Beach Haven

Bibliography
​Languereau, G. (Ed.). (1970). 15 Aventuras Fantasticas. (C. Appell, Trans.) Bilbao: Editorial Fher, S.A.

Review by Michael Beach

When I first picked up this book of short stories, I got it because it was all in Spanish. I assumed with a glance that the stories were by Spanish authors. As it turns out they are not. There are two stories set in Spain, neither written by a Spanish author. The rest are stories by authors from many countries, originally written in various languages. What the stories have in common is that they are fantasy stories, primarily horror or ‘scary’ stories.

The most Spanish of the stories is La Herencia del Moro by Washington Irving. As I read it, I found it familiar for two reasons. First, years ago I read it while reviewing many works by Washington Irving. The other is that it is set in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. I lived in Granada as a missionary for a couple of months and visited the Alhambra a number of times. The story is about a hapless water bearer who takes in a Moor and cares for him.  His efforts don’t save the wounded man. The Moor dies but not before giving our hero a document that explains how to get to a magical treasure beneath the Alahambra. Another friend is brought in who can read the Arabic language. Together they begin to live better lives. Some others in town try to get their hands on the treasure, the mayor, the sheriff, and a neighbor. Eventually it goes poorly for each of them. Eventually the poor protagonist changes his name, takes his wife and children, and moves far away where they are unknown and can avoid others trying to take their riches.

The other story partially set in Spain is La Venus de Ille by Prospero Merimee. The narrator travels along the border between northern Spain and the southern region of France. A local antiquarian unearths a statue of Venus. In the process of preparing for his son’s wedding, the groom slips the bride’s wedding ring onto the statue as a joke. He forgets the ring being drunk, but when he goes back for it, the statue’s fingers have closed around the ring in a fist. The statue believes itself married to the groom. It is the night before the wedding. The statue comes to life, kills the groom and leaves his bride mentally ill. She is moved to a sanitorium and the statue is melted down to make a bell for the local church.

Despite the fact that these stories are not by Spanish authors, the translation work is impeccable. The stories are still entertaining given the notoriety of the authors. The include Claud Morand, Alexander Dumas, Erckmann-Chatrian, Claire Godet, Prospero Merimee, Edgar Allan Poe, Georgy, Ivan Tourgueniev, Claude Appell, Jules Verne, Washington Irving, Paul Cogan, and Edith Orny. The book is work the read for both the Spanish practice and the stories themselves.
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Bibliography
Wilde, Oscar. 2011. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Orlando: Seth Watkins.

​Review by Michael Beach

This book was originally published in 1891. Oscar Wilde was an Irish author, born in Dublin. Before reading it, I was vaguely familiar with the story, but as expected, there is so much more to it. In the beginning, Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who acts as a model for an artist's portraiture in Victorian London. The artist, Basil Hallward, was so smitten with the painting he decided not to sell it, but eventually gave it to Dorian who displayed it in his home.

At first Dorian Gray is naive, almost innocent. The combination of flattering words from Basil and philosophical enticing of his other friend, Lord Henry, who espoused hedonism, tempts him into an ever growing self-absorbed and malicious lifestyle. As he goes down this track he notices changes to the picture. Every time he does something evil, the image in the picture changes. The painted face absorbs the negative effect of his bad behavior. Over time, those around him age and degenerate, as does the picture image, but the man himself stays exactly as he was at the time the painting was created. The painting becomes the image of the evil man he grows into.

As he notices the changes, he removes the painting to a room where he keeps it locked and covered with a cloth. He begins to fear it and rarely looks at it. He becomes ever more depraved and is nearly found out, yet he continues to avoid detection or any sort of ill-effect. Eventually he commits several murders including the brother of a girl who commits suicide after he despoils and dumps her. He later murders the painter of the portrait when Hallward insists on seeing it again after many years. Finally, Dorian wants to reform. His version of doing a good deed is to tempt a young farm girl, then refrain from going through with debauching her. After explaining to Lord Henry how he is turning a new leaf and becoming good, his friend explains that he is only doing it to appease his own vanity. Dorian becomes enraged, then realizes that Lord Henry is right. He believes he is beyond reform. He decides to destroy the picture and grabs the same knife he used to murder Basil Hallward. He is found dead on the ground of the room where the portrait stands. Gray is on the floor with the knife in his chest with all the disfigurement caused by his deeds, while the portrait has returned to its original youthful version of himself.

Oscar Wilde is playing on the inner conflict we all share of good and evil. In this story, neither good nor evil win so much as evil ultimately loses. 
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