Small House of Everything

Small House of Everything

Thursday, July 18, 2013

I LOVE GALESBURG IN THE SPRINGTIME

I Love Galesburg in the Springtime by Jack Finney (1962)

Jack Finney is best remembered, if at all, as the author of The Body Snatchers, filmed multiple times as Invasion of the Body Snatchers.  Other movies based on Finney's novels include 5 Against the House, Assault on a Queen, House of Numbers, Good Neighbor Sam, and Maxie (from the novel Marion's Wall).  One of his best books, Time and Again, was certainly a major influence on Richard Matheson's Bid Time Return, aka Somewhere in Time.

Finney's short stories were marvelously-crafted gems, some of which were collected in two books:  The Third Level (1957) and this one.  (A collection of selections from both books was published in 1986 as About Time.)  Galesburg has never been reprinted in this country.  What a shame.

The ten stories (mainly fantasy) in this volume come from the "slicks" of the 50s and early 60s:

  • "I Love Galesburg in the Springtime" (from McCall's, April 1960)
  • Love, Your Magic Spell is Everywhere (from McCall's, as "The Man with the Magic Glasses,"  [month?] 1962)
  • Where the Cluetts Are (from McCall's, January 1962)
  • Hey, Look at Me! (from Playboy,  September 1962)
  • A Possible Candidate for the Presidency (from Collier's, as "Tiger Tamer," [month?] 1952)
  • Prison Legend (from Saturday Evening Post, as "Seven Days to Live", January 10, 1959)
  • The Face in the Photo (from Saturday Evening Post, as "Time Has No Boundaries," October 13, 1952)
  • The Intrepid Aeronaut (from McCall's, as "An Old Tune," [month?] 1961)
  • The Coin Collector (from Saturday Evening Post, as "The Other Wife," January 30, 1960)
  • The Love Letter (from Saturday Evening Post, August 1, 1959)
Great stuff.

This link should take you to some of the stories (plus one other) in this collection.  Check it out.

http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/short-stories/17830626/love-letter

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