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briancrandall's review against another edition
4.0
And Sergei goes on speaking to me in Masha’s secret tongue. It is a language woven of tears and air, where the silences between words are a dark red veering toward black. And the wind that blows through Sergei’s story chimes little paper bells and sounds drums of silt. I understand all these words without understanding them. “Grass, night, blue rose, high scent from the uplands. Masha, give me a sign. Child, sing as you swim by the banks of the Altan. Ring all the bells in all the churches, speak to all the sails, run the golden lucalindies up to the rooftops, open all the trees. And then, sleep beside me, pressing your blue mouth to my warm mouth.” [41]
evan_streeby's review against another edition
4.0
A profound little collection; beautifully translated
“An Archbishop’s Flight” could be made into a ballad, vivid in its trancelike scenes.
Both “Cherepish” and titular “The Cathedral of Mist” give me nostalgia for the most life-altering of my dreams, although these stories contain dreamlike aspects of a magnitude I don’t think I’ve yet to grasp, and which I hope for if I get old.
Lastly, the “Reading” and “Writing” essays at the end ought to be required for all who love either
“An Archbishop’s Flight” could be made into a ballad, vivid in its trancelike scenes.
Both “Cherepish” and titular “The Cathedral of Mist” give me nostalgia for the most life-altering of my dreams, although these stories contain dreamlike aspects of a magnitude I don’t think I’ve yet to grasp, and which I hope for if I get old.
Lastly, the “Reading” and “Writing” essays at the end ought to be required for all who love either
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
5.0
I'm still in awe. It is hard to put into words how perfect this collection of stories is.
It inspired me so much I ended up writing 8 short stories myself.
This collection is just breathtaking in its elegance. He manages to weave together threads from so many sources. Classic literature, life, art, film, mythology. And what you're left with at the end of each short piece is this sense of a world closing. I'd gladly step into any of the worlds he has written into being. Dark and crazy as they are. They are made up of fragments, sharp and beautiful.
Then again. I shared one of these stories with someone and they didn't understand it at all and it made me wonder if somehow the text on the page warps for each reader.
See, the thing about a collection like this is that it has weight. Every story is heavy with this yearning, haunting desire for truth. And I think that the guy I asked to read the story was just more of a fan of entertainment fiction. He finds the things that really touch his soul are songs. Which is fair. For me... It is literature.
We got into an argument about how I like the occasional pop song. He got just as passionate about it as I do about YA fiction. And we're both of the same heart really.... We want more from our art than your standard formula of rinse and repeat. We want to have tears in our eyes by the end of the experience. We want it to really carve our heart into a new shape and make life all the more sensory. As if life wasn't complete before we experienced this and, now that we have, we know it won't be complete until we have processed it.
It inspired me so much I ended up writing 8 short stories myself.
This collection is just breathtaking in its elegance. He manages to weave together threads from so many sources. Classic literature, life, art, film, mythology. And what you're left with at the end of each short piece is this sense of a world closing. I'd gladly step into any of the worlds he has written into being. Dark and crazy as they are. They are made up of fragments, sharp and beautiful.
Then again. I shared one of these stories with someone and they didn't understand it at all and it made me wonder if somehow the text on the page warps for each reader.
See, the thing about a collection like this is that it has weight. Every story is heavy with this yearning, haunting desire for truth. And I think that the guy I asked to read the story was just more of a fan of entertainment fiction. He finds the things that really touch his soul are songs. Which is fair. For me... It is literature.
We got into an argument about how I like the occasional pop song. He got just as passionate about it as I do about YA fiction. And we're both of the same heart really.... We want more from our art than your standard formula of rinse and repeat. We want to have tears in our eyes by the end of the experience. We want it to really carve our heart into a new shape and make life all the more sensory. As if life wasn't complete before we experienced this and, now that we have, we know it won't be complete until we have processed it.
whogivesabook's review against another edition
5.0
I'm still in awe. It is hard to put into words how perfect this collection of stories is.
It inspired me so much I ended up writing 8 short stories myself.
