Sentence:  The stories did not seem to me to touch life. […] They left me with the <WSD>impression</WSD> of a well-delivered stereopticon lecture, with characters about as life-like as the shadows on the screen, and whisking on and off, at the mercy of the operator. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The overall effect of something, e.g., on a person.