Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 154 ratings

Price: 15.04

Last update: 07-30-2024


Top reviews from the United States

Lia Rusu
5.0 out of 5 stars Challenging
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023
Always a pleasure to read one of Jeanette Winterson's creations.

This, maybe, the most challenging for the reader so far, with articulate and pertinent questions from the first page through to the last.

I recommend it to all those who are haunted by questions and less than usual experiences involving the departed and/or life after death.

The book felt like an open meditation inviting you to add your own stories and thoughts.
JFL
4.0 out of 5 stars Traditional and novel ghost stories! Enjoyed this!
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of ghostly tales, but then, I may be biased; I’m a sucker for a good haunting. Of course, I did have my favorites.

I especially enjoyed “A Fur Coat”, “App-Arition” and “The Spare Room”, primarily because the haunted in these stories isn’t necessarily the living, but the dead haunting themselves or one another. Indeed, that was the attraction for me in Winterson’s tales: they challenged the concept of haunting, yet remained authentic to the trope of the traditional ghost story. Readers shouldn’t expect to be thrown into a new genre here; this is not speculative horror, but tried-and-true revised into immersive stories.

And, of course, the revelations in these stories are more about the living than the dead, which is ultimately the mark of a good short story.

The collection as a whole is fantastic, and follows through on this tightrope balance between showing the reader something novel and satisfying their hankering and expectations of the “ghost story” trope. In some stories, Winterson brings in an element of the contemporary through technology and devices we use today, in other cases, it is the characters’ quotidian lives in the present — marred somehow with an encounter with death and the dead — that makes it clear to the reader there is an anachronistic meeting of time here.

Winterson’s writing is superb, well-suited to the genre of the short story form. With few words wasted on exposition and an emphasis on characters’ thoughts, Winterson quickly immerses the reader in the story. It is everything a reader wants from this short form.

Halloween has passed, but Winter is upon us; put this on your list for this year’s gloomy, deathly season.
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars What a treasure trove of modern ghost stories.
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2024
Imaginative, well-written and engaging stories by the gifted Winterson. i have enjoyed reading this collection and gifted it to friends over the holidays.
Erminia
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite authors.
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2023
Beautifully written. Could not put down.
Pope Mel
4.0 out of 5 stars Spooky Stories for Grownups
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2023
More mysterious than horrific, this is a nice collection of ghost stories for grownups. Winterson's writing is moody and atmospheric, her characters lonely and defeated . . . the perfect combination for engendering things that go bump in the night. Highly recommended for anyone looking for some mild chills.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the ARC.
McBailey
5.0 out of 5 stars Winterson knocks another one out of the park!
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2023
Jeanette Winterson has long been a favorite of mine. Even when I wasn't a hundred percent sure of what was going on, there were lesbians so it was all good.
"Night Side of the River" is a bit different. For anyone who may have found some of her previous works inaccessible due to either the writing or the lesbians, will have no cause to skip this book of wonderful ghost stories.
Some reviewers seemed to prefer one part over others (e.g. technology or grief). I loved them all and was especially taken with Winterson's take on ghosts and our digital "afterlives".
Jeanette Winterson has always been an astute and masterful writer and this book is no different. If you enjoy ghost stories I really think you should read this book.
Thank you, Jeanette Winterson!
Annarella
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2023
I love Jeanette Winterson and I could read and love the shopping list. This an excellent collection of ghost stories and I loved them
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
YJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Spooky but Comforting Ghost Stories with a Touch of Black Mirror
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023
Interesting takes on the traditional ghost story, and I enjoyed that this book gave more comfort than spooks. Between stories, there are meditations on the function and context of ghost stories as a whole, and I found this book questioning the very concept of ghosts. What about ghost stories frighten us? What about a life in the beyond comforts us? What keeps a soul tethered to existence? The first few chapters that also introduced the technology and devices component were most compelling to me, and I could see them being made into Black Mirror episodes. I also very much enjoyed the story of the wedding - a bit of queer cosmic justice.

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