Chinua Achebe, Girls at War and Other Stories

Achebe, Chinua. Girls at War and Other Stories. Heineman Educational Books, 1972.

Girls at War and Other Stories at Goodreads

Overall Rating:     8/10

The stories in Chinua Achebe's Girls at War and Other Stories span two decades, and focus greatly on Nigeria's development: on culture, religion, urbanization, post-colonialism, revolution and famine.  Customs are changing and so are people. The early stories focus primarily on traditional values and clashes with British ideology, whereas the later stories tackle Nigeria's fight for independence, and the brutal Civil War that broke out in 1967. Whatever Achebe writes about, his observations are acute and his story-telling skills marvelous. The satire and depiction of class attitudes and clashing viewpoints make for an excellent read. I am sure I missed much of the subtlety in the book, as it is removed from my own culture and I was not yet alive during the events depicted in the book or at the time the stories were written. Regardless, it is accessible and great literature. It's most impressive feature is the combination of humour and charm, alongside the dark reality of war and death.

Aside from the last story, the stories in the collection are quite short, yet whether Achebe is criticizing political campaigning, social customs or gender relations, the brevity manages to encompass biting sarcasm and snarky humour, while telling an engaging, well-rounded story.

With his longtime publisher Heinemann, Achebe helped to establish the African Writers Series as part of the Heinemann Educational Books imprint. Achebe was concerned with the representation of Africa in western literature, and aimed to bring African writers to a greater international audience. The series published over one hundred books by African authors, with Achebe's own masterpiece Things Fall Apart being the first in the series, while his other African Trilogy novels, No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God being numbers three and sixteen, respectively. The original collection, Girls at War and Other Stories, is number 100.

The Madman     8/10

The Insider (Nwankwo-Ifejika), Enugu, 1971 (in a shorter version)

An encounter on market day between a vagrant and a wealthy landowner challenges the notion of what it is to be mad. An unnamed traveller leaves the road to search for water after seeing a group of women return to the road with water-pots on their heads. Meanwhile, landowner Nwibe leaves the bickering of his wives at home to work in his field. Once his work is done, Nwibe visits a stream to wash himself, and there the vagrant steals his clothing, believing Nwibe is the cause of much of his misery.

An absolutely wonderful story that toys with the idea of madness. People are defined not by their cast or their general behaviour, but by their community and customs, and what their neighbours believe is appropriate. The successful landowner crosses paths with a "madman" who seems to have taken residence in the nearby woods, and the landowner seems to have inherited the madness, as friends and neighbours who witness him run naked through the marketplace, deem him mad, sealing his fate.

The Voter     7/10

Black Orpheus, No. 17, 1965

Campaigner for the upcoming elections Rufus "Roof" Okeke pays two shillings to anyone who will vote for the current village political party, the People's Alliance Party (PAP) and its leader, the Chief Honourable Marcus Ibe. Yet when he is approached by a campaigner for the opposing party, the Progressive Organization Party (POP), who offers him five pounds for his vote, he greedily accepts. The campaigners from POP, however, are not satisfied with his word alone, and make him swear on an iyi that he will cast his vote for their leader, or the iyi will "take note."

The story is seeping in sarcasm, and is a joy to read. Every aspect of governance is driven by selfish greed, and democracy is a joke as the people are manipulated in their vote. This story was published in 1965, five years after Nigeria gained its independence from British rule.

Marriage is a Private Affair     7/10

The University Herald, Ibadan, May 1952

Nnaemeka receives a letter from his father informing him that he would like to begin the negotiations with his neighbour to arrange a marriage between their daughter and Nnaemeka. Yet Nnaemeka now lives in Lagos and has fallen in love with a woman named Nene. He visits his father in the village to tell him, and immediately a rift is made, as his father refuses to accept the outsider woman as his daughter-in-law.

Akueke     8/10

Reflections: Nigerian Prose and Verse, edited by Frances Ademola, Lagos: African University Press, 1965

Following the death of Akueke's mother, a rift grows between her and her brothers as she rejects every male suitor that seeks her hand in marriage. A brief yet complex story of belonging. The brothers love their sister dearly, but are guided by custom and not her emotional welfare.

Chike's School Days     7/10

Rotarian, April 1960

Amos has converted to Christianity, and on the advice of a white missionary-cum-bootlegger, married an Osu woman. They had five daughters before they had their first son, Chike, and the children were taught "the ways of the white man." Chike was enamoured with the English language, even though he did not know the meaning of many words, such as periwinkle. Amos's mother, who was also a Christian convert and took the name Elizabeth, was upset with the marriage and discussed the situation with the local diviner. She performed the rites as described by the diviner, but her son "remained insane" and went through with the marriage to the Osu woman named Sarah, so Elizabeth renounced her new-found religion and "returned to the faith of her people."

