31) “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood

Plot:

The narrator and his friend, known only as the Swede, take a canoe trip along the Danube. They plan to ride the river from its source in the Black Forest to the Black Sea. The narrator and the Swede have made similar trips in the past, but as the narrator tells the reader, “but the Danube, more than any other river I knew, impressed us from the very beginning with its aliveness.”

Things go well until after they pass “Pressburg” (Hungarian, Poszóny, the narrator helpfully tells the reader)—that is, present-day Bratislava in Slovakia—into Hungary. A Hungarian officer warns them against continuing. With the river in flood, they may take a side channel that dries up and leaves them in the middle of nowhere. With no farms or towns for miles, they could very well starve. They buy extra provisions but don’t worry about the flooded river. They go ahead.

The river flattens out, even in the flood stage where it is now, creating and destroying little islands in its wake.

The wind picks up, and the two find an island to camp on. The island is about an acre in size, with stunted willows growing around it. They have plenty of provisions and set their tent up in a broad depression, out of the worst of the wind.

While they gather driftwood for firewood (“willow bushes drop no branches,” the narrator informs the reader), they glimpse what appears to be a drowned man rolling in the river’s current. After it dives, they decide it was an otter—a big otter.

Thoughts:

From the beginning, Blackwood describes the Danube in terms of a living being. He depicts canoeing on it as being carried on the river’s shoulders. It plays with them roughly sometimes but remains friendly (until it doesn’t). They hear it singing to the moon at night.

The description is lovely, and the writing is enchanting, creating a palpable atmosphere. When things go south, it is all the more intense. The wind howls all night.

Having camped in wind strong enough I opened my eyes to find the tent’s walls a few inches from my nose, I was right there with the narrator and the Swede. How did they manage to eat? The wind blew my plate over. We had to sit in the car, which these guys didn’t have.

Even with the wind howling, the narrator hears things—the patter of little feet and something dropping onto the tent. He sees things—smoke or something rising from the willows. The Swede sleeps undisturbed.

In the morning, they find their canoe has been slashed. An oar is missing, along with some provisions—even though they are alone on the island. And there is a faint sound like a gong.

This is creepy and atmospheric. It takes a while, and not everything makes sense, but this is a nice scary tale when you’re alone with a cup of hot tea and the weather is cold and maybe stormy.

This story can be read here.

This story can be listened to here.

Bio: Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) was an English writer, playwright, journalist, and broadcaster. Much of his fiction deals with ghosts and the supernatural. He wrote approximately 200 short stories, plus essays, plays, novels, and some children’s works. During WWI, he volunteered as an ambulance driver but served in Switzerland as a spy.

His interests in Eastern philosophy and religion, as well as occult studies, influenced his writing. H. P. Lovecraft was a fan. Blackwood influenced many other writers, including William Hope Hodgson and Ramsey Campbell.

Among his best-known writing are the two novellas, “The Wendigo” and “The Willows.”



Title: “The Willows”
Author: Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951)
First published: The Listener and Other Stories, 1907


Note: Wow, what a trip theses reviews have been—a lot of work but a lot of fun. I’m glad they’re done. I hope people have enjoyed them or have found a good read or two. Happy Halloween!