Truly Grim Tales – Priscilla Galloway (Review)

Mass Market Paperback, 132 pages
Published October 13th 1998 by Laurel Leaf Books
Source: Library

Synopsis:
Based on the well-known fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault, and Hans Christian Andersen, these retellings will intrigue and disturb readers. From a futuristic “Little Red Riding Hood” in which giant clams and carnivorous beasts stalk humans, to the real reason why the giant in “Jack and the Beanstalk” needs to eat human bones, to a version of “Snow White” told from the wicked stepmother’s point of view, fans of fairy and folk tales will find much to interest them.

Review

This little known anthology (I say little known because it is pretty old and I wasn’t even aware of it unless it appeared in a reading list of one of my LIBR classes) contains fantastic retellings of popular tales translated and made known to the world by the Grimm brothers. Galloway’s reimaginations are such that they give the stories in question a fresh look and make them a pleasure to read. Even though the anthology was published seventeen years ago, the retellings are still very pertinent and very much meets contemporary society’s need to revision folktales and shape them into answering our needs.

 

I loved the retelling of Red Riding Hood. As the synopsis mentions, it’s a futuristic setting and Galloway manages to give both the beasts and the humans new dimensions and new depths that give their actions a deeper and more substantial meaning than in the original (not that the original had much substance but you get my meaning). Worth a mention is Jack and the Beanstalk which tells the story from the perspective of the giant’s wife and the story becomes something entirely different. I also really liked The Little Mermaid because I must admit that the original is not one I am a fan of.

 

I really encourage fans of fairy tales to give this anthology a try. It brilliantly retells the stories using perspectives a reader would not usually consider as being suitable for the story. It gives each story a curious depth and a completeness that is very much different from the superficial frothiness that the original tales have with the happy ever after tagged on at the end.

Steampunk III: Steampunk Revolution – Edited by Ann VanderMeer

Paperback, 432 pages
Published October 5th 2012 by Tachyon Publications
Source: E-galley provided by the publisher

Synopsis:
Playfully mashing up the romantic elegance of the Victorian era with whimsically modernized technology, this entertaining and edgy new anthology is the third installment in a bestselling steampunk series. Featuring a renegade collective of writers and artists—from beloved legends to rising talents—the steam-driven past is rebooted and powered by originality, wit, and adventure. Lev Grossman offers a different take on the Six Million Dollar Man who possesses appendages and workings from recycled metal parts, yet remains fully human, resilient, and determined. Catherynne M. Valente explores a new form of parenting within the merging of man and machine while Cherie Priest presents a new, unsettling mode of transportation. Bruce Sterling introduces steampunk’s younger cousin, salvage-punk, while speculating on how cities will be built in the future using preexisting materials and Jeff VanderMeer takes an antisteampunk perspective as a creator must turn his back on an utterly destructive creation. Going beyond the simple realms of corsets and goggles, this engaging collection takes readers on a wild ride through Victoriana and beyond.

Review

Steampuk III: Steampunk Revolution is an anthology brimming with glimpses of lives and worlds as diverse as reality. While all the stories have substance to them, I will review the ones that spoke to me in some way or other.

“Mother is a Machine” by Catherynne M. Valente

As is Valente’s style, this short story is vivid, provocative and disturbing. It takes a moment for the reader to situate herself in the narrative, find her ground, figure out who is what and what’s happening but once that is done, there is a definite thrill – this short story for all its briefness, speaks volumes about being human. About being inhuman. I finished reading and sat for a while just mulling over what I had read and now, days later I can still pull up the details in my mind as fresh as though I had read them yesterday.

“Possession” by Ben Peek

This was heartbreaking in a lot of different ways. The main character finds a woman, a “Returned,” as she is called due to her body being integrated with mechanical parts. This woman, Rachel, has lived for a long time and seen many things, too many things. The short story etches the last few moments of her life when she and Eliana, the main character, find each other, form a friendship of sorts and a connection. Beautiful and tragic.

“An Exhortation to Young Writers (Advice Tendered by Poor Mojo’s Giant Squid)” – David Erik  Nelson, Morgan Johnson and Fritz Swanson

This short story was more light hearted and featured a series of “texts” from a anthropomorphized giant squid who tenders advice to his readers in the midst of his own adventure. There is danger galore and threats of being turned into squid soup. The story is amusing and fast paced. I liked it.

“A Handful of Rice” – Vandana Singh

We move on to India where there is much discussion of prana, brotherhood and kings. At once foreign and familiar, this tale gives a glimpse of a world populated by colour, passion and peace. Contradictory and thought provoking.

