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The Ammonite Violin & Others
Hardcover, 235 pages
Published
2010
by Subterranean Press
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Jul 27, 2011
Henrik
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In twenty short stories, Kiernan takes her reader from stranded selkies to serial killers, through metamorphoses to an imprecise, overwhelming brush against the paranormal. The Ammonite Violin & Others is a collection damned by its narrow theme, but ultimately none the worse for it. A certain amount of repetition is unavoidable in single-author collections, but these stories share more than that: in theme, context, sometimes even in detail (such as delivery tropes and physical descriptions),...more
I read most of the stories in this collection before it was due back at the library (no renewals because it's a new book). This was my first foray into Kiernan's writing so I found a lot of the stories rather disturbing in a quiet sort of way. The inclusion of so much mythology reeled me in from the beginning but after a few stories, some of the themes and relationships began to feel repetitive. Favorites include "For One Who Has Lost Herself," "The Ammonite Violin," and possibly "Ode to Edvard...more
...The type of work Kiernan writes is not material I read a lot. Although I try to read a decent amount of short fiction, most of it is science fiction and however you choose to label Kiernan's work, science fiction most likely isn't it. I had absolutely no idea what to expect of this collection, I guess you could say it was a bit of a gamble. One that paid off handsomely. I very much enjoyed reading The Ammonite Violin and Others. I may have to check out one of Kiernan novel length works. I wou...more
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Although, once I investigated, I discovered that Caitlin Kiernan has published quite a few books, her work was new to me upon entering this collection. Within the stories in The Ammonite Violin & Others, everything is mutable. Rarely does a tale pass without someone changing their form, their gender, their sexuality or their state of being. These stories embody the notion of polymorphous perversity at a level of profundity that goes well beyond the usual. Kiernan's imagination is deeply dark...more
I've said before that Caitlin R. Kiernan is a writer whose work I sometimes respect more than enjoy, and that's once again the case with her most recent collection here.
The Ammonite Violin reprints stories from her sort of personal fiction newsletter(?) Sirenia Digest, and, as such, the stories are often a little more raw than you might find in other collections. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer says that reading The Ammonite Violin gives the sense of reading something new, even for those fa...more
The Ammonite Violin reprints stories from her sort of personal fiction newsletter(?) Sirenia Digest, and, as such, the stories are often a little more raw than you might find in other collections. In his introduction, Jeff VanderMeer says that reading The Ammonite Violin gives the sense of reading something new, even for those fa...more
Sep 19, 2010
April (CSI:Librarian)
marked it as did-not-finish
I wanted to like this collection, but after reading half of its contents I've come to the conclusion that is way too pretentious and intentionally confusing for my taste.
Mar 26, 2010
Neil McCrea
marked it as to-read
Caitlin always leaves me delightfully word drunk, I look forward to getting into this one.
Her ability to paint the indefinable things with such clarity, and a ringing of truth, with such melancholy and beautifully strung prose, is staggering and leaves one with few words capable of defining her work, and how it makes you feel. Startling is a good word to begin with.
As expected, a stellar collection. All of the "Murder Ballads" in particular are wonderful. Read it with care, however. Passages in "Voyeur in the House of Glass" made me set aside my sandwich.
These stories are quietly strange. There is often beauty in things that should not be beautiful.
They say the short story is dying. Read this collection and don't contribute to the exaggeration.
These stories are quietly strange. There is often beauty in things that should not be beautiful.
They say the short story is dying. Read this collection and don't contribute to the exaggeration.
This book made me lose a lot of interest in short stories. The writing was beautiful, but most of the stories didn't go anywhere for me, doing little more than setting the mood, and the ones that did were a little too neatly bundled up. I guess Kiernan isn't really my writer.
Little dark gems of dark fantasy. Each tale like a bottle of fine, rare wine. Sip the stories slowly and savor the flavors of each one. Be careful not to consume too quickly or the reader just might themselves too intoxicated.
I've just finished this during the week. I loved it. I want to write a proper review for it.
May 27, 2013
Laura deLuna
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Christianne Benedict
is currently reading it
Apr 29, 2013
Moira Russell
marked it as amazon-wishlist
Apr 28, 2013
Mike
marked it as to-read
Apr 17, 2013
CodexLancer
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Apr 17, 2013
Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam
marked it as to-read
Apr 08, 2013
Em
marked it as to-read
Apr 06, 2013
Frankie Wolf
marked it as to-read
Apr 01, 2013
Robert
marked it as to-read
Mar 22, 2013
Mj Hernandez
marked it as to-read
Mar 14, 2013
David M
is currently reading it
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