Customer Reviews

A Vaudeville of Devils: 7 Moral Tales

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I haven't ever read anything written by this author aside from these short stories, so I cannot make any comparison's for you, but I was impressed with Girardi's ability to create suspense and "mood" with his words. Several of the stories ran through my mind for days after I read them. I guess I don't agree with the other reviewers. I think that this book is great BECAUSE the stories are disturbing and BECAUSE some of the scenerios are so far-fetched. Plus, the plots seemed very different to me despite the fact that they all dealt with similar issues of choice, fear, and regret. I look forward to reading one of Girardi's novels. To the other reviewers I say- instead of feeling threatened by the melancholy atmosphere of the book, perhaps you should figure out why it bothers you so.

We read this for our bookgroup, putting an end to three years of my intending to read it. The seven stories here range from 20-110 pages and are united by both the theme or morality and Girardi's excellent writing and ability to create a vibrant sense of place and dark tone. He's said in interviews that he's deeply influenced by Poe and Hawthorne, and it's entirely evident here, for these are not short stories in the modern style, but tales in the old-fashioned sense. Spanning genres, from historical fiction, to sci-fi, to thriller, to crime, to romance, the stories revolve around moral choices faced by individuals. The stories are not perfect however, due to their semi-mythic nature, some wander rather close to cliché and predictability. And at times, certain characters are a little too single-minded or focused on one thing. Different people will, of course, have their own favorites.

The opening story, "The Demons...", is the brief WWII tale set in occupied Holland. The tale of an SS officer ordered to kill a Dutch painter can almost be considered a warm-up for the rest of the tales. The next story, "Three Ravens on A Red Ground," is the least nuanced of the seven, and probably my least favorite. It switches back and forth between the story of a Seattle businessman whose firm is being bought out by a Japanese firm, and the story of his ancestor who fought in the Crusades. "The Dinner Party" follows it with a brief semi-surreal tale of alien invasion in which the question is raised as to whether one should compromise one's ideals in order to alleviate suffering for many. As a take on "The Last Supper" it's not a bad idea, full of vivid imagery, but not particularly satisfying either.

The fourth tale, "The Primordial Face," was my favorite-though interestingly enough, the least favorite of many of the people in my book club. It's the story of a Yemeni businessman in pursuit of a mythic treasure lost at sea who hires two freelance divers, one Cuban-American, one German, to join him on a secret expedition. There's a great mood of dark adventure and tension that builds to a somewhat uneven conclusion. Still, this is the tale that had me engrossed far more than any other. "Arcana Mundi" is an interesting sci-fi story set in Napa Valley of the past, just after a plague has wiped out the grape harvest. The moral question here is again one of whether one should sacrifice for a greater good or not. It engendered more discussion amongst our group than any of the other stories.

The sixth tale, "The Defenestration of Aba Sid" is a legal/crime story set in Washington, D.C. It concerns a hopeless public defender who gets assigned the murder case of a notorious Russian mafia type so that the Feds can be sure the Russian will get convicted. It's not really clear why the Russian can't hire a "real" lawyer, but putting that aside... The realization of why he is assigned the case transforms the public defender from schmuck to determined worker, and he digs deep into the Russian's case. The crime story is fairly interesting, as is the Russian Mafia background material. The moral issue reveals itself at the very end, and revolves around the notion of justice. The final story, "Sunday Evenings", revolves around an American expatriate in Naples, and is rather languid and desultory.

Altogether a highly satisfactory reading experience and one that'll have me seeking more of Girardi's work out.

...the "moral" part that is. I say misleading because "moral" implies that the author will be shoving his own personal world view down the reader's the throat. Thankfully, this couldn't be further from the truth! Rather moral refers to the value judgements the characters in each of these stories is forced to make; decisions which form the crux of each story.

The stories are already outlined in Amazon's review, so I won't rehash them. Two points worth making, however. First, each story is unique, and remarkably imaginative. They bear comparison in terms of the characters' feelings and decisions, but the similarity ends there. Second, Girardi is a remarkably talented writer, with a style very reminscent of Poe. The stories are frequently dark, even brooding, but their careful crafting and obvious literary merit save them from being tedious.

"Vaudeville of Devils" is a unique collection of wonderfully rich short stories. Even better, the theme of moral crisis will leave the reader chewing over them for some time to come. Enjoy!

As a fiction writer, color me green with jealousy after reading this superior collection. Not only does he suspend your disbelief, but he does it poetically, and tells a great story to boot. Every story of of the finest quality. More, more I want more. This guy should be made to write! Thank you Mr. Girardi, for inspiring me to aim for your perfection.

The best way to describe this collection is a mix of brilliant and terrible stories. I really enjoyed three of these moral tales, but the other four ranged from mediocre to bad. The tales that I did not enjoy were plagued by characters that I did not find believeable or plot developments that did not seem to make sense. For example, I did not find the love affair between the mute German and the expedition leader's daughter in The Primordial Face to be believable. Also, the abrupt conclusion to Arcana Mundi left me thinking that the story was more a work in progress. However, the brilliance of my favourite stories (particularly The Demons Tormenting..... and Sunday Evenings...) made suffering through Girardi's lesser works worthwhile.

Girardi's stories are full of excellent thumbnails of characters, fast lines of descriptive setting, and ripe with emotional shading and tone. I enjoyed the pace of the stories, as well as what made each one different, and yet, similar. Certain character types seemed recurrent, but this wasn't distracting or bad. I appreciated it as if everything were what it was.

Definitely worth a read.

I bought this book in July 1999 to read on the plane to New York for a conference. I thought it was such a great read then, that I gave my copy to my niece, who lives in the Big Apple. Since then the story threads kept popping up in my mind, but I had forgotten the name of the author and the title of the book. I finally emailed my niece and got the name of the book, and yesterday I ordered my second copy.

The writing is singularly excellent, Robert Girardi says what he wants to say in a creative and evocative way. It is just very good reading, and I know now that I should never have given the book away, I should have bought my niece a copy and kept mine. These are just damn good stories, and they bear rereading - which is MY criteria for calling it outstanding. Good literature, but also good story telling. There are some pretty funny movie scenarios here, too. Read the stories and then back up and think of them as movies. They stick with you!

Aren't we all fascinated by seeing another person's moral compass at work? Girardi's short stories show the twists of fate and choice that move us all forward in life. Good scene setting, too, particularly for our visual age. An easy read that keeps one thinking.

I bought this book because I loved his previous book, Vaporetto 13. But there is no similarity I think. These stories, all quite different from one another, start off with easily conceived situations but they end with disturbing and disappointing conclusions. They are strange, to be sure, but I did not find them to be a pleasureable reading experience.

I am probably completely biased in my opinion, since: a) i live in Brooklyn and b) i've spent quite a lot of time in Naples (both of which are portrayed quite accurately in Girardi's 7 moral tales).

Despite, these stories kept me interested througout. He adds the perfect amount of local color, while weaving a just-as-perfect tale and leaving the protagonist and reader bewildered.