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Head of Zeus White Cat, Black Dog.
Seven modern fairytales from Pulitzer Prize finalist Kelly Link, featuring illustrations by award-winning artist Shaun Tan.
Leaving behind the enchanted castles, deep, dark woods and gingerbread cottages of fairy tales for airport waiting rooms, alien planets and a cannabis farm run by a team of hospitable cats, White Cat, Black Dog offers a fresh take on the stories that you thought you knew. Here you'll find stoner students, failing actors and stranded professors questing for love, revenge or even just a sense of purpose.
Poised on the edges between magic, modernity and mundanity, this collection will remind you once again of why Kelly Link is incomparable in the realm of short fiction.
Don't stray from the path! Not without Kelly Link as your guide.
Leaving behind the enchanted castles, deep, dark woods and gingerbread cottages of fairy tales for airport waiting rooms, alien planets and a cannabis farm run by a team of hospitable cats, White Cat, Black Dog offers a fresh take on the stories that you thought you knew. Here you'll find stoner students, failing actors and stranded professors questing for love, revenge or even just a sense of purpose.
Poised on the edges between magic, modernity and mundanity, this collection will remind you once again of why Kelly Link is incomparable in the realm of short fiction.
Don't stray from the path! Not without Kelly Link as your guide.
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 28, 2023
921 people are currently reading
20099 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Link
212 books2,685 followersKelly Link is an American author best known for her short stories, which span a wide variety of genres - most notably magic realism, fantasy and horror. She is a graduate of Columbia University.
Her stories have been collected in four books - Stranger Things Happen, Magic for Beginners, Pretty Monsters, and most recently, Get in Trouble.
She has won several awards for her short stories, including the World Fantasy Award in 1999 for "The Specialist's Hat", and the Nebula Award both in 2001 and 2005 for "Louise's Ghost" and "Magic for Beginners".
Link also works as an editor, and is the founder of independant publishing company, Small Beer Press, along with her husband, Gavin Grant.
Her stories have been collected in four books - Stranger Things Happen, Magic for Beginners, Pretty Monsters, and most recently, Get in Trouble.
She has won several awards for her short stories, including the World Fantasy Award in 1999 for "The Specialist's Hat", and the Nebula Award both in 2001 and 2005 for "Louise's Ghost" and "Magic for Beginners".
Link also works as an editor, and is the founder of independant publishing company, Small Beer Press, along with her husband, Gavin Grant.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,542 reviews
March 23, 2023
In a Nutshell: Too bizarre for my liking. For a collection of fairy tale retellings, there isn’t enough fairy tale content in any story. Might work for those who enjoy speculative fiction that’s on the weirder side of the logical spectrum.
This collection contains seven stories, though most of them are way too long to be considered ‘short’ stories. They touch the bottom range of novella-length fiction.
The seven tales are all retellings of classic fairy tales or lore, the name of the original being mentioned under the title of each story herein. Most of the retellings are set in the contemporary world, and have characters that could have been memorable had they been written differently. That said, the characters are diverse, and their personality ranges from vulnerable to manipulative, one plus point of the book.
For a change, I knew every single one of the original tales, and this increased my excitement at first. After all, the fun of reading a retelling comes from recognising how the author has twisted the original work and given it a fresh spin. Alas! Most of these retellings are as different from the base story as Salem (Tamil Nadu, India) is from Salem (Massachusetts, USA). The only one that comes close to retaining the essence of the original is the first story, ‘The White Cat’s Divorce’ (based on the French fairy tale named ‘The White Cat’), which is, not surprisingly, the best story of the book.
Honestly, this collection left me feeling as if I was not clever enough to understand it. The stories were either too outlandish or too weird. The endings were too abrupt in most cases, leaving me with a strange kind of restlessness. More importantly, the stories felt quite random in their flow, almost as if they were meandering for the sake of it. There’s no rhyme or reason to the events being narrated, nor is every question answered.
The only story I read with unbroken interest from start to end was the first one. The last story, ‘Skinder's Veil’ (based on the German fairy tale ‘Snow-White and Rose-Red’) was another decent story. The rest were mostly duds for me.
I have heard a lot about this author, but this makes me wonder if I will ever read her works again. I guess we aren’t exactly a match made in book heaven – I love logic too much and her stories defy logic.
As always, I rated each story individually, but except for the above two stories (4.5 and 3.5 respectively), none touched even the 3 star mark.