A humourous bit of satire, told with immeasurable charm.

The Sacrificial Egg     7/10

Atlantic Monthly, April 1959 (in a shorter version)

Umuru is an ancient city with a vast market that has been encroached upon by neighbouring communities. The market, it is said, is blessed by a deity who attracts people of faraway places from all directions, and now the market is filled with strangers who do not know how to properly behave. This angers the evil spirit Kitikpa, who has come to the market looking for a sacrifice. Julius Obi is longing for his bride-to-be Janet, who he had left one week ago, as Janet's ma warned him to stay away while the people lay out their sacrifices to Kitikpa.

Like many of the stories in the collection, this one looks at the changing landscape of Nigeria, the blending of cultures and generations, and the tensions that all this brings about.

Polar Undergraduate     6/10

The University Herald, December 1950

A brief satirical treatise on undergraduate course schedules and sleep deprivation. The earlier of the stories included in the collection, it was published in the University of Ibadan's school paper.

Vengeful Creditor     8/10

Okike, No. 1, 1971

In terms of biting satire, this story has some finely honed teeth. The government's plan to offer free education to its citizens backfires, as over a million people take advantage and the government is nearly bankrupt. The story follows the tribulations of the well-to-do Emenikes, who suffer the loss of various servants as they leave their posts in order to take advantage of free education. One particular baby-nurse named Vero is desperate to be educated that she attempts to kill the baby for which she is caring in order to be able to attend school. Much of the story is told through the point of view of the Emenikes, and we are through them given such logic as "the craze for education in this country will one day ruin all of us."

While the story manages to be quite funny, particularly via Mr. Emenike as he attempts to be a man of the house, the image we are left with is wholly tragic. A truly fine piece of writing.

In a Village Church     7/10

The University Herald, 1951

As the people gather Sunday morning for church, our narrator observes the proceedings and those around them, and offers some insightful observations. A short and charming piece on church visits.

Dead Men's Path     8/10

The University Herald, January 1953

Michael Obi has been appointed the new headmaster of Ndume Central School. The young man and his wife are excited to bring their modern ideas to the "unprogressive" and "backward" school, and to challenge the narrow views of the "older and often less-educated" teachers. They plunge into their work, beautifying the campus grounds, when Michael notices an old villager passing through campus and discovers an old path that brought her there. He demands that the path be blocked so that the villagers cannot cut through the school grounds, but the locals are terrified, as this is the path that is taken by the spirits of the dead.

A wonderful story, the first by Achebe I ever read, I believe in Backpack Literature.

Uncle Ben's Choice     7/10

Black Orpheus, No. 19, 1966

Uncle Ben tells of his youth, his love of expensive things and his avoidance of women. All this leads to a New Year's night when he encounters Mami Wota in his bed, a spirit who grants men great wealth, but refuses to allow them to marry and have children.

An amusing, simpler story, charmingly written.

Civil Peace     7/10

Okike, No. 2, 1971

Following the Nigerian Civil War, the Igbo communities attempt to rebuild their lives. Fresh running water is again becoming available, yet the country has a long way to go in order to rebuild. Jonathan Iwegbu has a house, at least, though it has fallen to ruin, and managed to hide a bicycle during the conflict which he has now retrieved. He has also managed to save himself, his wife and three of his four children during a devastation that saw the death of close to four million civilians. Achebe appears to be criticizing the state that offered what was essentially little help to the Biafran communities, and Jonathan, skillful and smart, manages to equip his family with the means to build a better future. Local thieves come literally knocking on his door, self-professing themselves as good thieves and asking for only a hundred pounds of what the family has managed to garner.

Girls at War     8/10

Girls at War and Other Stories, Heineman Educational, 1972

Over a period of nearly two years, Reginald Nwankwo from the Ministry of Justice encounters a young militia girl, from the beginning of the Nigerian Civil War. The story chronicles the changing viewpoints over time, as the promise of freedom is dampened by death and starvation, while many not only do their best to survive, but also profit from the war.

This latter story does not have the humour of Achebe's earlier works, as it deals with tragic events and presents a world that is broken physically and in spirit. An excellent, powerful story.

For more of this week's Wednesday Short Stories, please visit Patti Abbott's blog.

I Shudder at Your Touch, edited by Michele Slung

Slung, Michele, ed. I Shudder at Your Touch. NY: ROC, May 1991.