This collection is just breathtaking in its elegance. He manages to weave together threads from so many sources. Classic literature, life, art, film, mythology. And what you're left with at the end of each short piece is this sense of a world closing. I'd gladly step into any of the worlds he has written into being. Dark and crazy as they are. They are made up of fragments, sharp and beautiful.
Then again. I shared one of these stories with someone and they didn't understand it at all and it made me wonder if somehow the text on the page warps for each reader.
See, the thing about a collection like this is that it has weight. Every story is heavy with this yearning, haunting desire for truth. And I think that the guy I asked to read the story was just more of a fan of entertainment fiction. He finds the things that really touch his soul are songs. Which is fair. For me... It is literature.
We got into an argument about how I like the occasional pop song. He got just as passionate about it as I do about YA fiction. And we're both of the same heart really.... We want more from our art than your standard formula of rinse and repeat. We want to have tears in our eyes by the end of the experience. We want it to really carve our heart into a new shape and make life all the more sensory. As if life wasn't complete before we experienced this and, now that we have, we know it won't be complete until we have processed it.
It inspired me so much I ended up writing 8 short stories myself.
This collection is just breathtaking in its elegance. He manages to weave together threads from so many sources. Classic literature, life, art, film, mythology. And what you're left with at the end of each short piece is this sense of a world closing. I'd gladly step into any of the worlds he has written into being. Dark and crazy as they are. They are made up of fragments, sharp and beautiful.
Then again. I shared one of these stories with someone and they didn't understand it at all and it made me wonder if somehow the text on the page warps for each reader.
See, the thing about a collection like this is that it has weight. Every story is heavy with this yearning, haunting desire for truth. And I think that the guy I asked to read the story was just more of a fan of entertainment fiction. He finds the things that really touch his soul are songs. Which is fair. For me... It is literature.
We got into an argument about how I like the occasional pop song. He got just as passionate about it as I do about YA fiction. And we're both of the same heart really.... We want more from our art than your standard formula of rinse and repeat. We want to have tears in our eyes by the end of the experience. We want it to really carve our heart into a new shape and make life all the more sensory. As if life wasn't complete before we experienced this and, now that we have, we know it won't be complete until we have processed it.
scottjraney's review against another edition
3.0
I came to read cathedral of the mist, but enjoyed his essays on reading and writing the best. Some of the other short pieces were a miss for me, but I sense there is wisdom to unlock with repeat readings.
softblackstars's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
beepbeepbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
magnificent and fantastic. Recalls Calvino a bit, but also maybe a bit darker. Love the essays on reading and writing at the end.
rainyreadss's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
lukemosher's review against another edition
I loved the title of this and blind bought it. Sometimes I'll read something just because of the title, or cover, or because it has some element that I want to experience - walking in a forest, or something set in a hamlet. These stories are wonderful fantasies, in the old, fairy-tale sense of the fantastic. Surreal and metaphysical, and written in crystalline and beautiful prose, and very economical, not a wasted word. It's short, so I read the whole thing in a day, in a beautiful trance. Sometimes I read really terrific prose like this and I'm like, why do I even bother reading anything else? I am craving more like this, but don't know exactly where to go to next. There are some NYRB titles that look like they might fit the bill, maybe some early weird fiction, but what I'm really looking for are short fantastical stories by prose stylists from Europe, before the "high fantasy" of Tolkien or the Disney-ification of fairy tales. Willems has almost nothing else translated; when interlibrary loan opens up I am going to get his only other translated work I could find, The Drowned Land. In the meantime, I'm going to read some other stuff I've found to tide me over--Wakefield Press titles, Calvino, and Bruno Schulz. If anyone else has any recommendations, let me know.
theartolater's review against another edition
2.0
A short story collection translated from the original French, it's a handful of shorts that are in the New Weird vein while being a little more quiet. I don't know if it was the tone or the translation, but this largely failed to connect with me, and it just didn't work on a whole.
Your mileage may vary.
Your mileage may vary.
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