Customer Reviews

A Manhattan Ghost Story

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Not since M R James, I think, has there been a writer who has made the ghost story his own in quite the same way T M Wright has done. He has taken all the elements of the traditional ghost story and brought them up to date in spectacular fashion. AMGS is a prime example, a towering achievement by a master craftsman in complete control of his subject and command of the English language. Wright's ghosts are not the chain-dragging, sheet-drapped shades; his ghosts are very much "alive", if one may use such a term, in that they are active participants in moving the story along, not mere cyphers used for plot-purposes. AMGS is more than just a superb ghost story with a terrifying mystery at its heart. It is also a story of the contemporary world, not the Victorian one of hansome cabs and gaslit streets - of modern relationships, isolation and breakdown, friendship, trust and betrayal, and an achingly sad and tragic love story. And, of course, children. Children figure VERY large in Wright's books, whether as ghosts (LITTLE BOY LOST) or as other-wordly, almost malevolent forces of (seeming) evil (STRANGE SEED, NURSERY TALE, ERTHMUN). What sets Wright apart from others working in this field is his seeming compassion, his humanity, his understanding of people's psychology and the dark forces that jerk us about like marionettes. The only reason I can think of why he is not a household name and on the best-seller lists (when so many talent-free "authors", who could not write themselves out of a shopping bag, are) is because he does not write for the MTV generation that has grown up on a staple diet of slasher movies and has the attention span of a... goldfish. If you enjoy the tales of someone like, say, Richard Laymon, you would be utterly baffled by Wright's work. But if you like the stories of people like Thomas Ligotti, T.E.D. Kline or Russell Kirk, and want to read quality fiction that does more than merely entertain you for a few hours (not necessarily a bad thing, of course), you could do infinitely worse than pick up one of Wright's books such as AMGS or its equally fabulous sequel THE WAITING ROOM. Wright is, after all, one of Stephen King's favourite authors. Need I say more? My one regret is that he is not very prolific!

I very much enjoyed "A Manhattan Ghost Story" from the very first page. It was around page 300 that it began to lose me. The story focuses on Abner Cray, a photographer that comes to New York City to work on a book and winds up falling in love with a woman he meets in the apartment he is subletting from a friend. As he wanders the city he finds unusual things from out of a nightmare, and begins to learn that his new love may not be what he thinks.

Wright has a wonderful, engaging style of writing, the sort of style that reads quickly and keeps you turning the page to see what happens next. The problem is that you still feel that way after the last page. There's no sense of conclusion to the book. You don't get a feeling of resolution for Abner, you only get a hint of resolution for Art, and subplots about the deaths of his parents, estrangement from his family and a superfluous subplot about an incestuous relationship with his cousin never go anywhere at all. At the ending you get a feeling that the writer intended the book to have an unresolved feeling, implying that's how life (and death) is, but instead I was just left unsatisfied.

Wright's style is good enough to make me interested in reading some of his other works (this is the first book of his I've read), but if the second one doesn't give me a more fulfilling read than this, there probably won't be a third.

Not since M R James, I think, has there been a writer who has made the ghost story his own in quite the same way T M Wright has done. He has taken all the elements of the traditional ghost story and brought them up to date in spectacular fashion. AMGS is a prime example, a towering achievement by a master craftsman in complete control of his subject and command of the English language. Wright's ghosts are not the chain-dragging, sheet-drapped shades; his ghosts are very much "alive", if one may use such a term, in that they are active participants in moving the story along, not mere cyphers used for plot-purposes. AMGS is more than just a superb ghost story with a terrifying mystery at its heart. It is also a story of the contemporary world, not the Victorian one of hansome cabs and gaslit streets - of modern relationships, isolation and breakdown, friendship, trust and betrayal, and an achingly sad and tragic love story. And, of course, children. Children figure VERY large in Wright's books, whether as ghosts (LITTLE BOY LOST) or as other-wordly, almost malevolent forces of (seeming) evil (STRANGE SEED, NURSERY TALE, ERTHMUN). What sets Wright apart from others working in this field is his seeming compassion, his humanity, his understanding of people's psychology and the dark forces that jerk us about like marionettes. The only reason I can think of why he is not a household name and on the best-seller lists (when so many talent-free "authors", who could not write themselves out of a shopping bag, are) is because he does not write for the MTV generation that has grown up on a staple diet of slasher movies and has the attention span of a retarded goldfish. If you enjoy the tales of someone like, say, Richard Laymon, you would be utterly baffled by Wright's work. But if you like the stories of people like Thomas Ligotti, T.E.D. Kline or Russell Kirk, and want to read quality fiction that does more than merely entertain you for a few hours (not necessarily a bad thing, of course), you could do infinitely worse than pick up one of Wright's books such as AMGS or its equally fabulous sequel THE WAITING ROOM. Wright is, after all, one of Stephen King's favourite authors. Need I say more? My one regret is that he is not very prolific!

I agree with the reviewer who feels Wright should be up there with Stephen King and other horror writers. I picked up this book at a used book store, and liked it so much I have now purchased used editions of all the other books of his I can get my hands on. I found this novel compelling and written in a unique style. Try it, horror fans!

"Manhattan Ghost Story" is magnificent. With a wonderfully lyrical voice, Abner Cray (the main character) leads the reader into a dark, surreal, lonely world where the past is present and love never ends. I couldn't bear to put it down, and I absolutely hated to see it end. So I read it again. Though Disney/Touchstone is still going through the rigamarole of getting this made into a film, and I'd enjoy seeing it come to life, I can't imagine how they'll be able to do the book justice. The writing is superb, the story heartbreaking, and the author's message will surely haunt you long after the last word is read.

T.M. Wright, with his evocative, chilling style, has single-handedly redefined the ghost story. With A Manhattan Ghost Story, and it's sequel, The Waiting Room, Wright fashions a tale that is both chilling and unpredictable. You haven't read this one before, I guarantee it, and once you do, you'll be back for more. A must read for anyone who enjoys original, well-crafted prose.

Long before "The Sixth Sense" came out, this novel was contracted to be made into a major motion picture starring Sharon Stone. Along the way, the movie didn't get made, but "Sixth Sense" came out looking like a rip-off of the basic idea. Read this well-written and original book and compare.

Well, that's my review. Why say more? The other reviewers here have done a good job with the details of the story so I won't waste your time by going over it again.

Yes, I know that I'm not being very "helpful" with this short review, but that's not why I'm here, anyway. I just wanted to cast my vote for this fine novel. Wright does a wonderful job, slowly pulling you into his story, and into a Manhattan that the rest of us never get to see. Lucky us.

I'd simply like to say that Wright does for the ghost story what no one else does quite as well--brings it uniqueness and personality and atmosphere. [...]

The classic novel that debuted almost a quarter of a century ago, "A Manhattan Ghost Story" follows photographer Abner Cray as he arrives in the Manhattan area of New York City. Normalcy isn't something that stays for long, as his landlord vanishes without a trace, as does the woman he begins to lust for - both events happening in that order, but nothing adds up when Cray discovers that his landlord is wanted for the murder of the woman he loves- before Cray even met her. A bizarre parade of events continues to unfold in this enthusiastically recommended story that all horror fans will relish and should find a place on every community library fiction shelf.