I Shudder at Your Touch at ISFdb
I Shudder at Your Touch at Goodreads

Overall Rating:     7.5/10

Cover pic courtesy of ISFdb

There are many anthologies I'd been wanting to read more than I wanted to read I Shudder at Your Touch, but I had read positive reviews of this one, and it was at hand, so I went for it. I have the 1991 Book Club hardcover edition which I purchased, in excellent condition, in 2017 at a book fair for $3.00 (along with several other well priced books, mostly anthologies). In fact, I set another (less than inspiring) anthology aside to focus on this one. And this one I read all the way through. It is a strong collection with a diverse group of authors and stories.

The stories collected span exactly one century, with original publication years between 1892 - 1991,  inclusive. It is heavily weighted in the 1980s, with eight stories, but given its focus on sex, we can understand the selection from earlier decades would have been less available. Six of the twenty-two authors are female, and thirteen are British (with the remaining nine, along with the editor, American). Five of the stories are original to the anthology, though one appeared in the author's collection only months earlier.

The practice of mixing previously published material along with stories written specifically for a book's theme often results an an uneven work, where amid the established, sometimes recognized work, the new stories tend to disappoint. The new stories included here, however, are quite good. While the theme of the anthology is sex, the subject is dealt with in incredibly diverse ways, and while a couple of the stories do veer close to being explicit, there is nothing pornographic within these pages. The erotic aspect is, for most stories, blended into the plot, though there are a couple of pieces that contain it as an aside, and the stories would be little altered if the sex aspect were removed.

My favourite story is Clive Barker's highly original and thought-provoking "Jacqueline Tess: Her Will and Testament (1984). I also really liked Ronald Duncan's ambiguous "Consanguinity," (1965) and Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Conqueror Worm" (1983), and the stories by Michael Blumlein, Patrick McGrath, Robert Aickman, Robert Hichens and Stephen King. My favourite of the original stories is McGrath's "Cleave the Vampire, or A Gothic Pastoral" (1991), which appears to not yet have been collected. (I do like McGrath's work in general.)

And now for the stories...


The Revelations of 'Becka Paulson by Stephen King     7/10
Rolling Stone #426/427, 19 July/2 August 1984

Neglected housewife Rebecca Paulson begins to receive visions after accidentally shooting herself in the head. An as yet uncollected story by Stephen King (outside a special 30th anniversary edition of Skeleton Crew put out by PS Publishing in 2015), it would later become a section of his novel The Tommyknockers (1987), and adapted for The Outer Limits with a wonderful performance by the versatile Catherine O'Hara. You can read my extended review here.


Sea Lovers by Valerie Martin     6/10
Black Warrior Review, Volume II, Number 2, Spring 1985

The Consolation of Nature & Other Stories. NY: Houghton Mifflen, 1988

"Sea Lovers" is a tale of a mermaid and her experiences witnessing the plights of man in an unsympathetic ocean--and by man, I mean men. The story does well in challenging sentimental notions of the naïve, child-like mermaid, fresh from the archaic world of the sea. Here she is strictly a sea creature, and the world has a distinct division between life in sea and life on land. It is not that a mermaid will find challenges on land, but more that man cannot survive atop the sea, and any battle with the sea leads to death. Our heroine is very much aware of the frailty of life and man's weakness, and that all life is at the mercy of the sea, in which she strives. Like the sea the mermaid is cold and unhindered by death. Her take on man and life is matter-of-fact, accepting it for what it is. Without spoilers, the ending is quite strong and the title is nicely ironic.

By the author of the Nebula and World Fantasy nominated Mary Reilly, which I thought was pretty good but not great.


Psychopomp by Haydn Middleton     6/10
I Shudder at Your Touch. Michele Slung, ed. NY: ROC, May 1991

A restless man returns to the town of his birth, believing he can recapture something from his youth to fill the void of his adult life. Disappointed and ready to return home, he notices at the train station a former lover, and through her he manages to return farther than he, or the reader, might anticipate. A surprisingly good story from an author I had not yet encountered. The first of the original stories in the collection.


A Glowing Future by Ruth Rendell     6/10
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September 1977

A jilted woman watches her lover packing up his precious knickknacks as he prepares to ship them oversees to his awaiting new lover. One of the few stories in the anthology with no supernatural element. It is highly predictable and hearkens back to earlier pulp story ideas with a touch of Poe, it is nonetheless enjoyable as it is well written and brief. Another story, following "Sea Lovers," whose title by its end becomes ironic.


