margaret_hovestadt's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lbrex's review against another edition
5.0
These 1903 stories by Robert Hugh Benson, the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury who was gay and became a Roman Catholic Priest, are an attempt to imagine a Roman Catholic version of the supernatural tale popular around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The stories are distinctive in their brevity and their ability to suggest disorientation and menace while still, it would seem, steering clear of any content that would be considered blasphemous. Some of the early stories reminded me of Machen because they have some inclination towards awareness of pagan forces. There are elements of an overarching narrative here, given that each story is told by an aging Catholic priest to a younger man that has been visiting him. The aging priest has an instinct for seeing the supernatural (compared with an instinct for seeing beauty) and he shares anecdotes about moments of supernatural and spiritual acuity throughout his life. There is, however, some development in the story of the relationship between the priest and his friend, especially as the priest nears death. I had read Benson's _Lord of the World_ before and will certainly continue to read his prose, which is precise and almost surgical in its attempts to depict just enough of the needed information about the supernatural.
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