“The Effluent Engine” – N. K. Jemisin

This story presents fascinating narratives about colour, race and colonization. Haiti with its freed slaves have constructed for themselves a country and they are determined to keep their freedom. This story gives us a brief glimpse of the desperate measures people will take where liberty is concerned. This was a bit spoiled for me however by the excessive attention to romance. I’m strange that way.

“To Follow the Waves” by Amal El-Mohtar

This one details the lengths one woman goes to find (and perhaps experience) another woman she saw for just a short second. Her love, if it can be called that, manifests itself in beautiful ways. She constructs dreams from precious stones and I found this new mythology definitely intriguing.

“Peace in Our Time” – Garth Nix

This was quite easily my favourite story of the bunch. I love Garth Nix’s writing and this short story with its lingering imagery and characters will stay with me for a very long time.

“White Fungus “ by Bruce Sterling

A story set in a post-apocalyptic world that details how a man tries to reclaim the land and along the way, love a woman who is not very keen on being loved. It was interesting though not my favourite.

There are also nonfiction articles on steampunk and I found those to be quite illuminating. On the whole, this anthology delivers and should keep an avid lover of all things steampunk entertained for a long time. I recommend reading one story at a time and not several in one go as these stories, though short, carry a lot of depth that need to be savored and absorbed slowly. I recommend this to those who like short stories and love steampunk. You won’t regret giving this one a try.

The Outspoken Princess and the Gentle Knight – By Various, Edited by Jack Zipes (review)

Hardcover, 237 pages
Published November 1st 1994 by Bantam
Source: Purchased

Synopsis:
Always provocative, frequently hilarious, and at times deeply poignant, these enchanting fairy tales–selected by children’s literature expert Jack Zipes–are as marvelous to read aloud with a child as they are to enjoy in solitude. Magnificent, original full-page and spot illustrations by Stephane Poulin enhance the text.

Review

Let me tell you the story about how this book and I met.

It was a rainy day in September and I was frantically looking through books at the Vancouver Public Library sale. This novel caught my eye but I put it aside convinced that I had no room in my suitcase (yes, I took a suitcase) for this title but then my eye snagged on it and it seemed to regard me sadly. So finally I decided that back be damned, I must have this book. And 75 cents later, it was mine.

Of course, it languished on my shelf for quite a while before I picked it up but it only took the first page before I fell in love. This series is edited by Jack Zipes, whose work in folktale and mythology is legendary and that this collection has been edited by him is only the highest badge it can receive. The novel contains stories by a variety of authors who write in a variety of styles but all of them do one important thing: they give new colour and a fresh twist to the tried and tired fairy tale.

The titular tales are also favourites of mine. The Gentle Knight by Richard Schickel goes a long way to recreating the tales of knights while the Outspoken Princess gives you another side to princesses. Another tale that I particularly liked is The Faithful Bull by Ernest Hemingway. All short tales are by turns poignant, funny and speak more candidly about what contemporary society needs in the way of fairy tales than the tales of yore. If you are like me and consume fairytales insatiably, this collection is for you.

Epic – Various (Review)

Paperback, 624 pages
Published November 1st 2012 by Tachyon Publications
Source: E-book by Publisher

Synopsis:

There is a sickness in the land. Prophets tell of the fall of empires, the rise of champions. Great beasts stir in vaults beneath the hills, beneath the waves. Armies mass. Gods walk. The world will be torn asunder.

Epic fantasy is storytelling at its biggest and best. From the creation myths and quest sagas of ancient times to the mega-popular fantasy novels of today, these are the stories that express our greatest hopes and fears, that create worlds so rich we long to return to them again and again, and that inspire us with their timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil—tales that transport us to the most ancient realms, and show us the most noble sacrifices, the most astonishing wonders.

Review:

I didn’t think it was possible but it actually is as this book showed me. This collection of short epic fantasy stories – which are admittedly longer than most short stories – present a particular subgenre of fantasy that has always intrigued me. I like fantasy a lot. Epic fantasy with a strong female protagonist is also one of  my favourite type of books so I jumped at the chance to review this one. And come on now, look at the line up of authors – most of them are award winning so double win, eh? Yes. It is a hefty book at over 600 pages but it contains in it some gems that make it worthwhile. My favourite story remains the first one by Robin Hobb. It is a journey of a woman, a rather cosseted woman who has lived her life as a pampered wife and daughter, into a wild and strange place. Her husband was exiled for treasonous behavior and they were sent with several other nobles to this strange land. The main character’s growth from the beginning of the story to its denouement is amazing and authentic. I love how she came into her own, discovered her strengths and made peace with her weaknesses. It definitely put Robin Hobb on my radar and I look forward to discovering more of her writing.

