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A review by mrjonathan
A Cupful of Space by Mildred Clingerman
5.0
A fabulous collection of mid century sci-fi and fantasy. Shirley Jackson in space.
My favorites include (SPOILER ALERT):
First lesson- The wife of a paratrooper has a terrible dream of his death. At the urging of a maid, she performs a spell, throwing two pennies into the river. Her husband nearly dies as in the dream on his next jump but is saved and finds two pennies in his shoes. When she asks the maid about it, the maid writes to her that she made it all up and is confused how the pennies got there.
Stair Trick- a bartender’s famous trick is miming going down stairs. Finally he meets a woman who knows it’s not a trick, and together they disappear beneath the cement floor.
The Day of the Green Velvet Cloak- a woman engaged to an insufferable man wonders into a book shop that acts as a time machine. There she meets a man from 1877 and gives him her new cloak before sending him home. In the present day, his descendant returns the cloak. She dons it with the ivory dress she’d intended to be wedded in and goes out to dinner with him, jilting her awful fiancé.
The Wild Wood- this is the most terrifying story I’ve ever read. Pseudopod has a wonderful audio rendition.
The Gay Deceiver- a woman follows a pied piper but is horrified that the towns they leave invariably report children crawling into old refrigerators and getting trapped. When confronted, he reveals that he is tracking down the descendants of those who owe him a debt. He begins to play, opening a refrigerator door…for her?
Red Hearts and Blue Roses- Mrs. Pemberton is horrified when the stranger her son brought home for the Christmas furlough announces that he intends to replace her children and has chosen her as his mother. After she kicks him out, he keeps returning, younger each time. In the end, she is pregnant and having nightmares of a baby with Damon’s same tattoo.
My favorites include (SPOILER ALERT):
First lesson- The wife of a paratrooper has a terrible dream of his death. At the urging of a maid, she performs a spell, throwing two pennies into the river. Her husband nearly dies as in the dream on his next jump but is saved and finds two pennies in his shoes. When she asks the maid about it, the maid writes to her that she made it all up and is confused how the pennies got there.
Stair Trick- a bartender’s famous trick is miming going down stairs. Finally he meets a woman who knows it’s not a trick, and together they disappear beneath the cement floor.
The Day of the Green Velvet Cloak- a woman engaged to an insufferable man wonders into a book shop that acts as a time machine. There she meets a man from 1877 and gives him her new cloak before sending him home. In the present day, his descendant returns the cloak. She dons it with the ivory dress she’d intended to be wedded in and goes out to dinner with him, jilting her awful fiancé.
The Wild Wood- this is the most terrifying story I’ve ever read. Pseudopod has a wonderful audio rendition.
The Gay Deceiver- a woman follows a pied piper but is horrified that the towns they leave invariably report children crawling into old refrigerators and getting trapped. When confronted, he reveals that he is tracking down the descendants of those who owe him a debt. He begins to play, opening a refrigerator door…for her?
Red Hearts and Blue Roses- Mrs. Pemberton is horrified when the stranger her son brought home for the Christmas furlough announces that he intends to replace her children and has chosen her as his mother. After she kicks him out, he keeps returning, younger each time. In the end, she is pregnant and having nightmares of a baby with Damon’s same tattoo.