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Available
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Publication
Publisher Unknown
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Horror. Thriller. HTML: Set on the snaking, sinuous Danube River, Algernon Blackwood's tale The Willows represents a high point in the development of the horror genre. Indeed, acknowledged master H.P. Lovecraft regarded it as the best supernatural tale ever written. More awe-inspiring and thought-provoking than gory or terrifying, The Willows is a must-read for fans of classic ghost stories..
User reviews
LibraryThing member ChanceMaree
At this point in my reading career, I don't believe I've read better building and rendering of fear than The Willows by Blackwood. The writing--word choice, dialogue--everything around those moments of terror were so evocative, I felt them, all while lying safely beneath a roof, on the sofa. The
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plot is simple--two men rowing a boat along the Danube River. They camp in an area overgrown with Willows. From that point, the mix of terror in the imagination, and subtle hints in the environment, is simply, excellent. The dialogue too, takes a sinister turn, along with the rushing of wind and gurgle of water. Amazingly well done, this fear, without gore or slashers or zombies. The Willows was a personal favorite of Lovecraft, so I was curious, and now I understand why. I intend to revisit the story and dissect how he did it, but for this first read, I was enthralled. Show Less
LibraryThing member Molecular
Considering this was recommended to me as the story that H. P. Hovercraft called the best horror story in the world, well you just don't get a better wind up than that. After reading the title story, I must say that I had forgotten how Blackwood was a master wordsmith - his word choice, sentence
Hovercraft was correct. The story is a multifaceted gem, nicely polished and sparkling. It is the quintessential horror short story.
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structure and ear for sounds almost beg for these stories to be read aloud. There is a cadence and an onomatopoeia that adds another layer of luxuriant richness to this story that would be best inexperienced verbally through a rich baritone voice. Hovercraft was correct. The story is a multifaceted gem, nicely polished and sparkling. It is the quintessential horror short story.
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LibraryThing member ColeReadsBooks
A wonderful supernatural tale that will fill you with dread, every time you read it!
Synopsis:
Two companions set out on a canoeing trip down the Danube river. They laugh and enjoy their time travelling and admiring the scenery. The friends camp for the night on a small island where mysterious things
Review:
I absolutely love this book, I've read it before and it is no less creepy and wonderful the second time around. Personally I think that horror novels/films are most effective when you don’t actually see anything. That eerie sense of not knowing what is there seems to result in such a strong feeling of discomfort. That is very much at play in The Willows. Previously I had never heard of Algernon Blackwood, but this is one of his most popular stories, and part of the reason for that is the complete horror and the story instils. HP Lovecraft stated his belief that it is the finest supernatural tale in English literature. This is a must read for fans of horror and weird fiction.
The story is a fairly simple one, but it’s amazingly executed. The two try to deny all that they have seen and the narrator in true human fashion, attempts to find explanations for the various fantastic things that happen, but as their lives become threatened, they admit to all they have seen and find a way off the tiny island they've inhabited. It’s dark, compelling and a truly fascinating read.
“When common objects in this way become charged with the suggestion of horror, they stimulate the imagination far more than things of unusual appearance; and these bushes, crowding huddled about us, assumed for me in the darkness a bizarre grotesquerie of appearance that lent to them somehow the aspect of purposeful and living creatures. Their very ordinariness, I felt, masked what was malignant and hostile to us.”
The novel makes an interesting study of psychology, and how things that are so ordinary to us, willow bushes, otters and the wind, can turn into something truly monstrous. There is also the question of the reliability of the story, did these haunting things happen to the companions, or is the story simply a hallucination of two people exhausted from travelling?
It is easy to see the effect such a story would have on master horror writer HP Lovecraft. It’s a truly wonderful story and if you’re a fan of weird fiction, definitely stick this one on your wish list.