Another story that I really liked was by Brandon Sanderson. Despite owning a trilogy of his, I have yet to read anything by him. However, this very short story was enough to whet my appetite for more of his writing. Kate Elliott’s tale about a girl’s desire for more than what her father and society will give her is intriguing as is Kowal’s tale about a woman warrior pulled out of her time and into the future. Jemisin’s return to the world her most recent duology was set in was a pleasure to read.

There was only one story that I did not like. I did not like it a lot and it was by Moorcock. I dislike how he treated the female in his story. “Dumbly” and “mutely” were two adjectives used a lot on her and she was often stripped off her name as well and simply called “the girl.” Being a feminist and sensitive to these issues in literature, this raised my hackles. I recommend skipping his story. I wasn’t too impressed with Rothdfuss’s story either as the main character seemed like the male version of a Mary Sue.

So this collection is like a fruit salad. There are some sweet bits, some sour ones but over all, it has some brilliant stories. It is difficult to condense the world building and detailing necessary in an epic fantasy tale into the number of words dictated by short story standards but most of these authors succeeded. I recommend this collection if you like epic fantasy already. It is not a good introduction to the genre as the stories assume some sort of familiarity with the tropes of the genre being read but it is definitely worthwhile checking out.

Two and Twenty Dark Tales: Dark Retellings of Mother Goose Rhymes – Various

Paperback, 340 pages
Expected publication: October 16th 2012 by Month9Books
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

Review:

This anthology is populated by numerous stories that each take one specific Mother Goose tale and rewrite it as a YA paranormal short story. Some of these stories are more successful than others in correctly portraying the intent and feel of the original rhyme while others are more a facsimile of the original rhyme than a true retelling.

I enjoyed most of the stories. They truly are dark and do not promise a neat and tidy resolution at the end, most often having open-ended endings that could go either way. There are also potential longer stories that can be developed into novels and I have no doubt that some of the authors may just go that way. One of the creepiest stories in the collection just may be “Little Miss Muffet” though of course that could only be because I hate spiders so much. One I enjoyed a lot is “As Blue as the Sky and Just as Old” by Nina Berry. It was creepy and fulfilling in the short length it was granted. “Sing a Song of Six Pence” by Sarwat Chadda is also intriguing as is Blue by Sayantani Gupta.

Readers looking for a nostalgic look at childhood through the lens of this book will be disappointed but readers who go in expecting childhood dressed in somber colours with danger whispering in the corners will love this book.

Wonders of the Invisible World – Patricia Mckillip (Review)

Paperback, 240 pages
Expected publication: October 1st 2012 by Tachyon Publications
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

Stylistically rooted in fairy tale and mythology, imperceptible landscapes are explored in these opulent stories from a beloved fantasy icon. There are princesses dancing with dead suitors, a knight in love with an official of exotic lineage, and fortune’s fool stealing into the present instead of the future. In one mesmerizing tale, a time-traveling angel is forbidden to intervene in Cotton Mather’s religious ravings, while another narrative finds a wizard seduced in his youth by the Faerie Queen and returning the treasure that is rightfully hers. Bewitching, bittersweet, and deeply intoxicating, this collection draws elements from the fables of history and re-creates them in startlingly magical ways.

Review:

I have read Patricia Mckillip’s novels before, I am certain of that but for some reason, I did not remember just how fantastic her world weaving and wordsmithery really are. Wonders of the Invisible World satisfies on so many levels that had I the time, I would have reviewed each story in the anthology because each story deserves careful, individual attention. As it is, unfortunately, I do not have the time so I shall focus on a few favourites.

“Wonders of the Invisible World”

This story is a fantastic juxtaposition of the fantastical and science fiction. While the occasions referenced to in the story have a paranormal aspect, Mckillip gives it a much more benign framework when you realize that the main character is actually a time traveler and that the supernatural instances are carefully choreographed in part due to the new technology of the future. What I loved about this short story is how, even in the limited space present in a short story, Mckillip manages to infuse so much personality in all her characters. I would have happily read an entire book based on this premise and hopefully she will someday return to the world she creates in this story.

“The Kelpie”

McKillip portrays almost perfectly the languorous life of painters set in a time she does not explicitly state but one can infer that this could be during Renaissance or some similar time when art is flourishing. There is a sweetness to this story, a very real sense of danger in the mysterious and very sinister painter who is, despite all his unwelcome attention and unpleasant personality, very talented. Ned and Emma’s romance is so beautifully constructed without ever becoming too mushy, too romantic and melodramatic. And trust me, I am one of the most difficult people to convince where fictional romance is concerned. The paranormal aspects of this story neatly weaves in with the general atmosphere and the tone of the narrative as a whole. It satisfied me despite its shortness.

