Corsair £20
We Others, By Steven Millhauser
Pulitzer winner's wondrous tales hold up a ghostly mirror to the face of civility
Sunday 27 November 2011
Latest in Reviews
Related stories
For anyone who has been creeped out by a clown, or who has gulped at a sword swallower, the stories of the Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Millhauser will resonate deeply.
They are preoccupied with wonders that take us out of our daily drudge and in doing so become, ironically, a barometer to the absurd nature of what we deem normal. The new anthology, We Others, covers three decades of writing, coursing through several collections and a handful of new stories. It is a wondrous book.
"I was a normal, ordinary, well-adjusted boy, without a trace of anything that might account for the fate that lay in store for me," says Paul Steinbach, the narrator of the title novella. Paul begins by detailing his all-American, middle-class days, a life which ends with a quiet, unexpected death in late middle age. It is then that the fun begins. As a ghost he is suddenly extraordinary. He takes up residence in the attic of the home of a sad-eyed, lonely woman down the block. From this loft conversion he becomes the spectral caretaker of her heart while simultaneously seeking insight from a group of fellow ethereal lost boys. In a nice comic twist they form a kind of Phantoms Anonymous: melancholy ghouls struggling with their very own peculiar existential crisis. The story shows Millhauser's ability to take a well-worn formula to new ends. In "We Others" the ghosts could as easily be the extreme poor, the uneducated, the voiceless immigrant, all of whom we, the comfortable, educated, eloquent fail to notice.
The ability to shake up a genre piece is particularly evident in another new title, "The Invasion from Outer Space", which plays out through a rain of yellow dust. "No terrifying horror there," think the denizens of small-town America. Apart that is from the powder's talent for molecular reproduction. Slowly, the dust covers the white picket fences and perfect lawns. It's a custardy conquest.
The older stories fit perfectly with the new. In the most famous, "Eisenheim the Illusionist", which was filmed in 2006 with Edward Norton as the melancholy magician, fin de siècle Vienna is the setting for a fireside yarn about a prestidigitator at war with an official of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His sleight of hand proves to be beyond understanding and therefore ultimately victorious. "Eisenheim deliberately crossed boundaries and therefore disturbed the essence of things."
In "The Knife Thrower", a travelling showman sparks nostalgia and dizzying foreboding in his audience. "We thought of ... hot circus tents on blue summer days." However, this blades-man is known for scarring his targets. "That was something we hadn't seen before, or even imagined we might see, something worth remembering," says one of the crowd. It's a story that really hits the mark. Other entries explore the arcane and the specialist, taking in the realms of horology, automatons and barmy museums.
Millhauser's fiction is a genre all of its own: part Stephen King, part Roald Dahl, part Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like fantasies, dreams and nightmares, these tales are touchstones to the bizarre, unknowable nature of human existence and our capacity for imagination. Through narratives of disruption, they place a mirror to the face of civility, chipping away at the veneer of everyday constructs and respectable behaviour. Millhauser, in the terminology of the barnstorming conjuror, has pulled off a great reveal: that in our desire for escapism we highlight how tethered we are to human insecurity.
- 1 Eurovision row escalates as Iran withdraws ambassador
- 2 First Night: Posh, Duke of York's Theatre, London
- 3 One is nipping to Tesco: Jubilant Jubilee royals as seen by Alison Jackson
- 4 Last night's viewing: Hit & Miss, Sky Atlantic; My Big Fat Fetish, Channel 4
- 5 Kanye West's Cruel Summer premieres at Cannes
- 6 From fashion to film: Jean Paul Gaultier on his week as a Cannes juror
- 7 Jedward reach Eurovision final in Baku
- 8 On the Road, Cannes Film Festival
- 9 Stone Roses play first gig in 16 years
- 10 Language: The cussing room floor
- 1 Andre Villas-Boas out of contention as Liverpool have second thoughts over former Chelsea manager
- 2 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 3 Queen tried to use state poverty fund to heat Buckingham Palace
- 4 Society: The only way is Finland
- 5 Portugal 'sells' Ronaldo to Spain in £160m deal on national debt
- 6 Gary Connery lands safely after 2,400 ft helicopter jump without parachute
- 7 Uefa may reconsider Champions League rule that saw Chelsea qualify instead of Tottenham
- 8 DmC Devil May Cry set for early 2013 release
- 9 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
- 10 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
The art of industrial espionage
Therapist who tried to 'cure' me of being gay thrown out...
VIP treatment: Life is golden in the Olympic fast lane
Forest guards told to shoot poachers on sight after rash of tiger killings


Comments