Excellent. All of the stories are good. The title novella is wonderful.

The final story, The Cloud, is dripping with atmosphere, a short story that drips like Keats' To Autumn. But it is so nuanced (obscure?) in some of its telling that I am not sure that I fully understand what has transpired. It deserves another slow reading. ( )

It seems some writers are better at writing novels, while some excel at writing short stories. John Fowles seems to belong to the former category. I think The ebony tower is his only book of short stories, together just 300 pages. These stories are apparently interconnected, but not to the extent that they form a novel. I didn't enjoy reading these stories very much as they seem to esoteric. Like some of his aother work, particularly A maggot and Mantissa these stories have a strong streak of the 1960s - 70s flower power and hippie culture, especially the title story " The ebony tower" with its apparent focus on free sex and unconventional relationships. The other stories did not interest me. ( )

This is a collection of short stories. The use of language is fantastic! The stories are not related and cover a range of themes, from socio-political divides between old & young generations, the meaning of art, the controversy between abstract v. representational art, honor, love, and more. In each story, Fowles verbally paints exquisite settings, tells enigmatic tales which stimulate the reader's intellect and emotions. Five stories, five fabulous literary gems! ( )

Fowles writes very elegant prose. His descriptions are beautiful. How sad that his stories don't go anywhere. ( )

5 סיפורים קצרים, אחד פולקלור. סיפור הכותר הוא נובלה קצרה בסגנון האהוב על פולס. גבר, שתי בחורות, אומנות מול מציאות, אהבה מול ארוטיקה, פולס טוב ואופיני. יתר הסיפורים נעים בין השבלוני למעצבן. ( )