Even now, almost fifty years after his death, the short stories of Belgian author Jean Ray are notoriously difficult to find in English. There are in fact only three collections of his work available in English and all of them can be difficult and expensive to acquire. Any small increase in the availability of his work is therefore a cause for celebration.
As if the inclusion of two Ray stories in the VanderMeers' mammoth The Weird (table of contents available here) wasn't enough, they have now posted two additional stories on the book's companion site, Weird Fiction Review.
That means there are now four Ray stories that should now be permanently in the easy to find category:
- "The Mainz Psalter" (in The Weird)
- "The Shadowy Street" (in The Weird)
- "The Formidable Secret of the Pole" (available here)
- "The Horrifying Presence" (available here)
If you haven't ever read Jean Ray's work before, you are in for a treat. You can read my review of his latest collection, The Horrifying Presence and Other Tales, here. It made #2 on my Top Reads of 2010 list.
Look for The Weird to be reviewed here at some point in one fashion or another.
9 comments:
Must admit to never having read Jean Ray before so thanks for pointing me in the right direction Ben.
Colin: it's great to hear from you! I hope you enjoy the stories. I think "The Formidable Secret of the Pole" and "The Mainz Psalter" are the best of the four.
This is not really related to Jean Ray, but I thought you might be interested in this tidbit from Ray Russell, posting on the forums at ligotti.net:
"I can report that an expanded reprint of Owen's "The Desolate Presence" is being worked on with the original translator, but patience is required... Advance orders are not yet being taken :-)"
WOW! That is FANTASTIC news! Thanks for posting about it!
Did you find a copy of My Own Private Spectres? I didn't think there were any left floating around out there!
@Nathan: are you psychic or something?! I actually just obtained a copy today. Finally, after YEARS of searching! Expect a full review here at some point.
No, I saw it on LibraryThing. I've been searching for a copy too -- and can't find one at any price. I'm used to being asked for an arm, a leg and a second mortgage for some of these limited editions, but it's rare that one is just not on the used market at all. Spectres and Ron Weighell's collection are probably the two rarest titles I'm currently trying to beg, borrow or otherwise acquire, and Spectres seems to be the rarer of the two.
You'll find a copy eventually!
I've still never read any Weighell, even though multiple people have recommended it to me. I'll have to check it out.
Nathan, a copy or two of Spectres seems to pop up on eBay each year. You're going to pay out the ass for it there (I speak from experience), but I've seen at least three copies in as many years.
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