A review by smalefowles
The Wine-Dark Sea by Robert Aickman

4.0

I don't think I've ever read such a tremendously British book as this, but its moodiness is really quite effective. It was never quite scary, and sometimes it's frustrating, but there were moments of real unworldliness. Stories that raised a nagging question inside.

That's really something.

A recurring theme involves people leaving the city for some sort of countryside, and finding some alternate truth. The first and last stories made it seem a male experience, but a couple of stories between were more universal.

I feel unsatisfied by almost all of the stories, but it's still a four-star book because it had a real impact, and made me ask myself real questions.