Dominic Selwood is the author of the short story entitled “Suffer the Children”. As a modern writer Selwood has a very traditional style, not something that is often seen. Nevertheless, it still makes for some interesting reading. The word that comes to mind when looking at his work is “rich”, and if this isn’t a natural gift then it requires a lot of time and effort to achieve perfectly.
The story takes place in the early 1900’s and the narrator is an Oxford teacher, who is getting ready to spend his vacation in Norfolk to work on a project. A fellow colleague by the name of Drower invites him to board at his house during his stay there, which he gladly accepts. However, he is forced to spend his first day indoors due to the bad weather.
The narrator decides to do some reading in the library of the house when he comes across a notebook that was written by Drower’s late father. It tells of his journey to Naples and the friendship he formed with a local priest called Don Anselmo. Dining together became a habit for them, seeing as none of them had any family in the area. One night the Anselmo fails to show up and when Drower goes to his house to see if everything is alright he discovers a terrible curse on the town.
Even though the whole story unfolds within only 19 pages, it feels a lot longer. The reason for this is in Selwood’s style. He has a very good sense of providing detailed and colorful information in the right places, while leaving out sections that won’t really add value. For short story writers this is a very challenging task, because less is more and you have to know exactly where to make the cuts.
It’s definitely a short story that cannot be categorized under the “easy reading” section. Selwood’s turn of phrase and use of vocabulary is quite extensive, much like a classic, traditional English novel. He obviously loves the English language very much, because he handles it with great respect. Compared to most modern short stories it takes longer to read, but it is well worth it. Selwood has the most beautiful way of describing the most mundane thing, which says a lot about his ability to capture the reader’s attention immediately.
It seems that a great deal of attraction to modern stories is the casual tone along with graphic details. So for the more casual reader who likes a gory thrill it’s probably not the most entertaining choice.
Ultimately, Selwood has written what can only be described as a perfect short story. Any reader who loves a high quality work of fiction will definitely appreciate this short story, because the research alone is fascinating – it is rich with interesting information and references, but it also captures a pleasantly dark mood. There is nothing predictable about the story and the only way to know what is going to happen next is by reading the next page.
Reviewed by Damnetha Jules
Damnetha is a staff writer, horror book and movie critic.