These psychic and horror fictions--seven of them short-shorts--reveals Straub at his spellbinding best. Two tales (first installments of his Blue Rose trilogy), are linked to Koko and Mystery and exactingly probe the consequences of boyhood clashes with evil. In "Blue Rose," sadistic Harry Beevers, 10, hypnotizes and destroys his younger brother; the tale leaps ahead to the ironic verdict in Harry's court-martial for wreaking atrocities in Vietnam. In the outstanding "The Juniper Tree," a novelist relives a harrowing, seductive summer when, at age seven, he was sexually molested in a movie house by drifter Stan, a seedy Alan Ladd lookalike. "The Buffalo Hunter" fastidiously chronicles the fixations of a 35-year-old who numbs his fear of women by sucking his coffee and cognac from baby bottles. In the ambitious gothic thriller/academic spoof "Mrs. God," a fatuous professor is lured to a creepy English mansion crammed with grisly secrets to research the papers of his poet ancestress; dead babies provide a subtheme. Wry and riveting, "A Short Guide to the City" fuses and parodies two genres: the self-congratulatory tourist blurb with a news alert on the "viaduct killer."
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From Publishers Weekly
This collection of 13 psychic and horror fictions--seven of them short-shorts--reveals Straub at his spellbinding best. Two tales (first installments of his Blue Rose trilogy), are linked to Koko and Mystery and exactingly probe the consequences of boyhood clashes with evil. In "Blue Rose," sadistic Harry Beevers, 10, hypnotizes and destroys his younger brother; the tale leaps ahead to the ironic verdict in Harry's court-martial for wreaking atrocities in Vietnam. In the outstanding "The Juniper Tree," a novelist relives a harrowing, seductive summer when, at age seven, he was sexually molested in a movie house by drifter Stan, a seedy Alan Ladd lookalike. "The Buffalo Hunter" fastidiously chronicles the fixations of a 35-year-old who numbs his fear of women by sucking his coffee and cognac from baby bottles. In the ambitious gothic thriller/academic spoof "Mrs. God," a fatuous professor is lured to a creepy English mansion crammed with grisly secrets to research the papers of his poet ancestress; dead babies provide a subtheme. Wry and riveting, "A Short Guide to the City" fuses and parodies two genres: the self-congratulatory tourist blurb with a news alert on the "viaduct killer." In addition to having popular allure, Straub's fictions are playfully postmodern, resonating with insights on genre, craft and process. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Peter Straub is a New York Times bestselling author, most famous for his work in the horror genre being honored as a grand master at the 1998 World Horror Convention. He has won the World Fantasy Award for Koko (1989), and the Bram Stoker Award for his novels The Throat (1993), Mr. X.(1999) and Lost Boy, Lost Girl (2003) as well as for his collection of short stories, 5 Stories (2007). He lives in New York City.
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First Sentence
On stifling summer day the two youngest of the five Beevers children, Harry and Little Eddie, were sitting on cane-backed chairs in the attic of their house on South Sixth Street in Palmyra, New York. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
On stifling summer day the two youngest of the five Beevers children, Harry and Little Eddie, were sitting on cane-backed chairs in the attic of their house on South Sixth Street in Palmyra, New York. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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Format:Mass Market Paperback
This collection of short stories lifts its title from an Emily Dickinson poem ("Doom is the house without a door..."). There is a sense of doom pervading each of the stories, as the major characters are cursed by psychological maladies (psychosis, repression, obsession) or are forced to interact with powers beyond their (and our) comprehension. Some of the stories end with the characters clearly not escaping their doom (most notably in "The Buffalo Hunter"), while others leave it to the reader to guess at the outcome ("Mrs. God," "The Juniper Tree"). All of the stories, including the interludes, work overtime to produce a dark mood and an off-kilter worldview.
"The Buffalo Hunter" and "Mrs. God" were my favorites. The former presents a loner who gets lost in his own imagined relationships and later in the paperback novels he reads. I'm a fan of Raymond Chandler's work, so Straub's pastiche of "The Lady in the Lake" was particularly enjoyable. If I were more familiar with Anna Karenina I might have had a better appreciation for the ending of the short story, but as it was I sensed something bad coming and Straub didn't disappoint. "Mrs. God" felt a lot like Ghost Story to me; particularly nice was the way Henry James and other authors were woven into the piece. I had read "Blue Rose" when Penguin issued it as a stand-alone mini-book in the mid-90's; it's the "oogiest" of all the stories - even the second time through it still creeped me out and made me slightly nauseated.
I enjoyed these stories a great deal. Straub can be crueler and more terrifying than some of his contemporaries, even while his syntax and phraseology are more refined. If you're a fan of Straub's or the psychological/horror genres in general you'll likely enjoy this book. Beyond that, there aren't many to whom I'd recommend this collection of short fiction, unless it would be a student who wants to see how words can be used effectively to create mood and transport readers to worlds they'd not likely find on their own.
By J. D. Fry
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Initially, I was excited to pick up a collection of short stories by Straub. But, this has got to be my least favorite of all of Straub's work. Every story seems disjointed an incomplete. I never got a full sense of what happened by the time i finished each story. I kept reading the book, however, in hopes of finding a gem. I came close with "Mrs. God", but again felt let down on the outcome. Each story is too much buildup and not enough delivery. I was glad to finish this book and put it back on the shelf. Despite the positive reviews, I was not impressed.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Houses Without Doors presents short stories with incredibly creepy moods. Their creepiness comes not from grotesqueness, but rather, from the very normalcy of the settings that horrid things take place in. You aren't transported to some otherwordly place, rather the terror is brought straight into your personal living space.
Each story has it's own focus, much having to do with the type of horror that children find themselves confronting - and even perpetrating. Those who like Stephen King's child-type characters may also enjoy these. The stories are eerie in their familiarity, but work more on a psychlogical/emotional level than they do through plot. Many of the stories are non-linear, a tool that the author uses to great effect. Not only does it add to the moodiness of the story, it also notches up the emotions that the characters seem to feel. Readers who enjoy non-linear story telling will definetely enjoy this book. Those who prefer a plot-heavy and/or super-suspenseful type book may not like it as well.
Overall excellent stories, frightening characters, and perfect horror mood. Definetely a book well worth the money.
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3.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A House Can Be Without A Door, But Still Have A Window
What I loved about this collection of stories was that in every one of them it showed the dark side of people who can at least be consisdered kind of normal. Read more
Published on Dec 1 2002 by Tyler Runde
5.0 out of 5 stars
Characters you can really relate to.
This book sure gets very little of the attention that does the newer works of Mr. Straub. I just finished Straub's novel Mr. X. Read more
Published on Dec 20 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the Effort
This collection focuses on desperate, self-destructive characters masquerading as studious, meek individuals. Read more
Published on Nov 2 1998 by vedamuth@pilot.msu.edu
4.0 out of 5 stars
A mixed bag.
THE JUNIPER TREE is brillant, some of the other stories aren't. All in all, a collection well worth your money. Sorry, this is a short review.
Published on Feb 22 1998
4.0 out of 5 stars
Confusing, disturbing, intrigueing, ultimately captivating!
I like psychological horrer stories. I like being left to figure some things out for myself. I like,sometimes, to be left hanging. Read more
Published on Oct 15 1996
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