I’ve been really enjoying the October Reading Club‘s esoteric picks:
“The Chromatic Ghosts of Thomas” by Ellis Parker Butler (1907) – Thomas is a cat. But how many stories have asked, if a cat has nine lives, does a cat have nine…ghosts?
Our cat Thomas was very sensitive. I never knew such a sensitive cat as Thomas was. The slightest harsh word seemed to hurt his feelings and put him into a fit of the dumps.
“A Ghost of the Sierras” by Bret Harte (1878) – A Western ghost story, written during the era.
…he continued for some moments to dwell on the terrible possibility of a state of affairs in which a gentleman could no longer settle a dispute with an enemy without being subjected to succeeding spiritual embarrassment.
But not forgetting contemporary stories away from the Club:
“Cruel Sistah” by Nisi Shawl (2005) – Remember the “The Ensouled Violin”? Nisi Shawl’s “Cruel Sistah” is a great take on that tradition.
His thing now was gimbris, elegant North African ancestors of the cigar-box banjos he’d built two years ago when he was just beginning, just a kid. … The basic structure looked good, but it was kind of plain. It needed some sort of decoration. An inlay, ivory or mother of pearl or something.
Simple Tricks & Nonsense 