Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Pear-Shaped Man

"Would you like to see my things?"

So far, I have assessed and made recommendations for horror movies and a TV show, but I have yet to review a horror story! The quote above is from a story that I will review today called, The Pear-Shaped Man, written by George R. R. Martin. I read this story in a book that is comprised of a collection of short horror stories by various authors. For those of you interested, the name of the book is called Darkness: Two Decades of Modern Horror.

Darkness book imageThis story is written in 3rd person, and rightfully so. As the author describes the pear-shaped man, who remains unnamed throughout the story, he conveys a very creepy undertone to the reader. He makes use of short, but descriptive sentences and spends a lot of time describing how this man looks and his mannerisms. However, by remaining nameless, the character maintains a certain mysteriousness, much like a monster. In order for the reader to relate more to the story, the author uses the curious and character of reason, Jessie. Through Jessie, us readers learn more and more about the pear-shaped man, and through Jessie, we feel her growing fear and discomfort with him. I love the story-telling and the way the author plays on a person's fear of the unknown.

This story is a favourite for me and wins because it is just THAT creepy. Not only that, but the ending has quite a twist...one that I really had not been anticipating! I rate this story a 10/10 and highly recommend this to readers.

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