*Partial spoilers ahead*

As several other reviewers have noted, it's never made entirely clear what's happening in Peter Straub's 2011 novella The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine. Readers unfamiliar with Straub may be vexed by this lack of a clear resolution, but it will not surprise longtime fans of the late horror author; Robert Aickman became an increasingly prominent influence on Straub's latter-day work, and this little book brims with echoes of Aickman's ambiguously unsettling style. (However, it doesn't read at all like Aickman's stories, which tend to be characterized even in their darkest moments by a perverse whimsy. There's no whimsy in Ballard and Sandrine; the darkness is oppressive, claustrophobic.)

The premise seems straightforward enough: the Amazon River is actually hell, and Ballard and Sandrine are trapped in it. But the particulars of their hell are indistinct. We know they lived on the edge and enjoyed hurting each other, but it appears that eventually they crossed a line and allowed other people to be harmed for their gratification. Was there, at some point, a physical voyage down the Amazon on a yacht? Perhaps, but a dreadful uncertainty is part of the torment that's being visited upon them. The only thing they can be sure of is that they find themselves on the yacht again and again...always a little older and more confused, their bodies always a little more broken. The dimensions of the yacht's galley are all wrong; it's impossibly large, like the cathedral crypt in Aickman's story "The Cicerones," and Ballard remembers having glimpsed something horrific there.

Ballard is, or was, engaged in a dangerous line of work which is alluded to but never fully explained. However, when he meets Sandrine in 1969 and decides to corrupt her (or at least to accelerate the corruption she's already undergoing), Ballard takes the girl to his house in Harrison, New York. This location is not a random detail: Straub had a specific reason for choosing it, as specific as his reason for naming fictional hotels "Pforzheimer" and "St. Alwyn" in various other works. (See my review of Straub's Ghost Story here at LibraryThing for additional clues). The novella's climax takes place on the yacht in 1997, but just what happens to Ballard and Sandrine--and why--remains murky. Wonderfully so, if you like this brand of horror.

Peter Straub wrote a couple of other novellas in the twilight of his career, but nothing half as good as this; in fact, The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine is far superior to his final full-length novel A Dark Matter (2010). Newbies should not begin here, but Straub fanatics will be pleased. ( )

Every so often, I'll come across a book and wonder what I just read. When this happens, I either put the book down and go for a walk, or I turn to the first page and try again. I went for a walk today.

The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine tells the story of two lovers - an older man and the daughter of his client - throughout the decades. Think Memento, if Memento ended with the beginning, as well.

Normally, I'll rehash some of the events for summary purposes, but I don't know what I read, so I can't. I know that they're on a boat. That Sandrine is a bit independent. That they both fell in love with each other the moment they met each other. That Ballard might have something to do with the mob. That, on the yacht, an invisible bird-speaking servants run the show. And thrown in there is a giant bug in a cage, which they might be eating, or they might be eating toucan. ( )

Sandrine and Ballard make an unusual couple. He is many years her senior and over the course of this short novella they enjoy a passionate, if unsettling, relationship that spans 25 years. Their story takes place on the Amazon River as they cruise on several different yachts. Although on the surface everything seems normal and quite idyllic, the reader soon discovers there is a dark side to relationship - in more ways than one.

Peter Straub had always been a “take him or leave him” kind of author for me personally, despite the fact that I do gravitate towards his books from time to time. Although this little e-book sounded intriguing in its description it was a little too disjointed for my taste. Neither of the principal characters really appealed to me in any way, so the madness and horror that ensued lost its power. The ongoing poetic descriptions of floating down the Amazon just were not enough to carry the book. Sorry Mr. Straub but for me this one was a miss.
( )

So a book about mystery sure had me guessing...In fact once my 93 pages were turned, I still had no idea what the hell was going on. Each chapter was a snippet out of the unuaul lives/relationship of Ballard and Sandrine (Ballard being quite a bit older than Sandrine). 1997 begins the tale, then it progresses backwards, then jumps back up and ends back in 1997 when all is said and done. I think I understand the the basic points of the story, but still dont know why they are on the Sweet Delights yacht, why there is so much mystery around the yacht and the natives who work on it, what kind of witchcraft occurred in Manaus with Sandrine. In fact the only thing i really do understand is that in the end the story truly is a ballad, ending sadly, but to what purpose, i dont know...maybe it has to do with the We (and that should always be boldface)...

I dont think I will read any more Straub, but for what it is worth, the strange sexual story with graphic undertones, did keep me reading thru the end, so 'well done' on writing a story which got me lost but kept me turning pages.

Subterranean Press 119/350 ( )

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Ballard, a wealthy businessman, and Sandrine, his much younger lover, are cruising down the Amazon River in a mysterious yacht. The crew is never seen, blank-eyed natives watch the boat from the river�??s shores, and there seems to be a dangerous predator in the river. The dimensions of the yacht donƒ??t make sense, the delicious food is unidentifiable, and itƒ??s not clear how long Ballard and Sandrine have been on the boat.

Presumably, theyƒ??re taking a vacation somewhere out of the reach of Ballardƒ??s clients and Sandrineƒ??s husband, but as the story goes on, it seems that theyƒ??re also moving through time as they travel down the mighty river. We see the couple at various ages during the trip, always appearing a little uncomfortable with their feelings of disorientation and d??j?ÿ vu.

Add to this eerie situation the unusual and revolting sexual fetish that brought Ballard and Sandrine together, and youƒ??ve got quite an unsettling little horror story.

The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine is only 96 pages long, making this a novella that can easily be read in an evening. Straub succeeds in alarming the reader right from the start ƒ?? why is Sandrine lying naked on a cold trenched metal workbench? The flutter in my stomach never went away and it only intensified as further disconcerting and indecipherable discoveries were made.

There is some beauty in The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine ƒ?? theyƒ??re floating through the lush Amazon, after all ƒ?? but these glimpses are too brief to alleviate the disturbing feelings of imminent doom. I love the idea of a time-travel yacht trip down the exotic Amazon River, and I would have even enjoyed the terror if it hadnƒ??t been for the aforementioned sexual fetish. Itƒ??s intricately linked to the story and the plot relies upon it, but it was too much for my delicate senses. Less sensitive readers are more likely to enjoy The Ballad of Ballard and Sandrine. ( )