The Beautiful Room by RB Russell. Chapbook review
THE BEAUTIFUL ROOM by R.B. Russell. Nightjar Press £3.00
Reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Publisher and editor Ray Russell is a man of taste, devoted to elegant fiction with a penchant for dark, ghostly and supernatural stories. As a writer he’s the author of two short story collections (Putting the Pieces in Place and  Literary Remains)  and of  the  novella “Bloody Baudelaireâ€.
Russell’s writing style is consistent with the refined nature of his literary choices.  Subtlety and ability to gently disquiet and unnerve the reader, wrapped in a classy polished wording, are the main characteristics of his fictional output.
“The Beautiful Roomâ€, a twelve-page booklet from Nightjar Press, is no exception.  The plot is quite simple. A couple, just relocated abroad, and looking for an apartment to rent, inspect a  house which immediately takes the woman’s fancy because of a gorgeous bedroom. The man, however, doesn’t share his mate’s enthusiasm and, in just a few sentences, Russell contrives to depict how the relationship has its uneasy moments and a slight undercurrent of  resentments and recriminations.
The discovery that a flock of birds is trapped within the room’s walls will lead to unexpected developments ending up in an ambiguous  Aickmanesque fashion apt to leave behind an unsettling sense of  foreboding.