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The Woodwitch (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)
The Woodwitch (Valancourt 20th Century Classics) | Stephen Gregory
3 posts | 2 read | 3 to read
'A thorough reinvention of the Gothic landscape . . . Gregory's voice and vision are wholly original.' - Ramsey Campbell 'Admirable . . . a queerly intense, hothouse atmosphere.' - "Newsday" 'A finely written and truly creepy novel with a haunting feel for decay and corruption.' - "Books" Andrew Pinkney is a young English solicitor's clerk with boyish good looks and a gentle manner. But he also has a dark side. When his girlfriend Jennifer laughs at his impotence, he lashes out in a violent rage, knocking her unconscious. At the suggestion of his employer, Andrew heads to an isolated cottage in the dark Welsh countryside to take a break and get a grip on himself. In the woods, he discovers the grotesque stinkhorn mushroom, whose phallic shape seems to rise in obscene mockery of his own shortcomings. But the stinkhorn gives him an idea, a way to win Jennifer back. As the seeds of obsession take root in Andrew's mind, he embarks on a nightmarish quest, with unexpected and horrifying results. Stephen Gregory earned worldwide acclaim with his first novel, "The Cormorant" (1986), which won the Somerset Maugham Award and was adapted for a BBC film. In "The Woodwitch" (1988), his second novel, Gregory once again proves himself a master of disturbing and unsettling horror. This edition features a new introduction by Paul Tremblay.
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review
ReadingOver50
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Mehso-so

We witness Andrew‘s descent into madness. This book is pretty disgusting. The cottage he is staying in is a breeding ground for fungus. He lives there even though fungus is growing on the walls and everything is damp. That really makes me squirm. Andrew is not a likable character. Really no one in the book is. Not my favorite book.

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review
nosferatu
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Mehso-so

A man spends the fall in the woods of Wales and becomes obsessed with cultivating stinkhorns, the phallus-shaped fungi that he thinks will redeem him from his actions back home.

What a mess! I came for the weirdness and the eco horror and stayed despite the slow plot, the arrogant protagonist and the absurd amount of violence against women. Seriously, it‘s too much – especially …

nosferatu … as it serves no purpose other than to confirm the main character‘s selfishness. At least the author excels at creating an atmosphere of constant clamminess, filth and paranoia. 2y
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blurb
TK-421
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I haven't read this. I'm not even sure when or where got this book, but it was on one of my YA/Kid shelves. Considering the cover, I thought maybe it's NOT a kid's book after all. Read the back..oh 😳Definitely NOT kid-friendly. #FAIL OK, reshelve. Genre? Check Goodreads for more info. Horror?!? Oops. And yeah, those mushrooms ARE meant to be phallic 😳 Glad that I discovered it was on the wrong shelf before any harm was done! #woods #coolbooks

ravenlee That sounds creepy as hell. 7y
PenguinInFlight I read this years and years ago, and remember it being pretty messed up. 7y
Zelma That sounds awful! Good catch finding and reshelving. 7y
See All 9 Comments
TK-421 @ravenlee @PenguinInFlight Yeah, it sounds pretty messed up! Not sure if I want to read it 7y
TK-421 @Zelma Fortunately none of our nieces & nephews found it, so phew! I might need to double check my "kid-friendly" shelves to make sure there aren't any other surprises! 7y
arlenefinnigan Phallic Mushrooms would be a good name for a band. 7y
Linsy 😱 I would‘ve done the same thing! That mushroom did not even register as phallic to me until you pointed it out. Now, of course, I can‘t unsee it. 🤣 (edited) 7y
TK-421 @Linsy I must not have noticed it either at first, but yeah, can't unsee! 😂 7y
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