The Tiger Returns to the Mountain by T. L. Parkinson     6/10
I Shudder at Your Touch. Michele Slung, ed. NY: ROC, May 1991

Reports of a convict having escaped the penitentiary on the mountain atop the town spread like wildfire.

Essentially a modern re-telling of "Beauty and the Beast." The story offers nice ambiguity on the notion of the beast. The beast in this case, the tiger, is identified through reputation, gossip and rumour, not through his actions. The second of the original stories, it is taut, suspenseful and offers some fine ambiguity.


Consanguinity by Ronald Duncan     8/10
The Fourth Ghost Book. James Turner, ed. Barrie & Rockliff, 1965

Captain Maclean encounters Major Buckle on a train to Edinburgh, and after brief conversation, learns the man is alone and invites him to stay at his house with him and his sister. Angela proves to be a beautiful thirty year-old virgin, and the Major immediately desires her. Her unusual relationship with her brother, not quite incestuous but overly familiar, lies as a backdrop to Buckle's courtship of the woman. Or vice versa, as the romance is almost incidental amid the passionate relationship between siblings.

A fascinating story featuring a fascinating triangle. Well written and riveting. Not only is this an ambiguous ghost story, it is also a vignette of life amid war, of people trying to maintain some organized civilian life as war rages around them.

Keeping House by Michael Blumlein     7/10
The Brains of Rats. Scream Press, September 1990

Toying with some of the conventions of haunted house stories, this fascinating piece mirrors some of the ideas of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" to reveal the psychological decline of an intelligent and hard-working woman after she and her family move into their new home. My detailed review, written in 2018,  can be found here.


The Villa Désirée by Mary Sinclair     6/10
Hutchinson's Magazine. December 1921

Mildred was recently engaged to the wealthy Louis Carson. In preparation for their wedding he sent her to his house, the Villa Désirée, in Roquebrune, along the French Riviera. She would be not too far from her recently married friends who are on their honeymoon. The friends are concerned, however, since in the very bedroom of the villa she is to occupy, Carson's first wife died of a severe fit on their honeymoon. A good read, but the plodding and overly-detailed first half failed to elevate it beyond good. Probably Sinclair's most anthologized short story.

(There is an unfortunate typo on page 105: "There engagement had come quick...")


Cleave the Vampire, or A Gothic Pastorale by Patrick McGrath     7/10
I Shudder at Your Touch. Michele Slung, ed. NY: ROC, May 1991

This wonderful satire on class divisions features a wealthy old order lady who is convinced that one of the competing cricket players invited to play at her country home is a vampire. Her paranoia increases when she thinks he has his eyes set on her daughter. Some great humour and ambiguity tossed into the mix. I have always liked the Patrick McGrath's short stories, and recommend his collection Blood and Water and Other Tales (Poseidon Press, 1988).

The Swords by Robert Aickman     7/10
The Fifth Fontana Book of Great Ghost Stories. Robert Aickman, ed. Fontana, December 1969

A young man stumbles upon a street circus act where the all-male audience members are invited to stab a woman with a sword. Our young and inexperienced protagonist is taken by this woman, and a seemingly chance meeting with her and her agent lead to a rendezvous between the two. This story is original and gripping, and nicely dark as we are transported to the more run-down areas of society. Sex in this story is essential, and presented as darkly as the neighbourhood in which the story is set. A great read.


Salon Satin by Carolyn Banks     6/10
I Shudder at Your Touch. Michele Slung, ed. NY: ROC, May 1991

An overweight woman signs up for a weight loss program through Salon Satin, who offer some unusual seductive practices and promises. An amusing tale with a requisite twist which, though not terribly shocking, I admit I did not see coming.


How Love Came to Professor Guildea by Robert Hichens     8/10
Pearson's Magazine, October 1897 (as "The Man Who Was Beloved"); Tongues of Conscience, Methuen, 1900

Stoic yet beneficent inventor Professor Frederic Guildea does not require social interaction, and mostly detests the company of others, living only for his work. Yet Guildea takes a liking to Father Murchison, his complete opposite, and the two men soon establish a friendship. One evening, Guildea reveals to Murchison that he believes a spirit of some kind has moved into his house, and has attached itself to him, adoring him. The conviction of this being's adoration sends him spiraling.

This is a re-read, and I prefer it this time over my first reading from a few of years ago. The story is well constructed, patient with its material without making the story overlong. The proof of the invisible being is well done, the character dynamics are great, and the ideas are interesting. Moreover, the story ends on an effective double-entendre.

Wings by Harriet Zinnes     6/10

New Directions 52: An International Anthology of Prose & Poetry, James Laughlin, ed., New Directions, December 1988

Following a rehearsal, a gay actor returns home to find that some objects in his apartment have been moved, and soon discovers a young woman on his bed. She wants to seduce him, and though he is disgusted, he finds that the woman has a strange power over him.

