The Little Blue Book Of Rose Stories

Little Book Series I

by Peter Straub

A small gift volume of two of best-selling author Peter Straub's stories which center around the "Blue Rose" mysteries which have been featured in some of his best novels.

Genres: Horror

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Peter Straub was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Gordon Anthony Straub and Elvena (Nilsestuen) Straub.

Straub read voraciously from an early age, but his literary interests did not please his parents; his father hoped that he would grow up to be a professional athlete, while his mother wanted him to be a Lutheran minister. He attended Milwaukee Country Day School on a scholarship, and, during his time there, began writing.

Straub earned an honors BA in English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1965, and an MA at Columbia University a year later. He briefly taught English at Milwaukee Country Day, then moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 to work on a PhD, and to start writing professionally

After mixed success with two attempts at literary mainstream novels in the mid-1970s ("Marriages" and "Under Venus"), Straub dabbled in the supernatural for the first time with "Julia" (1975). He then wrote "If You Could See Me Now" (1977), and came to widespread public attention with his fifth novel, "Ghost Story" (1979), which was a critical success and was later adapted into a 1981 film. Several horror novels followed, with growing success, including "The Talisman" and "Black House", two fantasy-horror collaborations with Straub's long-time friend and fellow author Stephen King.

In addition to his many novels, he published several works of poetry during his lifetime.

In 1966, Straub married Susan Bitker.They had two children; their daughter, Emma Straub, is also a novelist. The family lived in Dublin from 1969 to 1972, in London from 1972 to 1979, and in the New York City area from 1979 onwards.

Straub died on September 4, 2022, aged 79, from complications of a broken hip. At the time of his death, he and his wife lived in Brooklyn (New York City).

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, Straub is who you want to read when you want to read literary horror. It's plot-driven, and full of truly creepy, eerie moments, but it also feels elevated above the standard schlock that folks think of when they think of horror. There are other authors who fit the bill (John Langan and Laird Barron come to mind), but Straub was the first one I encountered.

But man oh man, he can come up with some twisted shit. The two stories here are full of it, and they don't even delve into the supernatural to do it. I only wish we could get away from child molestation as the go-to OH HE'S SUCH A BAD MAN characterization, but I guess thirty years ago, that wasn't quite old hat (and besides, Straub goes the extra mile to give you insight into how that will fuck up a person).

I was also disappointed to find that these stories were both published in a mainstream short story collection back in the '90s. I thought this series was supposed to collect the hard-to-find stories....

[Audrey Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two rather disturbing stories. Both are about child abuse, one in which both the abuser and victim are children, the other in which the abuser is an adult. Dysfunctional, troubled families are the background to the child characters, who make troubling choices on their own. The adults in their lives seem mostly disconnected. In "Blue Rose," the narrative voice is somewhat removed and dispassionate. "The Juniper Tree," on the other hand, is in first person and dives deeply into the seven-year-old's psyche as he experiences movies and an inappropriate sexual relationship. Its intensity in places borders on sickening. The odd thing about this story is that toward the end it reads like an autobiography, but it does not match Straub's life story. As far as I know he did not attend Brown University in Providence. The description of the experience of writing, however, sounds entirely genuine.
I recommend this book to those who have read other books by Straub, specifically his "Blue Rose Trilogy."

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are nice little signed collector's books, while being reasonably priced. There were only two stories, but each were large for a short story. The first was very good and scary, while the second wasn't as good as the first, but it was good and weird. As a whole, the book was a good read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two powerful, terrifying stories. I don't know if they're available elsewhere, but this is worth tracking down.