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Customer Reviews of Blood and Water and Other Tales

How delightful to come across this writer!
Fan that I am of director David Cronenberg, I learned recently that his next film was to be an adaptation of "Spider" by David McGrath. "Who is this David McGrath?" I wondered. A look at some customer reviews on Amazon was followed by a quick trip to the local library, where several of his books were available. But rather that go straight for "Spider," I decided to check out "Blood and Water" instead. I figured that I could better decide if McGrath was my cup of tea by reading a few of his short stories. And now I'm VERY glad this writer came to my attention, because I gobbled up this collection quickly and have just begun reading "Spider."

Patrick McGrath has a style all his own. It's very Gothic ... almost Baroque (and hope I'm using that term in an acceptable way). Although McGrath has been pegged as a horror writer, theses are not stories that are necessarily scary; rather, they make the most of weird or ghastly scenarios with humor, affection, and pathos. Most of the stories are written in the third person, though a few are written in the first. Either way, you imagine being TOLD these stories by an actor on a stage. The style is full of descriptive flourishes and absurd observations. If you are the sort of reader that enjoys reading an occasional paragraph OUT LOUD simply because it's written in such a witty and dramatic way, you need to read this book.

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eclectic mix of bizarre short stories..
This early work of Patrick McGrath is an interesting mix of good and not-so-good short stories (mostly 'gothic' tales - ie, the strange, bizarre, and unexpected). While on the whole the book is enjoyable and very readable, it's hardly an example of McGrath better works. But McGrath fans will love it.

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An Definate Oddity In The Field
Patrick McGrath is an oddity in literature. He is a literary horror writer, the very type that was nearly terminated by the mass-market horror matrons. His writing elegantly chilling, it evokes fear, rather then explaining it. That very thing, being able to hint at the deepest terror seems to be a very wanted commodity in the horror community. But even more impressively, McGrath is brilliant writer. He does not overdo the exposition in his stories, yet still elicits emotional response. Well, lets get to the book before the reader's die of hypo-praise-osis, lets get to the book. Blood Water and Other Tales is a collection of 13 short stories, macabre in tone. I don't want to ruin any of them for you, so I will just talk about one story. (the rest are of equal or better quality)

"The Angel" is a story about telling stories, or at least I view it that way. In the process of the narrative, the reader learns about both the narrator, and about the mysterious man he befriends. The language reflects the feel of urban decay, as the story is set in a hot New York City summer, where all the apartments seem to be falling apart. But what distinguish this story is both the method of narrative and the final twist. "The Angel's" main plot is told through a combination of narration and the storytelling of the mysterious man, Harry Talboys. As for the final twist, I cannot reveal anything, for that would spoil it. So, buy the BOOK! Ben Shepard Patrick McGrath is an oddity in literature. He is a literary horror writer, the very type that was nearly terminated by the mass-market horror matrons. His writing elegantly chilling, it evokes fear, rather then explaining it. That very thing, being able to hint at the deepest terror seems to be a very wanted commodity in the horror community. But even more impressively, McGrath is brilliant writer. He does not overdo the exposition in his stories, yet still elicits emotional response. Well, lets get to the book before the reader's die of hypo-praise-osis, lets get to the book. Blood Water and Other Tales is a collection of 13 short stories, macabre in tone. I don't want to ruin any of them for you, so I will just talk about one story. (the rest are of equal or better quality) "The Angel" is a story about telling stories, or at least I view it that way. In the process of the narrative, the reader learns about both the narrator, and about the mysterious man he befriends. The language reflects the feel of urban decay, as the story is set in a hot New York City summer, where all the apartments seem to be falling apart. But what distinguish this story is both the method of narrative and the final twist. "The Angel's" main plot is told through a combination of narration and the storytelling of the mysterious man, Harry Talboys. As for the final twist, I cannot reveal anything, for that would spoil it. So, buy the BOOK!

Ben Shepard