The logical side of me rebelled against this collection. The emotional side of me didn’t understand the point of this collection. The whole of me felt depressed at how badly this went. However, if you are fond of bizarre stories that are more about the writing than the ending, you might still like this. After all, this was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, so what do I know!
Better if you aren’t reading this as a retelling collection but as a speculative fiction anthology.
2.4 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.
My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for the DRC of “White Cat, Black Dog”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this worked out so badly.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
This collection contains seven stories, though most of them are way too long to be considered ‘short’ stories. They touch the bottom range of novella-length fiction.
The seven tales are all retellings of classic fairy tales or lore, the name of the original being mentioned under the title of each story herein. Most of the retellings are set in the contemporary world, and have characters that could have been memorable had they been written differently. That said, the characters are diverse, and their personality ranges from vulnerable to manipulative, one plus point of the book.
For a change, I knew every single one of the original tales, and this increased my excitement at first. After all, the fun of reading a retelling comes from recognising how the author has twisted the original work and given it a fresh spin. Alas! Most of these retellings are as different from the base story as Salem (Tamil Nadu, India) is from Salem (Massachusetts, USA). The only one that comes close to retaining the essence of the original is the first story, ‘The White Cat’s Divorce’ (based on the French fairy tale named ‘The White Cat’), which is, not surprisingly, the best story of the book.
Honestly, this collection left me feeling as if I was not clever enough to understand it. The stories were either too outlandish or too weird. The endings were too abrupt in most cases, leaving me with a strange kind of restlessness. More importantly, the stories felt quite random in their flow, almost as if they were meandering for the sake of it. There’s no rhyme or reason to the events being narrated, nor is every question answered.
The only story I read with unbroken interest from start to end was the first one. The last story, ‘Skinder's Veil’ (based on the German fairy tale ‘Snow-White and Rose-Red’) was another decent story. The rest were mostly duds for me.
I have heard a lot about this author, but this makes me wonder if I will ever read her works again. I guess we aren’t exactly a match made in book heaven – I love logic too much and her stories defy logic.
As always, I rated each story individually, but except for the above two stories (4.5 and 3.5 respectively), none touched even the 3 star mark.
The logical side of me rebelled against this collection. The emotional side of me didn’t understand the point of this collection. The whole of me felt depressed at how badly this went. However, if you are fond of bizarre stories that are more about the writing than the ending, you might still like this. After all, this was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, so what do I know!
Better if you aren’t reading this as a retelling collection but as a speculative fiction anthology.
2.4 stars, based on the average of my rating for each story.
My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House and NetGalley for the DRC of “White Cat, Black Dog”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this worked out so badly.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
March 28, 2023
*Publication Day - March 28, 2023*
My Rating: 3.4⭐
Varying in themes and tone, combining elements of fantasy and magical realism and speculative fiction, White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link is a collection of seven short stories that are essentially retellings of popular fairy tales and folklore in contemporary (and futuristic) settings.
My favorite story was Skinder’s Veil (4.5/5) which revolves around a young man who spends a few weeks filling in for his friend for a housesitting gig that comes with a set of interesting rules and even more interesting visitors. Atmospheric and engaging! Two other stories I enjoyed were The White Cat’s Divorce (4/5) in which three sons are sent on weird quests on the instructions of their affluent father who pits them against one another, claiming to declare the son who satisfies the terms and conditions of his quest most satisfactorily as his heir. Creative and entertaining! The Lady and the Fox (4/5) revolves around a young girl and her encounters with a ghostly presence during Christmas visits to a family friend’s home. A sweet story that retains a fairy tale quality! Prince Hat Underground (3/5) has Gary searching for his lost husband who disappears suddenly one day with a woman who was his ex-fiancée. This story was unnecessarily long and though I enjoyed how the story pans out eventually, I found my interest waning in the first half of the story. The White Road (4.5/5) follows a group of traveling performers in a post-apocalyptic future. This story was engaging and atmospheric. In The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear (2/5) a professor returning home from a lecture finds herself stranded at the airport on account of inclement weather. Though this story features sensitive issues such as mental health, the story was not engaging. The Game of Smash and Recovery (2/5) is a futuristic retelling of Hansel and Gretel featuring Oscar who cares for his younger sister Anat while his parents are away. As the narrative progresses Anat realizes her reality is not quite what she was made to believe. Unsettling, and imaginative but wasn’t quite my cup of tea.
