Insanity By Increments Stories edition by Alaric Cabiling Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Insanity By Increments Stories edition by Alaric Cabiling Literature Fiction eBooks 
Two brothers test fate. A father mourns the loss of his child. An old abandoned home is the scene of a final journey into the past. A man revisits the scene of a one-night stand. Each story is unforgiving in its attempt at revealing the transcendental from the mundane. Few books feature the psychological insight and gripping attention to detail that Insanity By Increments exhibits. The lyrical prose flows smoothly and the transitions between time stamps are cinematic. Few books dwelling on the darker side of the human condition present subtle tragedies with such startling clarity, haunting the reader well after the collection has been read.
Insanity By Increments Stories edition by Alaric Cabiling Literature Fiction eBooks
"Insanity by Increments, Stories," a collection of short stories by Alaric Cabiling, takes its title from the last story in the book, but it might describe the reader if you decide to pull an all-nighter and read this volume in one sitting.Cabiling's stories are grounded in one of the long traditions of American short stories, from Melville's "Bartleby" to the Montana of Richard Ford: lonely men at odds with bleak landscapes, traumatized by a childhood that was often violent, and always lacking true emotional warmth. These narrators are frequently writers, artists, young men who are capable of creating their own strange stage settings so that even within this tradition, they come off as memorable.
Some of Cabiling's protagonists live prosaic lives, some are definitely out on the fringe. The photographer of dead beauty queens in "Frailty" is as proud of his aesthetic skill and success as is the novelist in "Dulcinea," and Cabiling eases us through these nightmarish sequences by tossing in some Latin American magic realism. The tone throughout many of the stories is that of a surrealist movie, where one absurd scene after the other continues to mount toward some dark inevitability. The endless days slipping away in a "wash of gray" against a pale sky are contrasted by closing time at motel bars, dark, gaudy rooms inhabited by people who do not really belong there—people on their way to and from somewhere else. You cannot help but be impressed by the author's ability to establish scene and pace within the first few paragraphs of his stories, and the simple dialogue is effective despite a careless parade of awkward adolescent sentences.
Unfortunately "Insanity by Increments" is only available as an ebook and that is an awkward venue for stories in which present, past and future often intermingle. A handsomely spaced format would have been a great assistance here. Bookreview.com hopes the author will take advantage of a good editor in the future. His talent certainly justifies the expense.
Review by John Nicholas for bookreview.com
Product details
|
Tags : Insanity By Increments: Stories - Kindle edition by Alaric Cabiling. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Insanity By Increments: Stories.,ebook,Alaric Cabiling,Insanity By Increments: Stories,Alaric Cabiling Ltd.,Drama General,Fiction Literary
People also read other books :
- The Electric Sheep Massacre The Cyberpunk Detective Series Liquid Cool Book 4 eBook Austin Dragon
- The Beauties of the Bosphorus Classic Reprint Miss Pardoe 9781332103928 Books
- Promise edition by Peter Sherlock Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Soul of Man Under Socialism Oscar Wilde 9781466223745 Books
- Diabetic Cookbook Quick and Easy Recipes Diabetes Type 1 and Diabetes Type 2 Booklet Arlene Blake 9781520301754 Books
Insanity By Increments Stories edition by Alaric Cabiling Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
I don’t often read short stories as I prefer more character and plot development than short stories can offer. But sometimes a short story collection will catch my eye, like this one did. Who could resist that title?
There are a total of nine short stories in this collection. The whole book was only about 120 pages on my e-reader so each of the stories was quite short. However, this author uses every word to wonderful effect, with no fillers whatsoever. To me, these were more mood pieces rather than stories with a beginning and ending. Things aren’t always spelled out in black or white but rather are hinted at. The author expertly sets up a dark atmosphere for each story, with subtle psychological suspense running through them. I see that the author’s first book “Darkest Day” is a book of poetry and I can certainly see the heart of a poet in this short story collection.
The next time I see a short story book, I won’t be so quick to pass it by as I very much enjoyed reading these short bursts of literary prose. I read the book almost straight through but did have to stop after each story to contemplate it a bit before moving onto the next one. Highly recommended.
I was given a copy of this book by the publisher through Net Galley in return for an honest review.
Modern literary short fiction is not unusual many attempt it; relatively few do it well - especially in the style of the gothic horror approach so aptly explored by Poe, Hawthorne, and other greats. That's why it's such a pleasure to read Insanity by Increments it takes some of the methods and madness of these greats and moves a step further, presenting nine short stories of contemplation and quiet horror.
Take 'Once Found, Once More Forsaken', for example (the first story in the collection). The protagonist has slept through a storm and is expecting the arrival of his brother, a wealthy wanderer, that morning; but his chance encounter with an old schoolgirl introduces a sense of danger, and what transpires next is anything but a congenial family visit.
Surreal moments, gently simmering mysteries, a woodland replete with death and growing horror - all this is gently woven into a story that opens with a receding storm and evolves into exquisitely challenging horror.
'Omens of Winter' is another heart-pull it opens with a family dilemma and, once more, time is taken to paint scenes properly, right down to the creak of a door as a last generation stands strong against what is to come.
All are well-done, replete with psychological tension throughout. If it's nonstop staccato action that is desired, look elsewhere. If it's the slow simmer of a buildup that injects readers into the sights, sounds, and circumstances of all kinds of horror and insanity, choose Insanity by Increments it's a deliciously complex treasure trove especially recommended for fans of literary Gothic fiction who want modern scenarios and representations in the context of a genre that receives (regrettably) little attention these days.
"Insanity by Increments, Stories," a collection of short stories by Alaric Cabiling, takes its title from the last story in the book, but it might describe the reader if you decide to pull an all-nighter and read this volume in one sitting.
Cabiling's stories are grounded in one of the long traditions of American short stories, from Melville's "Bartleby" to the Montana of Richard Ford lonely men at odds with bleak landscapes, traumatized by a childhood that was often violent, and always lacking true emotional warmth. These narrators are frequently writers, artists, young men who are capable of creating their own strange stage settings so that even within this tradition, they come off as memorable.
Some of Cabiling's protagonists live prosaic lives, some are definitely out on the fringe. The photographer of dead beauty queens in "Frailty" is as proud of his aesthetic skill and success as is the novelist in "Dulcinea," and Cabiling eases us through these nightmarish sequences by tossing in some Latin American magic realism. The tone throughout many of the stories is that of a surrealist movie, where one absurd scene after the other continues to mount toward some dark inevitability. The endless days slipping away in a "wash of gray" against a pale sky are contrasted by closing time at motel bars, dark, gaudy rooms inhabited by people who do not really belong there—people on their way to and from somewhere else. You cannot help but be impressed by the author's ability to establish scene and pace within the first few paragraphs of his stories, and the simple dialogue is effective despite a careless parade of awkward adolescent sentences.
Unfortunately "Insanity by Increments" is only available as an ebook and that is an awkward venue for stories in which present, past and future often intermingle. A handsomely spaced format would have been a great assistance here. Bookreview.com hopes the author will take advantage of a good editor in the future. His talent certainly justifies the expense.
Review by John Nicholas for bookreview.com
0 Response to "[RSB]⇒ [PDF] Insanity By Increments Stories edition by Alaric Cabiling Literature Fiction eBooks"
Post a Comment