Thursday, May 8, 2014

Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad by M. R. James

I really enjoyed listening to the unabridged short story Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad by M. R. James and read by actor, David Suchet. I actually downloaded this audio short story from Audible recently. It's fifty minutes in length.

This is the first time I've read or listened to anything written by M. R. James and was impressed with his writing. Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad is an engaging ghost story. I'm usually not into ghost stories (or the horror genre) in general, but this was a good one. It was well written and well read with good characters and nice story. I was pleasantly surprised by the story.

The plot summary for Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad on Audible as follows:
The story tells the tale of an introverted academic who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a supernatural force that terrorises its discoverer. 
Montague Rhodes James was a noted British mediaeval scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918) and of Eton College (1918–1936). He is best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature.
One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, and replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings. 
"Montague Rhodes James has an intelligent and scientific knowledge of human nerves and feelings; and knows just how to apportion statement, imagery, and subtle suggestions in order to secure the best results with his readers." HP Lovecraft. 
Actor David Suchet is best known for his definitive portrayal of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective created by the legendary mystery author Agatha Christie, in a number of international television productions. He narrates his story in Poirot and Me.

I'm giving Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad by M. R. James a rating of 8 stars out of 10 stars! 

Until my next post, happy reading!

1 comment:

  1. You might enjoy my blog and book of MR James inspired ghost tales

    BLOG: http://freakyfolktales.wordpress.com
    BOOK: http://mybook.to/ghosts

    Kind regards, Paul (Freaky Folk Tales)

    ReplyDelete