It was nice that the author mentions the tale/ lore that inspired each story so that the reader might reference the same. A few of these original stories were not unknown to me, and while few stories rely heavily on the source material for inspiration others are barely recognizable as retellings. I truly loved the concept behind this collection and appreciate the creativity and imagination that went into crafting these retellings but overall, it was a mixed bag for me. I must mention Shaun Tan’s illustrations which perfectly captured the essence of each story.
Many thanks to author Kelly Link, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this collection of stories. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due to be released on March 28, 2023.
My Rating: 3.4⭐
Varying in themes and tone, combining elements of fantasy and magical realism and speculative fiction, White Cat, Black Dog: Stories by Kelly Link is a collection of seven short stories that are essentially retellings of popular fairy tales and folklore in contemporary (and futuristic) settings.
My favorite story was Skinder’s Veil (4.5/5) which revolves around a young man who spends a few weeks filling in for his friend for a housesitting gig that comes with a set of interesting rules and even more interesting visitors. Atmospheric and engaging! Two other stories I enjoyed were The White Cat’s Divorce (4/5) in which three sons are sent on weird quests on the instructions of their affluent father who pits them against one another, claiming to declare the son who satisfies the terms and conditions of his quest most satisfactorily as his heir. Creative and entertaining! The Lady and the Fox (4/5) revolves around a young girl and her encounters with a ghostly presence during Christmas visits to a family friend’s home. A sweet story that retains a fairy tale quality! Prince Hat Underground (3/5) has Gary searching for his lost husband who disappears suddenly one day with a woman who was his ex-fiancée. This story was unnecessarily long and though I enjoyed how the story pans out eventually, I found my interest waning in the first half of the story. The White Road (4.5/5) follows a group of traveling performers in a post-apocalyptic future. This story was engaging and atmospheric. In The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear (2/5) a professor returning home from a lecture finds herself stranded at the airport on account of inclement weather. Though this story features sensitive issues such as mental health, the story was not engaging. The Game of Smash and Recovery (2/5) is a futuristic retelling of Hansel and Gretel featuring Oscar who cares for his younger sister Anat while his parents are away. As the narrative progresses Anat realizes her reality is not quite what she was made to believe. Unsettling, and imaginative but wasn’t quite my cup of tea.
It was nice that the author mentions the tale/ lore that inspired each story so that the reader might reference the same. A few of these original stories were not unknown to me, and while few stories rely heavily on the source material for inspiration others are barely recognizable as retellings. I truly loved the concept behind this collection and appreciate the creativity and imagination that went into crafting these retellings but overall, it was a mixed bag for me. I must mention Shaun Tan’s illustrations which perfectly captured the essence of each story.
Many thanks to author Kelly Link, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this collection of stories. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This book is due to be released on March 28, 2023.
August 25, 2022
** I received a DRC from the publisher because I am a librarian and librarians are awesome**
When you read too many Kelly Link stories back to back, your skin starts to feel too tight, like you are an overwatered tomato that is about to split its flesh. Her words take up space in your head and claw their way out.
The stories in the collection were previously published in various formats. And while I consider myself a Kelly Link fan, I am an unusual type of Kelly Link fan - the type of fan that reads her collections, but doesn't hunt down the anthologies or publications where she appears. In that way, these stories were new in the way that they might not be to other, more dedicated readers.
As is her way, each story is odd and lovely and deeply unsettling at its core. Each is a rip in the universe, a glitch in the matrix, a tilt of the head. Blink and the image shifts into something new. While "based" on fairy tales, some are more closely hewn to the source material, while some retain only the barest theme of the original.
And the writing? Did I mention the writing? Link commands the worlds she creates, each one bizarre and wicked and sad and tragic. She makes me want to write better. To write weirder.
My favorite, after the first reading, was probably the Station Eleven-esque The White Road, and the one that messed with my brain the most/that I admit that needs closer inspection was definitely The Game of Smash and Recovery.
I will read this again once I have recovered from the first read-through.
When you read too many Kelly Link stories back to back, your skin starts to feel too tight, like you are an overwatered tomato that is about to split its flesh. Her words take up space in your head and claw their way out.
The stories in the collection were previously published in various formats. And while I consider myself a Kelly Link fan, I am an unusual type of Kelly Link fan - the type of fan that reads her collections, but doesn't hunt down the anthologies or publications where she appears. In that way, these stories were new in the way that they might not be to other, more dedicated readers.
As is her way, each story is odd and lovely and deeply unsettling at its core. Each is a rip in the universe, a glitch in the matrix, a tilt of the head. Blink and the image shifts into something new. While "based" on fairy tales, some are more closely hewn to the source material, while some retain only the barest theme of the original.
