175 words or less, thoughts and feelings that I had after reading the book
M.R James is one of those writers I heard as an early father of the ghost story genre. Intrigued I picked up a book of his from library, unaware it was roughly his entire collection. The biggest barrier to enjoying the stories is the writing. I found reading it, an intense challenge due to the language difference from his time of writing versus the present. Continuous references to architectural design and Latin language that my US education did not prepare me for. Several times they were the last words that were to enhance the tension. With difficulty trying to parse what was being said, it made it harder to be immerse in it’s atmosphere. Stories had confused me enough that I had to reference Wikipedia to see if I understood what happened. The simpler stories had me immerse; a fun journey into the paranormal ghostly horror. I wish I enjoyed it more.
Favorite Stories:
- The Ash-Tree,
- Number 13,
- Oh, Whistle and I’ll come to You, My Lad
- The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
- Casting the Runes
- A Warning to the Curious
- Wailing Well
A Stray Blog 
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