dust

you have to read this in one sitting, if at all possible. two at most.

The Stoic Philosophy of Make-Believe

“Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” has the same meter as Lightnin' Rod's “Hustler's Convention” lol

if this had been instead released as a theoretical ‘how to survive on Mars?' reader without the cardboard characters, stilted dialog, easily surmountable situations, lame attempts at humor and general lack of literary merit, i could understand that. F++++, never reading NASA fanfic by OCD programmers ever again

this short story collection was truly a curate's egg and my feelings during reading ranged from irritable impatience to bowled-over astonishment - within are some leaden clunkers, a few wooden plodders, a selection of dated conceits and a scattering of outright ludicrous eye-rollers, mixed with many amusing anecdotes, clusters of clever writing, a talent for setting the scene and mood, a number of genuinely haunting pieces, occasional elegiac meditations on mortality, a tragic tale on the human cost of racism and one hypnagogic stunner that has deservedly secured its place in the history of all-time greatest American short story writing.

Bierce is at his best when relating abnormal mental/psychological states - he seems to have truly lived it. the introduction to this collection is highly critical of Bierce (and both his talents and his character are fair piñata for the stick) and might well be the most unflattering author intro i've ever read, but it helps to construct a portrait of a complex and quite possibly tortured individual.

as this collection originally came out in the 1960s, i would like to see an updated compilation with the dross picked out and perhaps updated with unfairly overlooked stories, if there are any.