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bradypunch's review against another edition
5.0
Wonderful. Grabiński's stories are difficult to put down: he captures dread in motion and force unlike any other author I have read. The comparisons to Lovecraft have a point, but only in contrast. Where Lovecraft finds the uncanny in what's other to fixed (racist) order, Grabiński finds it in the forces we've unleashed upon ourselves, pictured in trains, watches, and mirrors.
nikolai_k's review against another edition
4.0
Lwów's hottest club is: Railway Station
This place has everything: trains, fire elementals, trains, signals, ghosts, trains, demon lovers, lovers of demons, trains, leprosy, soot, trains and trains.
This place has everything: trains, fire elementals, trains, signals, ghosts, trains, demon lovers, lovers of demons, trains, leprosy, soot, trains and trains.
kraghen21's review against another edition
3.0
Polish modernist literary horror tales - heavily occupied with trains, railways, fire, and more than any theme: variations on split/doubled identities.
Sounds interesting from the outside, and Grabinski came with a few recommendations from literary sources I respect a lot.
Unfortunately, none of these stories left an everlasting impression on me.
Grabinski seems to work with one of three types of stories; there is the modernist critique of technology, where the influence of trains has a corrupting influence on the mind of men; there is the erotically charged victorian-style horror story; and there is the story centering on a metaphysical conceit, expository and verbose to the point of detriment.
It's a pity because Grabinski has some peculiar interests, that could make for truly interesting fables. And while he can string sentences together [albeit in a quite "classical" writing style], his flat and indistinguishable characters [all of them seem to be the same model of man] leave a lot to be desired, and the stories themselves don't quite reach out of trope-y terrain for the genre.
My favorite story was 'Vengeance of the Elementals' which felt stylistically different from the rest of the collection. Harder to pin to any known trope and in turn the most unique story. Here, a famed firefighter has kept the local vicinity safe, but his seemingly supernatural resistance to fire slowly dwindles, as the enigmatic fire elementals combat him in different ways.
PS.
It is always a risk when you read this type of fiction from this era, but of course, the female characters are either sexually fetishized objects or succubi - go figure.
Sounds interesting from the outside, and Grabinski came with a few recommendations from literary sources I respect a lot.
Unfortunately, none of these stories left an everlasting impression on me.
Grabinski seems to work with one of three types of stories; there is the modernist critique of technology, where the influence of trains has a corrupting influence on the mind of men; there is the erotically charged victorian-style horror story; and there is the story centering on a metaphysical conceit, expository and verbose to the point of detriment.
It's a pity because Grabinski has some peculiar interests, that could make for truly interesting fables. And while he can string sentences together [albeit in a quite "classical" writing style], his flat and indistinguishable characters [all of them seem to be the same model of man] leave a lot to be desired, and the stories themselves don't quite reach out of trope-y terrain for the genre.
My favorite story was 'Vengeance of the Elementals' which felt stylistically different from the rest of the collection. Harder to pin to any known trope and in turn the most unique story. Here, a famed firefighter has kept the local vicinity safe, but his seemingly supernatural resistance to fire slowly dwindles, as the enigmatic fire elementals combat him in different ways.
PS.
It is always a risk when you read this type of fiction from this era, but of course, the female characters are either sexually fetishized objects or succubi - go figure.
msgtdameron's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
A few notes: some of Grabinsji train stories have a certain Tolstoyen, Anna Karenina feel, especially "In the Compartment". Others make one think about how we can get so far into our own minds that we need psychological assistance. And still others are good think pieces. By think pieces I mean "This story is a good start but can we, I, you expand on the idea and make a modern novel out of 15 pages? The best example here is "The Motion Demon." All in all a good read
moonmoth's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wildguitars's review against another edition
2.0
Great writer but a lot of the stories seems bland and i didn't care much about them, whould rather read poe or Lovecraft to be honest
bovinecossack's review against another edition
5.0
Explorations of the dark side of the self and the conception of time brought on by intense solitude.
wasthursday's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5