Finished Level's Tales of Mystery and Horror collection last night. Only two (or possibly three) stories actually qualify as "weird" in any real sense, the rest being "dark realism" of the conte cruel type -- though I will have to disagree with the common statement that Level relies quite so heavily on the "O. Henry" sort of twist ending. He has his share of those, yes, but in many cases the ending is the inevitable outcome of what has gone before; often you are quite aware of where it is headed, and it is the ineluctable plodding step by step to the scaffold that turns the screw here. He is also given to a deeply bitter and cynical view in these tales, which is rather interesting, considering that, according to several sources, he was himself quite a jovial and even convivial fellow. It may stem -- as he himself said -- from his being more somber in his youth, when many of his tales were written or at least conceived.
At any rate, while not generally supernatural, they are superb examples of the form, and well worth looking up. It's a darned shame his work isn't more widely known today... at least in English-speaking countries (I can't say how he is viewed now in France). Some very powerful stuff here.
And now, thanks to Lobo's providing a link for it, I'll be moving on L'Ombre (English title: Those Who Return), by the same author....
