“The Funeral”
What I found most useful in this story is the sense of perspective, and how the POV character needn't necessarily be the main character. The story is told from Morton Silkline's perspective - the Director of a little cut-rate funeral home. While the story is his, I would argue that he doesn't really experience any change and isn't really the main character. It's the vampire Ludwig Asper who is looking for a change, and ultimately receives it in the form of the funeral he never had.
There's a good sense of humor in this story as well, a gather of undead to give one of their own a proper burial. I think Matheson does well at portraying each of these individuals - a witch, a mad scientist, Ygor - with their own personalities beyond the stock characters they're derived from. The brief interactions we see during the funeral get the reader beyond the standard images.
“Dress of White Silk”
Telling a story from a child's point of view is a challenge. Telling it in a child's language is a challenge as well. This piece was a little difficult for me to get engaged with because of Matheson's lack of punctuation and the poor grammar (both intentional). This has the feel of an experimental piece.
I think that to be an effective writer at this sort of thing takes a lot of practice. I kept thinking of Cormac McCarthy and his breaking of the rules. I think the challenge put to the reader must be rewarded by the payoff, and in this case, I don't think the payoff was worth it. A good story, yes, but I think it would have been just as effective told with more conventional grammar and just using the child's point of view.
“Witch War”
Why didn't someone tell me there were so many vignette's in "I Am Legend"?
Anyhow, this little snippet is almost poetry. It's a great collection of images given in clear, if abrupt, language:
Sky clearing its throat with thunder, picking and dropping ling lightening from immeasurable shoulders. Rain hushing the world, bowing the trees, pocking earth. Square building, low, with one wall plastic.
It's what really stands out to me here. Matheson's use of imagery is overpowering here, which is okay since there's not much other than an intriguiging incident here. Not even a main character to speak of, nor a clear conflict other than the generic conflict we find in any war. As a writer, the poetics of this piece really appeal to me, and I think it's a good example of how to work poetic images into narrative.
“Prey”
This vignette by Matheson gives an interesting parallel between a horrible little Zuni fetish doll, and the power of a parent over their child. As a reader, I enjoyed the chase and suspense of the woman being hunted by this little hunter. It's a cool little encounter.
What I found most valuable as a writer, though, is the phone conversation between mother and daughter, as well as their family dynamic. Mother is manipulative and demanding, and is preying on her daughter's emotions. It felt a little bizarre at first, having Matheson take us from this emotionally charged interaction into this physically charged chase. But, I found myself hoping that this little chase would give Amelia the strength (change her character) to stand up to her mother and start taking control of her own life.
Not quite what happens, but the ending is still satisfying to me as a reader.
“The Near Departed”
Another interesting little vignette by Matheson. To be honest, though, I didn't find anything particularly interesting from a writer's perspective. The dialog is plain, there's little action, no real sense of tension, and the ending is standard "Twilight Zone" material.
“Buried Talents”
This vignette by Richard Matheson presents an interesting technique for escalation. It's brief story of an odd man who plays a game at the fair, the one where you chuck ping-pong balls into a fish bowl, and never misses.
The escalation is just that - the man never misses. It is, by nature of the scene, repetitive, but it's the repetition of the man's success that builds the story, bringing the reader along. Will he ever miss? Is he a shill? The carny gets first annoyed, the suspicious, and finally upset as this stranger drops ball after ball in the same fish bowl.
As a writer, this story presents a fine example of escalation through repetition.
As a reader, I'm left without answers. But, such can be the nature of a vignette.
David L. Day
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