Customer Reviews

In the Gloaming

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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It's great to see someone writing stories that are ambitious in scope and that go a long way toward achieving that ambition. The writing is gorgeous, the plotting intelligent, the level of thought and observation very high. All of the stories were excellent, but "Home," "In the Gloaming," "Triage," "The Secret Spot," and "Watch the Animals," are among the best I have read in a single collection since Cheever's collected works. Alice Dark's stories also reminded me of those of Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald, though they are original, distinctive, and contemporary in sensibility. Well worth reading.

Alice Elliott Dark's new collection of short stories is a revelation! Dark is able to take even the most ordinary of situations and make it extraordinary with her subtle, beautiful writing and keen sense of observation. "The Secret Spot" crackles with tension and is wonderfully reminiscent of Edith Wharton's "Roman Fever." Meanwhile, the title story, "In the Gloaming" is quietly moving, with a beautiful, human, heartbreaking ending. That story alone is worth the price of the book! Fortunately, every story is a delight.

Dark is a terrific writer. Her prose is graceful, yet keenly observant. And her characterizations are so specific, so deft, that these stories often surprised me...and I'm not often surprised by contemporary short fiction. I've recommended the book to both men and women, and the praise is unanimous. This is rich, thoughtful writing for readers who like rich, thoughtful books. The above review which mentions Wharton and Cheever is on the mark. A high recommendation.

Ms. Dark's collection of short stories is nothing short of haunting. She magically transforms the everyday lives of her characters into studies of the human condition, painting glorious portraits of men and women trying to connect, but ultimately slogging through life alone. Paradoxically, this insight somehow makes the reader feel less lonely. Go figure. With her humor, insight and incredible grasp of both psychology and the English language, Ms. Dark reminds us of the Goddess of the Underworld who strokes the head of Persephone whispering, "My dear, my dear, it's not so dreadful here."

It is now old news that John Updike selected the title story from this volume of short stories as one of the best American short stories of the century. Quite an accomplishment for Ms. Dark. "In The Gloaming" is the story of a young man with AIDS who comes home to die and his mother's caring for him in his last illness. Early in the story Laird and his mother Janet are sitting on the terrace at the close of day. "'The gloaming,' he said, suddenly. She nodded dreamily, automatically, then sat up. She turned to him. 'What?' Although she'd heard. 'I remember when I was little you took me over to the picture window and told me that in Scotland this time of day was called the 'gloaming.'. . .'I always thought it hurt you somehow that the day was over, but you said it was a beautiful time because for few moments the purple light made the whole world look like the Scottish highlands on a summer night.'" Thus Ms. Dark sets the mood for this beautifully and delicately understated story. Janet seizes the waning days of her son's life. Each fleeting moment is precious as both of these individuals seek to know more of each other in the little time they have left. Laird's father Martin husband is not so lucky. He is one of Ms. Dark's characters who suffer from opportunities lost, a recurring theme in several of these stories. I must say the only jarring note in this exquisite story is Janet's deciding on a bagpipe for her son's funeral. I understand that this is a Scottish instrument. I just have heard "Amazing Grace" played on the bagpipes one too many times at memorial services for friends and acquaintances who died of AIDS. This is purely my own bias and probably unfair to Ms. Dark.

To me, many of these stories are equally as good as "In The Gloaming." I particularly liked "Home." This is again another story of the waning of life and the way loved ones react to the coming loss. In this instance,Gordon and Lil are being moved into an assisted living home--what a euphemism-- and Lil, who is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, asks and is granted permission to visit her home for one last time. There are no villains here, just decent people trying to make the best of a sad situation, the loss of health and ending of life as these two old people know it and their daughter Charlotte's trying to do what she perceives as the right thing for them. One can hardly fault her for doing what she has to do. Although she tries, she cannot know completely the utter horrow her mother faces at the loss of both her home and her intellect.

These fine stories go straight to the heart.

The title story in this collection is hands-down one of the best short stories of all time and well worth the price of the book alone. Dark gives herself a very hard act to follow by placing this story at the beginning of the collection and, unfortunately, I think she mostly comes up short. The second story had a first half that was promising but then the narrative focus loosens and falls in the second half. From there on, the stories are one melodrama after another----readable, yes, but lacking depth. I found myself growing impatient with certain protagonists and their navel-gazing. There are also some highly-improbably set-ups that don't pay off, especially in The Tower, where Dark writes, unconvincingly, from a male point of view. Then, just when I was thinking that perhaps Dark was a one trick pony with the title story (what a wonderful trick it would be, though), come the two last stories, Home and Watch the Animals, both of which are compelling and heartfelt and wise and do everything you want a piece of literature to do. So, all in all, I would say, an inconsistent collection, but with the greatest promise of her best material to look forward to in future books. Next time I just hope she leaves out the filler

I've never been compelled to write a review, but "In the Gloaming" is quite simply the best story I've ever read. There isn't, to my knowledge, a tale that better conveys compassion and pathos, or has the ability to move the reader through the complete emotional experience.
On the whole, this collection won't take you far beyond its title story, but it's more than most accomplish in a life of writing. Raymond Carver is without a doubt my favorite writer, but Dark has managed to write my favorite story.

People wondered who Alice Elliott Dark was when her 'In the Gloaming' was picked by John Updike for the Best Short Stories of the Century. Once you've read the title piece, you'll know why. It really is one of the best of its kind written in the last several years.

In her other stories, Dark explores what some people might describe as Cheever territory...stories about upper middle class women (and men) who roam their suburban homelands and abroad, sometimes feeling a nameless ache or sense of profound dislocation.

Dark already had a bit of a following from her first collection, Naked to the Waist, but In the Gloaming (which was made into an award-winning film by Christopher Reeve) is the one that will introduce her to a larger audience.

I loved this book. The stories are insightful, intelligent, and entertaining. I've been reading them again and again -- they're nothing short of thrilling. Buy the book!

Of the 10 shorts in this collection, I tore out 7 and kept these 3 in the binding: In The Gloaming (radiant, tender, loving), Home (piercing, heartfelt, subdued), and Watch The Animals ( aching, poignant, triumphant). Dark's other 7 stories mired in alcohol, foul language, and banality.