Brief Encounters: “Four Stations in His Circle” by Austin Clarke
Clarke’s story – nominally a comic work – is a piercing examination of the way Canadian capitalism disfavours those who are not white.
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Clarke’s story – nominally a comic work – is a piercing examination of the way Canadian capitalism disfavours those who are not white.
The American author’s fiction is too frequently placed in a generic box; her output was much more wide ranging, including pieces like this atypical story.
The Ballad of Black Tom asks who the real monsters are.
This story of a man and his malevolent doppelgänger recalls Poe and includes a critique of apparent social respectability.
The story, which originally appeared in 1957, includes a framing structure that distances the reader from the main action.
Of all the genre master’s classic novels and stories, none comes close to the sheer paranoid terror of this ruthless chiller.
Hill’s Gothic tale is an exuberant mashup of Warren Zevon, Little Red Riding Hood, and “An American Werewolf in London.”
The house in the story – a living thing that demands to be fed – is a metaphor for difference and the other.
Jackson’s story of the commute from hell is one of her most nerve-shattering, Kafkaesque tales.
The Prussian author’s 1816 tale is an early 19th century progenitor of the modern horror story.