An interesting take on the succubus, told mainly through interior monologue. Well enough written, but largely forgettable.

The Basilisk by R. Murray Gilchrist     6/10

The National Observer, 23 July 1892

The male narrator professes his absolute love for Marina, who responds: "There is a creature called a Basilisk, which turns men and women into stone. In my girlhood I saw the Basilisk--I am stone!"

This is an odd and ambiguous story, which I first read about six or seven years ago, though I recalled nothing about it. I have a theory as to what actually happens, but it doesn't explain all the minute details of the text. I normally enjoy investigating stories of the period, but unfortunately this one is a little dry, though short, so I'm not sure I want to explore it too deeply.


A Quarter Past You by Jonathan Carroll     7/10
Excerpt from A Child Across the Sky. NY: Legend, 1989

A happily married couple begins experimenting with sex based on a fantasy of the woman's. Yet what begins as an experiment to help heighten the only stagnant part of an otherwise strong relationship, begins to deteriorate the relationship itself, as the man's insecurities are awakened. The subject and psychology are interesting, and the story's escalation is well developed. There is really only one direction in which the narrative can go, so the conclusion comes across with less impact than the build-up promises.


The Master Builder by Christopher Fowler     7/10
The Bureau of Lost Souls. Century, 1989

Busy New York professional Laurie Fischer purchases a decrepit old apartment and hires the eccentric though highly reputed interior designer Ray Belano to redesign the place. With its shifting plot focus, the story requires its novelette length, yet flows much like a short story. Fowler keeps the climactic scene brief, appropriately, The revelation of what is going on is the real climax, and the following action is more of the denouement.

Another story with no fantastical element, though it progresses in a way that anticipates the fantastic.


Festival by Eric McCormack     7/10

Inspecting the Vaults, Penguin/Viking, 1987

A troubled couple attend an unusual festival in a small town in the hills. Over three days, three highly unusual events occur on stage, and the couple are somehow implicated.

A highly original story, with a neat point of view switch. There is little information given about the couple, no names, no gender. The narrator, one half of the couple, is primarily an observer of events, and bits are revealed throughout. There is no motive given for why they have come to the fextival, but one can be implied. I liked this story more the second time around. Oddly, I knew I had read it before, but recalled absolutely nothing about it.

Ladies in Waiting by Hugh B. Cave     7/10

Whispers, June 1975

A young couple searching for a fix-it-up home re-visit a decrepit house they had turned down four months before. While the husband refuses to consider the purchase, the wife is oddly drawn to the place, despite their previous unpleasantness of being snowed in overnight on their initial visit.

An enjoyable pulpy read.


Death and the Single Girl by Thomas M. Disch     5/10
Getting into Death and Other Stories. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, February 1976

Wanting to end her life, a young woman phones death for an appointment. Generally speaking, I am not overly fond of comedic supernatural stories. This one is no exception, and for me it is easily the weakest in the collection.


Master by Angela Carter     7/10
Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces, London: Quartet, 1974

A rage-filled hunter finds himself in the Amazon where he purchases a young native girl and heads deep into the jungle to kill anything that crosses his path. This one is strong, very well written, and a somewhat difficult to read take on colonialism.


The Conqueror Worm by Stephen R. Donaldson     8/10
Dodd, Mead Gallery of Horror. Charles L. Grant, editor. Dodd, Mead, 1983

A young couple, home drunk after a party, get into a heated argument. As they argue, from room to room, a ten-inch centipede appears, more aggressive each time.

A strong story where the centipede acts as both a very real aggressor, and a reflection of the husband's self-destructive nature. The husband is cruel and downright awful, and the tension with the centipede, as it pursues the wife, is a great expression of tension. The story is also framed in sections, one for each room, and each section opens with a stage settings. Very well constructed.


Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament by Clive Barker     9/10

The Books of Blood, Volume II, Sphere, 1984

Following a failed attempted suicide, a young, depressed woman discovers the power to physically mold the men around her. After doing away with her selfish husband, Jacqueline Ess sets off on a journey to learn how to control her power, and leaves behind a trail of obsessive men who give up their lives to pursue her.

An excellent story that has impressed me more now than when I first read it (though I admired it then, as well). Barker has created something quite unique here. The story of a self-professed monster who is among the monsters in literature I've sympathized with the most. And that ending!

Well written, with Barker showing great empathy for the suffering woman, and thereby toward suffering women who are dominated by a male society.