Piranha to Scurfy and Other Stories (Charnwood Library) - Hardcover

Ruth Rendell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0708993001 ISBN 13: 9780708993002

Publisher: Charnwood (Large Print), 2002

Synopsis

Ruth Rendell, the internationally celebrated mystery novelist, has written a deeply unsettling collection of new stories that are evocative of Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. These stories provide a natural showcase for Rendell's remarkable talent and diversity. PIRANHA TO SCURFY tells of a singular curmudgeon who devotes his life to writing scathing letters to newly published authors, pointing out their errors. He does so in memory of his mother, who lies buried in the garden, for reasons that emerge to haunting effect. "The Wink" recounts the story of a woman, raped years ago in a small English town, who waits a lifetime for a perfectly satisfying moment of revenge. Nine stories grace this collection, each one an achievement of the very highest order.

"Ruth Rendell terrorizes with the subtle authority of a cat burglar in the night." (San Francisco Chronicle)

About this title

Review:

These short fictions showcase Ruth Rendell's many gifts, among them the ability to evoke a mood and trap a reader in the deepest recesses of a character's psyche. The title story (its odd name comes from the volume of the encyclopedia her character uses in venting his spleen at published authors whose work suffers from a lack of precision) draws us into the mind of a lonely man whose inability to please his mother makes him vulnerable to self destruction. "The Wink" and "Walter's Leg," two stories about revenge, demonstrate that it is indeed a meal best eaten cold. "The Professional" is a small gem with an ironic twist, notable for its acute insights into social class and status in England. In these and other pieces in this collection, Rendell's powers of invention and acute psychological insight remind one of the chilling tales she writes as Barbara Vine. But the best is saved for last, "High Mysterious Union," a tale that's like the weather in Rendell's typical English landscape: sunny at the start but increasingly dark and threatening as the plot thickens. A translator rents a cottage in a village that seems like Lake Wobegon. Everyone is beautiful, strong, and kind, especially the women, who seduce the newcomer with their charms and then abandon him when he fails to see the rightness of their unique, bizarre ways. He gets away with his life, but it will take days before he (and his creator) give you back your own. --Jane Adams

From the Publisher:

6 1.5-hour cassettes

About this edition

• Publisher: Charnwood (Large Print)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0708993001
• ISBN 13: 9780708993002
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336