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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A writer writers will never read, alas, April 30, 2002
This review is from: The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection (Paperback)
I hate some of the stories in this book; the remainder leave me gibbering with awestruck, overwhelmed delight. The specific stories a reader might revile or adore (or both) will vary. It's a huge, manifold collection of shorts by one of the best writers in English from... OK, I'm hesitant to say, "the last century" or "the century recently passed", partly because that's awfully goofy, and partly because I'm not near well-read enough to make such claims with authority. I'm gonna say it anyway. I stumbled upon a copy of a long out of print and svelter collection of Davidson's work (Or All The Seas With Oysters...) at fourteen and I've never been quite the same. He's not the writer whose works I wish I could have written: he is the writer whose works I would have wished I could have written had I been the writer I wished I could have been. (we see why a writer I am not, Yoda knowingly says) Davidson had a dear whimsy, a weariness, and a bite that was, dare I say it, very Jewish. When I (re)read his stories I feel as if I (an agnostic Gentile) have magically been allowed to understand & overhear the Yiddish folk yarns the kindly, crusty grandfather spins for the kids while the middle generation shouts in the background. Davidson wrote as well as Singer. Perhaps better, at his best. No small praise; I know what I am claiming. Do not allow my muddy writing dissuade any reader from buying and luxuriating in this important collection.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quirky, lovely, some of the best short fantasy ever, December 14, 2000
Avram Davidson died in 1993. He was, as so often said, one of the great originals. His writing was elegant and complex: always adapted to the voices of his narrators and characters, always at some level humorous even when telling a dark story. He was one of those writers whose stories were always enjoyable just for wallowing in the prose: for its sprung rhythms and fine, out of the way, images. And his stories were enjoyable for wallowing in the atmosphere: for its evocation of exotic place-times, whether it be late '50s New York City or early '70s Belize or turn of the century Scythia-Pannonia-Transbalkania or far future Barnum's Planet, and for its evocation of exotic world-views, and the packing and repacking of wondrous, seemingly inconsequential (though rarely truly so) tidbits of history and unhistory into the backgrounds. And his best stories took these characteristics and harnessed them in the service of well-honed themes or (sometimes) clever plots. This collection is organized as a retrospective, with the selections placed in order of first appearance. This is, I think, an excellent choice for any collection of this magnitude in that it allows the interested reader to try to track evolutions in the writer's style and thematic concerns over time. (I would suggest, perhaps, that the older Davidson was more prone to explorations of esoterica than the younger, and less often openly angry. Throughout his career he was ready with the comic touch, even in the midst of a darker context. His style was always special, but perhaps grew more involved as he grew older.) Another feature of this collection is the introductions, by many of Davidson's friends: mostly fellow authors and editors, but also his bibliographer, Henry Wessels, and his son. This represent a significant chunk of "value added": they include some personal reminiscences, some analyses of the work, some elegiac passages. I'll add that the book is nicely and elegantly put together, and that editors Robert Silverberg and Grania Davis (as well as Tor in-house editor Teresa Nielsen Hayden) deserve thanks and applause for working to bring us this book. But, of course, there is no Avram Davidson Treasury without the stories Avram Davidson wrote, of which 38 are assembled here. And the stories are the only real reason to buy and exult in this book. I'm a big Davidson fan, make no mistake: I come to this review not at all objective, and having reading all but a few of the stories already, many of them several times. At least one, "The Sources of the Nile", is firmly on my personal list of the best SF stories of all time. There is not space to discuss the delightful stories herein contained. Suffice it to say that this collection is big enough, and varied enough, to whet the appetite of any reader whose ear can be tuned to catch the strains of Davidson's voice. And even this large collection inevitably leaves out many fine stories (the other Eszterhazy and Limekiller stories, "The Lord of Central Park", many more), to say nothing of his engaging collection of essays, Adventures in Unhistory, in which he discusses at length many obscure legends, and their possible bases in fact. So buy it and read it, and very likely you will find yourself searching out the out of print and small press books which house the rest of his work (for now), and very likely too you will be hoping with the rest of us Davidson lovers for a few more treasures to be dug from his papers.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Priceless, October 30, 2006
This review is from: The Avram Davidson Treasury: A Tribute Collection (Paperback)
When I read a particularly good short story I look back and try to imprint the author's name on my memory (nowadays with mixed results). As far as science fiction & fantasy goes, the first time this happened was with a story by Avram Davidson, many years ago. As time went by I would notice his name on several memorable works. To say he had a style all his own is not quite right, since he actually had several styles, all fascinating. What I didn't know until fairly recently was that AD was surprisingly obscure, considering his amazing talent and prolificacy (try searching for his work on Amazon).
This collection brings together much of his finest short stories. Each one is chosen and introduced by another writer - Avram was evidently an author's author. While I probably would have made a few different choices, I was grateful to be able to experience many excellent works that I had never seen before. Chances are, even if you're an old Davidson fan, you'll find a few stories that are new to you as well. You would have to search far and wide - and at great expense - to replicate this compilation.
The collection is too long and varied to elaborate on the individual pieces, but suffice it to say, reading Davidson is a real joy. The quality of the story and the effortless technique are something you will see very rarely. The downside of reading a collection like this (are there any like this?) is that it spoils you. Afterwards, most other writers seem flat and uninspired by comparison.
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