The Astrakhan, the Homburg, and the Red Red Coal

I must admit that I lied when I checked off that I had read this story. In fact, I skipped it, because I have found his work unreadable, and I wasn't quite up to bludgeoning my way through yet another turgid block of prose.

If I leave the rating blank, does that mean that I have finally discovered how to award a story zero stars???

"Two for flinching" [with apologies to Stand by Me] - sorry.