Synopsis:
Two companions set out on a canoeing trip down the Danube river. They laugh and enjoy their time travelling and admiring the scenery. The friends camp for the night on a small island where mysterious things
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begin to happen. One of their paddles disappear, strange funnels appear in the sand and is it their imagination or have the willow bushes that surround the island moved closer? The two friends must find a way off the island before disaster strikes.Review:
I absolutely love this book, I've read it before and it is no less creepy and wonderful the second time around. Personally I think that horror novels/films are most effective when you don’t actually see anything. That eerie sense of not knowing what is there seems to result in such a strong feeling of discomfort. That is very much at play in The Willows. Previously I had never heard of Algernon Blackwood, but this is one of his most popular stories, and part of the reason for that is the complete horror and the story instils. HP Lovecraft stated his belief that it is the finest supernatural tale in English literature. This is a must read for fans of horror and weird fiction.
The story is a fairly simple one, but it’s amazingly executed. The two try to deny all that they have seen and the narrator in true human fashion, attempts to find explanations for the various fantastic things that happen, but as their lives become threatened, they admit to all they have seen and find a way off the tiny island they've inhabited. It’s dark, compelling and a truly fascinating read.
“When common objects in this way become charged with the suggestion of horror, they stimulate the imagination far more than things of unusual appearance; and these bushes, crowding huddled about us, assumed for me in the darkness a bizarre grotesquerie of appearance that lent to them somehow the aspect of purposeful and living creatures. Their very ordinariness, I felt, masked what was malignant and hostile to us.”
The novel makes an interesting study of psychology, and how things that are so ordinary to us, willow bushes, otters and the wind, can turn into something truly monstrous. There is also the question of the reliability of the story, did these haunting things happen to the companions, or is the story simply a hallucination of two people exhausted from travelling?
It is easy to see the effect such a story would have on master horror writer HP Lovecraft. It’s a truly wonderful story and if you’re a fan of weird fiction, definitely stick this one on your wish list.
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LibraryThing member VincentDarlage
This was a surprisingly effective short horror story.
LibraryThing member ladycato
The Willows is an early example of American horror, published in 1907, and cited as a favorite story of H.P. Lovecraft. I don't read much horror, but this was selected as an October book club read and a Kindle copy was free on Amazon, so I was game.
To modern tastes, the book has a very slow start.
I found this classic to be highly enjoyable. I zoomed through the last half, anxious to see what would happen. If you're up for a very Halloween-appropriate read that's creepy without any gore, grab this free download from Amazon.
To modern tastes, the book has a very slow start.
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The descriptions are excessive. Blackwood creates a menace in the very atmosphere of a place: a small island in a swampy area off the Danube, where two friends are stranded during a high flood. The two are never named--the companion is simply called "the Swede"--but that doesn't detract from the story at all. Despite the slow start, this novel is still compelling and tense as it builds towards the conclusion. The trees, the wind, the water, the sounds--everything has a terrible, dark sense about it, and yes, it's creepy as all get out. It's not a book to read while you're camping in the wilderness or you'll never be able to sleep.I found this classic to be highly enjoyable. I zoomed through the last half, anxious to see what would happen. If you're up for a very Halloween-appropriate read that's creepy without any gore, grab this free download from Amazon.
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LibraryThing member EmpressReece
The Willows - 4.5 stars...
I've been trying to read this for the past couple months for Halloween Bingo & HA and I'm just now getting to it. But hey you do what you can do...
I'm glad I finally read it though because now it's at the top of my list of favorite novellas and there aren't very many on
This would be a perfect story to read when you're in the middle of nowhere on a camping trip!
I've been trying to read this for the past couple months for Halloween Bingo & HA and I'm just now getting to it. But hey you do what you can do...
I'm glad I finally read it though because now it's at the top of my list of favorite novellas and there aren't very many on
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there. Short stories just don't usually do much for me and I admit when I read the first few pages I wasn't sure if I would like this one either. I was wondering where the author was going with it but once the characters came into play I really liked it. I also liked the island and river setting- add in the willow trees and it made for a very atmospheric read. The author also did a fantastic job of creating that feeling of impending doom. This would be a perfect story to read when you're in the middle of nowhere on a camping trip!
