Customer Reviews

Portraits in the Dark: A Collection of Short Stories

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

"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.

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.

Here are some rather macabre stories that look at the darkness and uncertainty that are part of the world and human nature.

In Thailand, a lonely traveling salesman meets a mysterious woman who deals with sales and contracts of a very different sort. A very insecure man suspects that his wife is fooling around, so he takes matters into his own hands, though not in the expected way. A young woman tells the authorities why she did not splatter her mother's blood all over their suburban kitchen. The mother was the sort of person who seemed to revel in emotional victimhood.

Set in the late 19th century, another story is about the fate of a missing British diamond hunter in deepest, darkest Africa. A woman steals a priceless artifact from a local museum, and leaves two men dead. She is about to take a one-way plane trip to someplace where she will never be found, and live off the worth of the artifact. That is, until the spirits of the dead men pay her a visit, and make her pay for what she did. The book ends with the end of humanity.

This is a very short book, barely 80 pages, so this is a short review. These are very interesting and well done stories, but they are not hopeful and optimistic stories. This is very much worth checking out.

Reviewed by Tara Hammack (teen) for Reader Views (01/07)

"Portraits in the Dark" is a varied assortment of nine short stories. One will make you want to run and hide under the sheets on your bed, and others would make you feel pity for the person. It's one big emotional ride to "The End."

I liked all of the stories, but the one that stuck out to me was "Down the Rabbit Whole" because the person who was telling the story was this girl who was a pathological liar. She was telling the story of how her mom died; she claims it was her "uncle" but no one believes her, they all say it was her. I like stories where the person who is telling the story is crazy because you do not know if what they say is true or not, even if you want to believe you can't because they're crazy.

There was another one that caught my attention; it was "Darkened Sky" because it's about a girl wanting to be more than what she is expected to be. She does not want to become her mother, depressed doing drugs and not doing anything with her life, but she has no idea how she is going to do that. I think this story caught my attention because most of the stories I read and write are about a girl whose life can't get any worse and wants to leave and not look back.

Wait, there was one more that I absolutely loved; it was "Fine Print" because it's about this guy who was looked down upon in his family because he "...wasn't leaving behind any legacy...." He goes to Bangkok for business trips often and on this trip he is going to be there for three weeks and also needs to pay off some bets he had made. Before he did anything he went to a bar and met this mysterious woman who would give him anything he wants but he has to give one thing to her. This story was good to me because I love when I read about people that get what they want but have something that hold them back from complete happiness.

I would say that "Portraits in the Dark" is for people of the age of thirteen and higher. I look forward to reading more books by Nancy O. Greene.

Received book free of charge.