line and suspense it just fell flat in places
Justice Harbottle 3.5
rlly enjoyed actually I like the courtroom drama
Dragon volant 2
Just didn't rlly do anything for me pretty boring
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes