The Machinery of Night

by Douglas Clegg

Contents:

Halloween memory --
Where flies are born --
People who love life --
Damned if you do --
The party --
Becoming men --
Something terrible is always happening --
The cabinet-maker's wife --
Fries with that? --
The machinery of night --
265 and heaven --
Mrs. Freely --
Ice palace --
The five --
Freshmen survey English lit Beowulf to Jonathan Swift --
White Chapel --
Subway turnstile --
I am infinite; I contain multitudes --
The Joss house --
Martha --
Underworld --
Medea --
The hurting season --
The fruit of her womb --
The ripening sweetness of late afternoon --
The mysteries of Paris --
The skin of the world --
Why my doll is evil --
Piercing men --
Only connect --
The Little Mermaid --
The night before Alec got married --
O, rare and most exquisite --
The virgin of the rocks --
The rendering man --
Chosen --
The dark game --
The words --
Purity.

Genres: Horror

721 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rand · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious book for the curious reader.

Checked it out of the library after searching the local's database for "Only Connect" —I've never read Howards End and am likely not to do so any time soon as there are a number of less cohesive reading projects that I am simultaneously (dis)engaged in—because there's something hauntingingly real (in a loose, transcendental sense) about that phrase and its implications, both as descriptor and imperative.

Only later did I realize that one of the local's librarians-cum-noise avatars had heartily recommended this very volume to me a few months prior. The casual sense in which this book was recommended to me belied a greater interest in these writings, though I thought nothing of it at the time. But now I am not so sure how much to read into anything, really.

The book was received by me on All Hallow's Eve's Eve. The only story I remember finishing now is Only Connect and found it a fittingly muted sort of horror that delved into some theosophisical-neuro-rumblings with bridge + train symbolisms, plus passing on vs. over. It's the best sort of speculative fiction in that it plays with our most basic axioms vis a vis identity and memory.

This book's a doorstop that does double duty on the heart. I peeked at parts of the story "I am infinite; I contain Multitudes" and was pleased to see a literal interpretation that which would make Whitman both proud and blush.

The short stuff here is good too: Subway Turnstile and The Party are exquisite little enigmas to mull over.


The longer stuff—namely the short novels— I never got very far with. Because I am the worst sort of reader—the sort who meanders for months without ever actually finishing much, really. Forsooth this particular volume is grossly overdue to the local and it will be my head if it does not make its way back there tomorrow.

Hell, it will be my head regardless. But still, it will likely be some time before I recheck out this particular book but it will not be my last reading of Daniel Clegg. His Isis looks most enticing.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Douglas Clegg is one of the most well-regarded authors in the genre of horror, and among all his books, this one (under review) is the most rewarding i the sense that it truly covers the entire gamut of styles & themes in the authors oeuvre. The contents are varied, as are the lengths. There are morbid explorations of the minds of unsavoury entities & peoples, and there are 'short-short'-s that leave you gasping for breath. The contents are: -
(*) Foreword
1. Halloween Memory
2. Where Flies are Born
3. People Who Love Life
4. Damned If You Do
5. The Party
6. Becoming Men
7. Something Terrible is Always Happening
8. The Cabinet-Maker's Wife
9. Fries With That?
10. The Machinery of Night
11. 265 and Heaven
12. Mrs. Freely
13. Ice Palace
14. The Five
15. Freshmen Survey English Lit Beowulf to Jonathan Swift
16. White Chapel
17. Subway Turnstile
18. I Am Infinite; I Contain Multitudes
19. The Joss House
20. Martha
21. Underworld
22. Medea
23. The Hurting Season
24. The Fruit of Her Womb
25. The Ripening Sweetness of Late Afternoon
26. The Mysteries of Paris
27. The Skin of the World
28. Why My Doll is Evil
29. Piercing Men
30. Only Connect
31. The Little Mermaid
32. The Night Before Alec Got Married
33. O, Rare and Most Exquisite
34. The Virgin of the Rocks
35. The Rendering Man
36. Chosen
37. The Dark Game
38. The Words
39. Purity

I, who have a strong preference for horror that is less graphic and more action (that does not include sex, let me clarify!)-oriented, often with undercurrents of humour, with at least a few loveable characters, was rather shocked & awed (remembering Bush!) by the stories, and hence the dropping of two stars. But others, who like their horror to be contemporary as well as sad & bleak (perhaps they are traits of being contemporaneous), are strongly recommended towards this collection.