Customer Reviews

The Attempted Rescue

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Roebrt Aickman is best known as an early master of the pyschological supernatural-horror short story. Many authors have been influenced by Aickman's works, which feel much more contemporary than they really are due to their sometimes obscure, postmodern nature. For example, a story published in the 1970s, "The Hospice" reminds one of a Thomas Ligotti story.

But this book has nothing to do with subtle stories of pyschological horror - or perhaps it has everything to do with it, if you think about it. Truly though, this is a non-fiction piece of work, Aickman's own autobiography.

Aickman led something of an interesting life, and writes about interestingly, curiously, with something of a detached air, which lends a peculiar but effective tone to the book.

Another interesting thing about this autobiography - the lack of explanation, or exposition. It appears his childhood was quite odd, with a number of bizarre events shaping it. These are never given any explanation; perhaps there are none. His father, for example, sounds like some comically tragic blackguard from a Charles Dickens novel. The reader begins to see where Aickman's penchant for pyschological, subtle horror and ambiguity without closure comes from in this book.

Perhaps the strongest point of his autobiography is maybe where Aickman loses some of his trademark detachment - his lovingly crafted portrait of pre-World War 2 London and environs, like the great country estate of his aunt and uncle that he so loved. His picture of a pre-War London makes you wish, even though it was a hard time, that you could see it yourself, through his eyes; effectively suffused with the intoxicating, golden hue of nostalgia, and wonderfully done.

What makes this book so interesting, to put it simply, is the portrait of a child and young man growing up in a time differently from our own, whose actions and situations we may not be able to fully grasp at first, penned by a man with a keen eye into the human condition and a gift for words. Recommended.