The Hunger and Other Stories
Encyclopedia
The Hunger and Other Stories is the first collection of short stories
by Charles Beaumont
, published in April of 1957
. A British edition was published in 1964 under the title Shadow Play. The volume is out of print, and hard to find.
praised Beaumont for his portrayal of "an eery uncertain world of unexpected terrors and betrayals," although he faulted the story selection in the The Hunger for including "a few items weak in either concept or execution"; Boucher concluded, however, that the volume included "enough wholly admirable stories to make the book worth every reader's while."
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont
Charles Beaumont was a prolific American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres. He is remembered as a writer of classic Twilight Zone episodes, such as "The Howling Man", "Miniature", and "Printer's Devil", but also penned the...
, published in April of 1957
1957 in literature
The year 1957 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Lawrence Durrell publishes the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet. The final of the four volumes will be published in 1960....
. A British edition was published in 1964 under the title Shadow Play. The volume is out of print, and hard to find.
Stories collected
| Title | Originally published in |
|---|---|
| "Miss Gentilbelle" | Previously unpublished |
| "The Vanishing American" | August 1955 issue of F&SF |
| "A Point of Honor" / "I'll Do Anything" | November 1955 issue of Manhunt |
| "Fair Lady" | Previously unpublished |
| "Free Dirt" | May 1955 issue of F&SF |
| "Open House" | Previously unpublished |
| "The Train" | Previously unpublished |
| "The Dark Music" | August 1956 issue of Playboy |
| "The Customers" | Previously unpublished |
| "Last Night in the Rain" / "Sin Tower" | October 1956 issue of Nugget |
| "The Crooked Man" | August 1955 issue of Playboy |
| "Nursery Rhyme" | Previously unpublished |
| "The Murderers" | February 1955 issue of Esquire Esquire (magazine) Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:... |
| "The Hunger" | April 1955 issue of Playboy |
| "Tears of the Madonna" | Previously unpublished |
| "The Infernal Bouillabaisse" | Previously unpublished |
| "Black Country" | September 1954 issue of Playboy |
Reception
Anthony BoucherAnthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
praised Beaumont for his portrayal of "an eery uncertain world of unexpected terrors and betrayals," although he faulted the story selection in the The Hunger for including "a few items weak in either concept or execution"; Boucher concluded, however, that the volume included "enough wholly admirable stories to make the book worth every reader's while."