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LibraryThing member Arkrayder
This is a great suspenseful tale. Blackwood masterfully builds the suspense little by little not giving away to much about the entities which inhabit the sand island our two characters have been forced to land on. This is an example of great writing and I can understand why H.P. Lovecraft
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considered it the best weird tale ever told. Show Less
LibraryThing member Finxy
Review from Badelynge
As someone who has had a lifetime fascination with ghost stories and mythology I could hardly ignore the works of Algernon Blackwood. If you have ever picked up one of the multitude of anthologies that profess to contain the best ghost stories it is a good bet that one, if not
As someone who has had a lifetime fascination with ghost stories and mythology I could hardly ignore the works of Algernon Blackwood. If you have ever picked up one of the multitude of anthologies that profess to contain the best ghost stories it is a good bet that one, if not
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more, of Blackwood's tales will be included. The Willows was first published in 1907 and is not a ghost story. It is, however, a horror story. Blackwood was a great lover of the natural world and it shows in the elegant first person prose characterizing the elements as described by the unnamed narrator of this novella. Two men are attempting to canoe the entire course of the Danube (as Blackwood himself had done) until they are forced by high flood waters to take refuge on a tiny, crumbling, willow infested island. One of the men is the aforementioned narrator and the other is an initially phlegmatic Swede. Once settled on the shrinking island the two men are disturbed by several unsettling happenings. Blackwood is a master of maintaining an eerie atmosphere; no small feat over 80 or so pages. The narrative that began with such imaginative and beautiful imagery starts to deteriorate as the story teller finds himself trying desperately to rationalise and quantify his experiences. The reader is forced to work harder as the psychological aspects of the story push to the fore. The story works on many different levels and is ambiguous enough for the reader to draw his own conclusions or speculate on the nature of reality and whether knowledge of something is something to be feared more than the unknown. Show Less
LibraryThing member MoniqueSnyman
A solid plot that will evoke the imagination, accompanied by prose that would inspire future writers. The Willows is an excellent horror story, which, in some ways, retains a contemporary feel.
LibraryThing member pomo58
Algernon Blackwood's The Willows by Nathan Carson and Sam Ford is an excellent adaptation of Blackwood's story.
I'm not going to go into the history of the story or the author, it is well known and I don't feel the need to demonstrate any mastery of the obvious. If you're familiar with the original,
In other words, I recommend this to most readers who like atmospheric and dark graphic works, regardless of your familiarity with the original.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
I'm not going to go into the history of the story or the author, it is well known and I don't feel the need to demonstrate any mastery of the obvious. If you're familiar with the original,
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I think you will enjoy this graphic adaptation in much the same way you would enjoy a good film adaptation of a story or book. Some things have been omitted or combined to help with the new medium. In this case, the artwork is key to how well this works. If you're unfamiliar with the original, I think you'll enjoy this if you like graphic novels that rely as much on the atmosphere created by the artwork as on the words themselves.In other words, I recommend this to most readers who like atmospheric and dark graphic works, regardless of your familiarity with the original.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.
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LibraryThing member jefware
The utter disregard of nature toward man.
LibraryThing member David_Masumba
Today is a fast moving era with very little care for a story that takes the reader on a journey to become paranoid about something that may or may not have been. A haunted house would have made THE WILLOWS the book of today but it is a classic.
LibraryThing member jjmcgaffey
A strange little story. Nothing really happens, though they see some odd sights. It's mostly about feelings - the willows are pressing in on their tent. Well, ok, something does happen - their canoe and supplies are damaged. It's very much psychological horror - which means that if you, the reader,
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don't enter into the feelings it's just a rather odd little story. That's pretty much how I took it. If you want to be seriously scared, this will do it - but the reader's 50% plays a major part. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
A classic horror tale of a trip down the Danube that two men make. They must go through a swampy area that is noted for its many islands of willows. The river is rising, the men spend one 24 hour period on one of these islands fighting to resist the evil that surrounds them.
LibraryThing member la2bkk
The pros:
The suspense builds inexorably using simple language to powerfully convey the mystery of natural forces; the ending was interesting although not entirely compelling.
The cons: the narrative is a bit slow, almost tedious in the beginning; the fantastical elements detract from the story's
In sum, an enjoyable and worthwhile read but overrated to the extent some claim this as a classic work of early horror fiction.
