Fastyngange: A novel (The International fiction list)

U.S.A.: Lester & Orpen Dennys Publishers, 1988. 1st Edition . Soft cover. Fine. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Stated First Edition.15.2 x 2.8 x 22.6 cm. Another novel for those who think they've heard it all, it being the story of a talking hole. Yes, a hole, or rather an oubliette, which not only serves as the story's chief driving force but also narrates the thing. It begins with a drunk happening upon the oubliette in a dark alley. Glad to have someone to chat with, the hole tells the drunk its story, which is actually the story of Alexis, a Toronto resident who travels by herself to England in a bid to escape a traumatic divorce. She finds herself inexorably drawn to the ruins of an age-old castle named Fastyngange, which houses the oubliette. Also lurking in the area are a score of ghosts, all of people who lost their lives, or at least their sanity, by falling down the hole. Among them is Alexis' ex, who went mad upon seeing what lay at the bottom of the oubliette, meaning a part of him remains in the area as a disembodied spirit.