By Tanith Lee
Christian is dying and he wishes to die alone. So he takes himself off to a mansion in France that he has inherited with the desire to shut out the world and then kill himself when he can no longer bear the pain.
It's an uncanny and strange place where this mansion is located and the locals seem fearful and suspicious of Christian. There are peculiar icons and odd crosses and the stained glass window in the church of the Virgin Mary doesn't seem quite right.
Christian then encounters a weird family, the de Lagenays, a man and a woman. They claim to be werewolves and turns out they are. Christian becomes quite involved with these two people, even to the extent of firing the staff at the mansion and letting the de Lagenays move in.
The villagers are not happy to see Christian and the de Lagenays getting so cozy. Christian's ancestors and the de Lagenays have an ancient history and the villagers are worried history is repeating itself. And they are going to stop it, even if they have to commit murder.
This was an OK story. Christian turns out to be selfish and the werewolves turn out to be very nonthreatening. It's hard to see what the villagers are so riled up about, these werewolves are not man-killers. They are only occasionally man-nippers. Anyway, Christian goes his selfish way and the whole thing ends rather sadly. Isn't it irritating when escapist literature tries to take itself too seriously?
New Words
Memento mori: Memento mori is a Latin phrase that may be translated as "Remember that you are mortal," "Remember you will die," "Remember that you must die," or "Remember your death". 'The memento mori of this was intolerably banal to him.'
Galvanic: electric, affected by emotion as if by electricity; thrilling. 'Unbound from its prim butcher's roll, her hair lay over her shoulder blades; coarse, dun peasant hair, but strong and galvanic.'
Auberge: hostel, a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers. '"Some auberge will be open for business, no doubt."'
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