“Hunter’s Moon” and “Oak Hill”

These two stories are both short but pack a punch by their very pithy nature. None of the words, sentences in these two stories are wasted and it is only at the very end of them that you realize the weight of each sentence.

“Jack O’Lantern”

Perhaps my favourite in the entire collection, this story portrays the brief nature of childhood, the magic that is present even in children who straddle the fence between childhood and adulthood. The story manages to steal magic out of very ordinary circumstances and highlights the plight of women in a past England. It also very briefly, very sweetly shows us a lightning flash of romance. A lovely story that I will return to when I need some magic in my own life.

“Knight of the Well”

This one was delicious as well. It crafted a world where water is worshipped and infused it with life, vibrant characters and a story that could be narrated fully in the length of a short story. I loved this one as well.

“Naming Day”

This one was pithy, clever and an awesome juxtaposition of magic and the ordinary life.

As you can see by now, I loved all the stories in this collection and if I still have to tell you to try this out, well, you haven’t been reading my review. Honestly, if you like short stories, well, even if you don’t like them usually, give these a try. Patricia Mckillip is a master at what she does. Strongly recommended.

 

On the Day I Died – Candace Fleming (Review)

Hardcover, 208 pages
Expected publication: July 10th 2012 by Random House Children’s Books
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

The phenomenally versatile, award-winning author, Candace Fleming, gives teen and older tween readers ten ghost stories sure to send chills up their spines. Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each story takes place during a different time period from the 1860′s to the present, and ends with the narrator’s death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic posession, all against the backdrop of Chicago’s rich history—the Great Depression, the World’s Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

Review:

In the synopsis, the author is described, amongst other things, as versatile and that is certainly one of the adjectives I would wholeheartedly attach to her. This versatility is especially evident in On the Day I Died. It is quite difficult to develop different and distinct voices in one book and Fleming achieves it about ten different times in the same novel. The collection of stories all have one theme but are populated by teens from various times in history with very different social positions and ways of talking, thinking and other expression. Fleming stays true to the characters she creates and I felt that this was one of the reasons this collection is such a success.

Another factor that makes this collection of short stories so readable is that it encapsulates in its few pages an entire universe, a whole story. Sometimes, some short stories feel like short glimpses, very fragmentary and leaves the reader frustrated by its shortness but Fleming tells a whole story that feels complete on its own. These are poignant reflections that let readers glimpse the fickleness of life, of the inevitability and unfairness of death and more than that, it shows readers to take enjoyment in their lives. There are no obvious morals or preaching in the stories which I appreciated. The stories feel like you are in a house with many windows and you open one window to one different life and one character before closing it and then opening another one.

I liked this one a lot. I recommend it to anyone who likes something chilly, something interesting and something that leaves you wanting to read more.

Freud’s Alphabet – Jonathan Tel (Review)

Hardcover, 192 pages
Published June 19th 2003 by Counterpoint
Source: Purchased via Abebooks

Synopsis:
At once a delightfully inventive chronicle of Freud’s last days and an insightful reflection on Freudian existence.

Review:

I first came across Tel’s genius in The Beijing of Possibilities where he fills the pages with slyly connected stories that fall into place only at the very end. Freud’s Alphabet is his first collection and unlike the delightful Beijing of Possibilities, it is a whole lot more complex, smarter and perhaps just a bit inaccessible to people who are not familiar with Freud and his many theories concerning human psyche. Like me.

I believe I would have enjoyed the collection a lot more had I been better versed in Freud’s life and works. However, I have the scantiest knowledge, less than scanty, barely existing even, about Freud so I am forced to review this collection on the basis of its prose, the strength of its imagery and the slight insanity that manifested itself in a skein underneath the cadence of the written words. The stories play with language and images in a very interesting way. The stories are also collectively an ode to London. The stories are also a look at the world through a pair of spectacles that not many of us will ever get the chance to try on. The crispiness of the prose, the steadiness and confidence of the voice, these are all very interesting aspects to many of the stories. I also really liked the exploratory feelings towards expression and language in some of the stories.

I enjoyed this collection but not as much as I enjoyed Tel’s sophomore collection. This felt less human and more clinical for some reason. I hope Arafat’s Elephant is a funner read. I’d recommend this to aficionados of Freud and psychology rather than the average reader.

