This book definitely toed the line between mentally disturbed violence and eeriness for the sake of creating a fantasy world. I have no idea how it compared to the original Hungarian, but the translation was very readable most of the time. The types of themes you'll run into include animal torture, matricide, and all forms of objectification of women's bodies. There are stories that are more or less harmless as well, but the overwhelming note of sadism will probably leave the strongest taste in your mouth. I'd say 'proceed with caution' but that'd only attract people who'd be into this book in the first place.

Opium and Other Stories by Geza Csath was really wild and I found it incredibly disturbing knowing that he killed his wife. This was not my cup of tea but I am very thankful for the physical arc!

Some of the short stories in this collection are very beautiful indeed, definitely comparable to those of some of the best-known storytellers of the period. Short, naughty, merciless, they are really enjoyable to read and give an idea of the tormented mind that must have written them. Others are little more than sketches, weak narratives, somewhat incomplete. In any case, a book that deserves to be read.

These stories from those either addicted to opium overwritten on opium in the beginning of the book we hear from the author explaining to us who wrote the stories, why they rolled him etc. and then we get to the stories I love short stories folktales it’s so I love this book not only the stories but the history the mostly Gothic tales in written in the Victorian era but OMG I really loved this book I did find it suspect some of the things the author said in the book put as it was under their opinion I am only giving mine… I guess by saying I found some of what the author said ridiculous but having said that it is still so worth reading if you like anything to do with history short stories the Victorian era in the early 20th century this book will be right up your alley. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it in two days. I received this book from NetGalley and Europa addition's but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Opium and Other Stories – Geza Csath (translated from the Hungarian by Jascha Kessler and Charlotte Rogers)

“At these times, a marked tendency reveals itself for the individual to look inward for sources of, shall we say, truth, because the fragmented society, like shards of a broken mirror, reflects too many possible truths”.

I took this quote from the introduction to this book from Angela Carter – hope it provides somewhat of an insight of what to expect.

“Opium and Other Stories” are the collected fictions of Joszef Brenner, pen name Geza Csath, who wrote the majority of them in the years leading up to and during the First World War, before ultimately taking his own life having murdered his wife, the end result of years of paranoia driven by drug description.

That brief biography should give some idea to what to expect in these stories: dark tales laced uneasily with sentimentality, centred massively on drugs and carrying a dreamlike haze, a suitable representation of an opium haze, I imagine. There is a mix of styles and directness throughout – Brenner was a specialist in nervous disorders, and some of the creepiness in some stories is how direct they are in tone, almost a doctor’s report of morally ambiguous (at best) acts and deeds.

Csath’s descriptions of drug addiction are tough to read, especially knowing how his life ended. “Opium” presents a life frozen in time by addiction, not so much pain relieved as pain frozen. In “The Surgeon”, the titular character talks of opium causing time to slow to glacial pace:

“Hence in one single day I live a thousand years…”

Such stories induce a sense of vertigo, in Carter’s words, and then you will get a sense of whiplash where Csath shows children at their worst, presuming a sense of innocence before demolishing it as the youngsters kill and maim. This seems to be Csath’s purest depiction of his belief in the world as self-centred to the point of evil, and a lot of the stories here also dive into these waters.

As you can surmise, this is not a collection for the faint-hearted, but I appreciated it as a historical document of a time where central Europe was on a precipice. Really not for everyone, but definitely has an audience to find.

Published by @europaeditions on 13th December, thanks to them and @netgalley for copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eerie and unsettlingly nihilistic stories. It's hard to pin down a single genre or mood: the introduction, like most discussion of Csath, focuses on the most transgressively violent ones: child matricides, murdered girls, incestuous desires. But there are also surreal dream-like fairy-tales ("The Countess") and strange but utterly compelling vignettes (e.g. "Trepov on the Dissecting Table" – maybe my favorite story in the collection.

I’m afraid I found these stories unpleasant and unnecessary. There was no cleverness is the plotting or telling of the stories. The translation was good, so I don’t think anything was lost in the retelling. I cannot recommend this book to anyone.