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The stories in Kelly Link’s first collection are a lot of things at once: funny, surprising, unsettling, tender, taking place in a world which is definitely ours, but slightly askew. She’s published three more collections since but this first one remains my favorite. Things, or more precisely people, keep turning into other things; dogs, blond aliens, invisible, ghosts and other ways of being dead. Familiar elements of fairy tales and myths appear and are made unfamiliar again (“Ladies. Has it ever occurred to you that fairy tales aren’t easy on the feet?”). The stories feel light and deft, but with something heavier lurking at the edges and occasionally taking center stage. They’re tightly written – none drag on, and they’ll all pull you in.
The stories in Kelly Link’s first collection are a lot of things at once: funny, surprising, unsettling, tender, taking place in a world which is definitely ours, but slightly askew. She’s published three more collections since but this first one remains my favorite. Things, or more precisely people, keep turning into other things; dogs, blond aliens, invisible, ghosts and other ways of being dead. Familiar elements of fairy tales and myths appear and are made unfamiliar again (“Ladies. Has it ever occurred to you that fairy tales aren’t easy on the feet?”). The stories feel light and deft, but with something heavier lurking at the edges and occasionally taking center stage. They’re tightly written – none drag on, and they’ll all pull you in.
This collection is a particularly good summer read right now, with characters navigating off-kilter and sometimes threatening worlds and giving us great stories along the way. I’d recommend all the stories but especially “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose,” “The Specialist’s Hat,” “Travels with the Snow Queen,” “Louise’s Ghost,” and “The Girl Detective.” This book is also available as a free download in multiple formats on the publisher's website.
This collection is a particularly good summer read right now, with characters navigating off-kilter and sometimes threatening worlds and giving us great stories along the way. I’d recommend all the stories but especially “Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose,” “The Specialist’s Hat,” “Travels with the Snow Queen,” “Louise’s Ghost,” and “The Girl Detective.” This book is also available as a free download in multiple formats on the publisher's website.
Review by Shay Elbaum
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