Blood and Other Cravings edited by Ellen Datlow

Hardcover, 320 pages
Published September 13th 2011 by Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
Source: Publisher

Synopsis:

When we think of vampires, instantly the image arises: fangs sunk deep into the throat of the victim. But bloodsucking is merely one form of vampirism. For this brilliantly original anthology, Ellen Datlow has commissioned stories from many of the most powerfully dark voices in contemporary horror, who conjure tales of vampirism that will chill readers to the marrow.

In addition to the traditional fanged vampires, Datlow presents stories about the leeching of emotion, the draining of the soul, and other dark deeds of predation and exploitation, infestation, and evisceration…tales of life essence, literal or metaphorical, stolen.

Seventeen stories, by such award-winning authors as Elizabeth Bear, Richard Bowes, Kathe Koja, Margo Lanagan, Carol Emshwiller, and Lisa Tuttle will petrify readers. With dark tales by Laird Barron, Barry Malzberg and Bill Pronzini, Kaaron Warren, and other powerful voices, this anthology will redefine the terror of vampires and vampirism.

Review:

Short stories and anthologies of short stories are much maligned because most of the times, readers do not believe that a short story can wholly encompass and totally tell the tale it seeks to. And maybe some stories don’t but in the case of the tales in Blood and Other Cravings, each story, no matter what its length, stands on its own and does not just tell the tale it seeks to but tells it in such a way that it will linger in your consciousness long after you have turned the page.

Ellen Datlow, the editor of this collection, has won numerous awards for her editing and once I read the stories, I understood why. Each story in the collection is crisp, evocative and terrifying. I’ll briefly review some of my favourite ones:

All You Can Do Is Breathe – Kaaron Warren

This story reads like a dream. A dream composed by darkness, fear even in the light of day. It slips into your mind and seizes it until at the end, you are feeling just as cold as the protagonist of the story and you have no idea what is going to happen next. The vampire is very real and yet it would seem that you made him up. Warren’s portrayal of the blood thirsty beings is utterly terrifying. And as beautiful in the way it probes the human psyche and the human need for survival and for heroes.

Needles – Elizabeth Bear

This would be what I call a story in transit. The fact that the tone of the story is a little prosaic, the fact that perspective is a bit skewed considering it is through inhuman lens that we view the world – all of these things conspire to make the unstated fear more pronounced than it would have been otherwise. The casual violence, the murder, the setting and the darkness. Yeah. This tale is to be savoured and read more than once.

Sweet Sorrow – Barbara Roden

This is a story by a local writer (yay for Can Lit) and oh my goodness, it is terrifying. Seriously terrifying. It takes a lot to scare me when I’m reading and this did it. It rips into the facade of familiarity, problematizes the placidity that people have when faced with things that they ostensibly “know.” After reading this story, you will be giving your neighbors second looks and wondering if you really do believe what you see. And the fact that story is told from the perspective of a little boy – your emotions are immediately involved and you are invested in the story, no matter how bloody it gets.

Mulberry Boys – Margo Lanagan

This just may be one of the strangest coming of age story that I have read. I pondered a long while after I had read it. I wasn’t sure what exactly it was telling me and why I had the feelings about it that I did. I mean, there was a kid and there was violence. I’m sure I was supposed to be feeling no small amount of horror but. This is a beautifully imagined and crafted tale that will make you think. Let you wonder about the things we turn blind eyes to simply because it profits us to do so.

So yeah, there are other stories in the anthology that I liked (actually I liked them all) but these are the ones that most resonated with me. Vampire stories in literature form (high lit for the literary snob) are not common. Blood and Other Cravings takes mythical beings who are currently starring in young girls’ dreams and strips them of their humanity and by doing so, presents them to the reader at their most terrifying. I recommend it to anyone who likes being terrified. Don’t let the fact that these are short stories turn you away. They tell the story in all its entirety and they tell it well. You may never look at vampires the same way again.

Einstein’s Dreams – Alan Lightman

Synopsis:

A modern classic, Einstein’s Dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.

Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.

My Review:

This book invites you to leave behind your conceptions of time and space and take a plunge into different worlds where time runs in different ways. It invites you to imagine, explore within yourself, the differences that would arise were time perceived in a different way. What it would mean and what its effects would be. Written in short vignettes, Alan Lightman gives breath to the dreams Einstein might have had. The interweaving of imagery and feeling with a sense of other worldliness will have you reading each piece once and again. This is not a book you read in one go and set aside with a warm glow of satisfaction. This is the book you keep on your shelf so that you can read it any time you feel like you need inspiration, each time you need to wonder at the world. It is profound.