Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories [Paperback]

Nancy Greene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2006

“Randolph.”

He calls my name. I still remember my name.

But my thoughts are receding and I’m becoming unclear of much of the details of my life, like a crystal ball filling with soot. They’re all leaving me. The distant past was first to go—my childhood, what my school looked like, what I looked like, my family, my friends—all being absorbed into this death that swallows me. There are flashes of things before they disappear, though. Hand-me-down clothes two sizes too big, falling off of my skinny arms and legs. My hair growing long and awkward in places due to home haircuts. Then flash again. Gone.

Flash. And then there’s college, now at the forefront. Where I met my wife, Ella. I had friends, whose names are now lost to me, but she is there. Special, different. Beautiful. One of the rich riding through college on parents’ money, but she’s not like the other women, or even like me.
—from the short story “The Affair”

Portraits in the Dark is a collection of nine tales that delve into the darker side of human existence. From a lonely man succumbing to the wiles of a mysterious female to a young woman confronted with her own possible insanity, this compilation holds stories that range from the literary to the traditionally macabre.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancy O. Greene started writing fiction, poetry, mock magazines, and comic strips at the age of nine. She has a B.A. from the University of Southern California and currently resides in Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (August 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595392806
• ISBN-13: 978-0595392803
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,824,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Anthologies

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engaging tales probing the dark recesses of the human psyche, December 4, 2006

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

I don't try to conjure a single word to describe a given book, but in this case the word "lingering" comes to mind when I think about the stories in Nancy O. Greene's Portraits in the Dark. This is subtle writing that sort of wraps around you unawares. There's also a surprising degree of variety in play here, in both content and approach. Bad decisions, bad luck, and sometimes a combination of the two force Greene's characters into vulnerable and sometimes dangerous positions. Greene is at her best when she delves deeply into the human mind to stir the juices of mental illness, obsession, and insanity. I especially liked the way a disturbed character's dialogue would suddenly take on manic proportions, taking me right along with it as my own reading pace quickened along with the breathless pace of the character.

Things start off rather tame with "Fine Print," a story in which a salesman down on his luck - largely by his own devices - meets an enchanting, distinctly unusual young lady who seems to promise much more than a single night's entertainment. "The Artifact" treads rather familiar horror ground with its story of a priceless, supposedly cursed statue exchanging hands, but it plays out quite pleasingly, after riding a suspenseful seesaw between reality and surrealism. "Darkened Sky" is a somewhat conventional story told from the perspective of a teenager forced to pit her dreams of escaping the squalor and dysfunctionality of life with a drug addict mother against the reality of just surviving in her dangerous neighborhood. "Descent of Man" hearkens back to the adventure tales of an Ambrose Bierce, although I think it may be a little too derivative and subdued to pack a real punch.

"The Affair" is a titillating story about an agoraphobic, possibly deranged man who falls under the spell of his long-lost, invisible friend from childhood when he becomes convinced his wife is cheating on him. This story's kicker of an ending pales in comparison to that of "A Guy Named Pierce," however, a story which is all the more powerful for its grounding in reality. This isn't one of the stories briefly mentioned on the back cover, but it's my favorite story in the collection. "Down the Rabbit Whole" is another compelling story in the form of a confessional of a young woman who is obviously disturbed but may or may not be guilty of murder. This story resonates because of its implications for real life - how to do you judge the testimony of a prime suspect who obviously has psychological problems?

A couple of very short stories round out the collection, but Portraits in the Dark really thrives on its more significant explorations of the human psyche. I would not describe the book as horror - certainly not in the traditional sense - but it will certainly appeal to those with dark appetites, as Nancy O. Greene basically takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the realms of the human psyche normally closed to visitors.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portraits in the dark: A collection of short stories, July 17, 2007

By 

C.A.Ge - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

"Portraits in the dark: A collection of short stories" by Nancy O. Greene
is a definite page turner. Every story from first to last has you the reader wading deeper and deeper into the darkest corners of human nature.
Not since Hitchcock and Octavia Butler has an author created more questions in the psyche. Giving a sense of brush-stroked imagery into a
soul reminiscent of a Picasso with a pinch of Monet.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, dark, dark..., January 28, 2007

By 

David H. Schleicher "Author of The Thief Maker" (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories (Paperback)

Nancy O. Greene's short stories collection certainly lives up to its title. The nine stories are varied in form, style, and content, but all are dark and psychologically complex and full of vivid imagery the suck the reader into the murkiest depths of the human psyche.

Some stories ("A Guy Named Pierce") are more experimental, while others take on a "fantasy" element ("Fine Print" and "The Artifact"), while one in particular ("The Descent of Man") seems oddly out of place in the otherwise fine ensemble of tales.

Greene is at her best when she really gets deep inside her characters' heads. "The Affair" is a shockingly effective little piece that puts a new spin on the old "obsessive husband" story. Greene shows a deeply moving and humanist side with her "Darkened Sky" that gives us a "day-in-the-life" slice of a troubled young girl dealing with her harsh surroundings and lack of options in life. Greene shines brightest when she laces her talent for introspective first-person narration with an acerbic wit in the delightfully grotesque one-woman show of bitterness and madness entitled "Down the Rabbit Hole."

Greene's collection is a slim volume that can be easily devoured in one or two sittings, but won't soon be forgotten.