The suspense builds inexorably using simple language to powerfully convey the mystery of natural forces; the ending was interesting although not entirely compelling.
The cons: the narrative is a bit slow, almost tedious in the beginning; the fantastical elements detract from the story's
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credibility.In sum, an enjoyable and worthwhile read but overrated to the extent some claim this as a classic work of early horror fiction.
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LibraryThing member BookNookRetreat7
It was an okay book. I am not use to the writing style and it took a bit to get into it. The book had its moments of keeping me glued to the pages, but other moments of waiting for something to happen.
For me, there was no scare factor. Only giving it two stars.
For me, there was no scare factor. Only giving it two stars.
LibraryThing member JimDR
The Willows is a tale in the cosmic horror tradition, but could just as easily fall into folk horror (as many older cosmic horror stories could) for its bucolic European setting and use of natural landscapes to create a sense of dread.
And there is dread here, in the graduation dissolution of the
And there is dread here, in the graduation dissolution of the
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very ground, not to mention the sanity of the two protagonists. But in the end, I felt much of the buildup dragged on, while the resolution was over in an instant. Worth reading, but not exactly satisfying. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pxan02
I didn't excepted such a rich language and such a description of human reactions and sentiments.
Four stars, if you like Lovecraft or Poe you will like this too.
Four stars, if you like Lovecraft or Poe you will like this too.
LibraryThing member Jonathan_M
*Spoilers ahead*
I'm sure it's due to some obscure perverseness that I can't consciously pinpoint, but I've never quite warmed up to "The Willows." Despite its esteemed reputation, despite the fact that I've reread it many times during the past thirty-five years in hopes that I would appreciate some
I understand the effect that Blackwood was aiming for, but the execution is labored. Again and again, the narrator describes the uncanny atmosphere of the island, the rustling of the willows, the anxiety that overtakes him as escape begins to look impossible--and the more he describes it, the less I'm able to feel it. Blackwood is too insistent, and because the story is so long yet so lacking in substance, he can only go on insisting. It just doesn't work for me. I'm not sure how "The Willows" came to be regarded as the greatest horror story in the English language; I'll take Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" any day of the week. (And this, I assure you, is coming from someone who admires much of Algernon Blackwood's work. He conveyed an atmosphere of supernatural wonder far more effectively in "Ancient Sorceries," and of creeping dread and horror in "The Occupant of the Room.")
I'm sure it's due to some obscure perverseness that I can't consciously pinpoint, but I've never quite warmed up to "The Willows." Despite its esteemed reputation, despite the fact that I've reread it many times during the past thirty-five years in hopes that I would appreciate some
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nuance which previously had eluded me, I'm left essentially unmoved by the story. With just two characters in a single setting, and action that remains almost entirely ambiguous to the end, it's too spare to justify its length (a little over fifty pages). Not much happens: two outdoorsmen, one of them the story's narrator, are paddling a canoe up the Danube; they make camp on one of the river's numerous small islands, where the willow bushes seem to take on a threatening aspect. Are the willows really occupied/manipulated by some intelligent lifeform from another plane of existence, or are the men so overwhelmed by the loneliness and remoteness of the island that they suffer a temporary psychotic break? It's never made clear. The missing oar, the damage to the canoe and the loss of provisions arguably can be blamed on the narrator's eccentric traveling companion. Even the ghastly corpse that turns up at the end may have been a victim of the Swede. I understand the effect that Blackwood was aiming for, but the execution is labored. Again and again, the narrator describes the uncanny atmosphere of the island, the rustling of the willows, the anxiety that overtakes him as escape begins to look impossible--and the more he describes it, the less I'm able to feel it. Blackwood is too insistent, and because the story is so long yet so lacking in substance, he can only go on insisting. It just doesn't work for me. I'm not sure how "The Willows" came to be regarded as the greatest horror story in the English language; I'll take Arthur Machen's "The Great God Pan" any day of the week. (And this, I assure you, is coming from someone who admires much of Algernon Blackwood's work. He conveyed an atmosphere of supernatural wonder far more effectively in "Ancient Sorceries," and of creeping dread and horror in "The Occupant of the Room.")
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Original publication date
1907
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Blackwood |