Apartment 14F: An Oriental Ghost Story
Written by Christian Saunders
A Londoner named Jerry leaves his homeland behind for a year in Beijing, with a new job teaching English, and a new home at the top of an aged apartment building. Aside from the elderly woman who works as an elevator attendant, Jerry goes through his daily life mostly on his own – but the strange noises he hears and the vivid dreams he starts having soon make him question whether he really is alone in Apartment 14F.
Given the influence Asian horror movies have had in the last decade, it’s a wonder that more Western writers haven’t taken to setting their stories there. In the case of Christian Saunders, personal experience plays a large part, being that he, like his protagonist, has lived as an ex-pat in China. So too have I, the writer currently reviewing his work, and as such there is plenty in Apartment 14F that I can relate to – the sense of isolation and alienation, being a stranger in a strange land. However, that alone was not enough to grip me as a reader.
It’s a very short novella, barely fifty pages, and as such can comfortably be read in one sitting, but honestly even over so comparatively brief a length the narrative feels too thinly spread, and would probably have lent itself better to a short story. Saunders’ writing style, also, leaves the reader wanting more. Adopting a very matter-of-fact third person voice, Jerry’s tale is told in a somewhat distant, detached fashion, never really allowing us to get into the protagonist’s head, let alone the few other characters that enter proceedings. This sense of detachment also means there’s very little feeling of dread or suspense, even when the supernatural rears its bedraggled, white-skinned, long-black-hair strewn head (yes, distinct echoes of the ghosts from The Ring and The Grudge movies, which I’m sure is not accidental).
The writing is more assured when describing the sights and sounds of the streets of China, painting a detailed and (based on my own experience) largely accurate portrait of the country’s urban landscape. But once again, there’s a lack of emotional content, these passages reading more like a travelogue than a horror story. Given that Saunders’ bio lists plenty of articles for the likes of Fortean Times and Bizarre, plus a book entitled Into the Dragon’s Lair – A Supernatural History of Wales, it’s not hard to wonder if non-fiction is more his forte.
I’ll always have respect for someone going the independent route, doing whatever it takes to put their work out there, but the work in question has to command attention, compel interest, and on some level challenge convention. Apartment 14F, I’m sorry to say, doesn’t do any of these things. While readable, it’s insubstantial, and ultimately forgettable.
Apartment 14F will be available in print and PDF from September 1 2009 at www.damnationbooks.com.
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