"Lost Hearts"
from Ghost Stories of an Antiquary, by M. R. James
After reading this second story-- and glancing at the short row of dots on my Kindle, indicating that the collection of stories is itself on the short side-- I'm reminded that I ought to read and judge short stories differently than I do. The fact is, I'm never going to like (most) short stories as much as I like (some) novels. They simply don't go into enough detail. I don't want a too-long, drawn-out short story, either, though... I'm just too hard to please, probably. (g)
Anyway, this was another story with some interesting elements-- but a bit awkwardly told in spots (all the details on the appearance of the house, for instance... who needs that?)-- and generally not as strong as it could have been. Still, there were some creepy moments/aspects. I'd give some details, but I can't say much without giving away everything-- that's how sparse the story is.
I'll keep reading these. (The fact that they are so short works in their favor in that respect; it won't take much of a commitment to read them all.) However, I'll need to alter my expectations to accommodate the fact that they simply are not likely to go into enough detail to suit my tastes.