And the writing? Did I mention the writing? Link commands the worlds she creates, each one bizarre and wicked and sad and tragic. She makes me want to write better. To write weirder.
My favorite, after the first reading, was probably the Station Eleven-esque The White Road, and the one that messed with my brain the most/that I admit that needs closer inspection was definitely The Game of Smash and Recovery.
I will read this again once I have recovered from the first read-through.
November 26, 2022
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House, for introducing me to the evocative, literary short stories by Kelly Link. These powerful, contemporary retellings of old fairy tales and folklore blend realism with fantasy with unsettling, thought-provoking results. Each story was eerie, and the modern settings made them more discomforting and weird. The stories were not the type I was expecting, with the exception of the terrific The White Cat's Divorce. I also enjoyed Skinder's Veil. Beautiful writing with sexual issues included in most stories. The date of publication is set for March 28, 2023.
March 30, 2023
HOLY FUCK! I picked this one up as an ARC solely because I've enjoyed all the (few) Kelly Link stories I've read in the past, and this is so superlative I don't even know what to say about it so I'm just going to wordvomit about each story and try to get all my feelings across in ugly little chunks at the end.
Firstly, it has to be said: these are LOOSE fairy tale retellings. If your interest in a fairy tale retelling is solely in reenacting the plot beats with a currently-popular trope in place, get out. If you're not compelled by engagement with a theme or figure or handful of elements from a given tale, this is not for you. I will be the first one to call out a retelling that does not engage with its source text, and if Kelly Link does one thing, it's engage-- on her own terms. I'll try to get into this with each story, but suffice it to say, this is the perfect example of "learn the rules so you can break them." It is obvious in every story that Kelly Link knows how to drive her steamroller across culture. It is trained, intentional, enigmatic defilement, and it works so fucking well.
THE WHITE CAT'S DIVORCE
This is the most straightforward of the lot, being a modern retelling with a cute little feminist twist, and as such a perfect introduction to the rest. If you know the story of the White Cat (and I do, albeit from a Gail Carson Levine retelling [For Biddle's Sake]), you will recognize the beats, and goddamn if I don't love the beats. This is a great example of Link knowing the rules: there is a reason the three-brothers trope compels us, and she wrings every ounce of family turmoil from it while cleverly subverting expectations where effect is best, e.g. You can even sense the bend of the story overall, as one often can with, say, a Bluebeard retelling; it spoils none of the satisfaction of the ending. You know, after all, that the white cat will be getting her divorce...
PRINCE HAT UNDERGROUND
This was fantastic from the moment it introduced a hapless gay guy with a slutty boyfriend inexplicably named Prince Hat, who, sluttily, goes missing. I have to note here that the story also doesn't know why he's named Prince Hat, and numerous stranger characters have comparatively more normal names, which just seems to add to the whimsy. This is a case of understanding fairy tales tonally even where the beats are also preserved, which is to say that you'd think in a retelling you can either keep the Vibes or the Plot, and Link somehow manages to do both in a modern setting. While I drifted occasionally during more literary reveries, I always came back, and I find myself looking back on this one warmly. A really good way to segue from Modern Retelling Of Story to Vibes Only, Bitch.
THE WHITE ROAD
OK. Yes. Do you ever read something that makes you have to go get up and talk to another human being just to know where the fuck you are anymore.
I really can't stress this enough. I was so off-put. I'm not talking about the genre switch here, though it's that. I'm not talking about, oh, you know, I was 'scared'. Anything can scare anybody. It takes a lot to make me feel like it could be the year 3000 and I might have left the planet while I was reading. I felt insane. It was like the feeling you get in your stomach on a roller coaster but it was in my brain. The best thing about it was that I was in a religious household where the inhabitants don't even read secular fiction, so I couldn't be like, hey, get fucked up! LOL! and that is exactly what I wanted to do. This has been one of the hardest books to keep ARC secrets on, and I read fucking Nona the Ninth three months before release. I just NEEDED SOMEONE ELSE TO FEEL THIS. You know what? If you're not sure about the collection, why don't you go pick it up to read this, and then if you feel nothing you're welcome to stop. Also, congrats on your metal robot body and blinking virtual eyes, because you are not a human person.
Anyway. This is the perfect segue because, at this point, you feel like you know where you are. You've read two retellings which largely follow the contours of the originals with some feel-good fantasy twists. The whimsy! The silliness! THE WHITE CAT'S DIVORCE has, like, four hundred weed jokes in it! Things have been very much on the rails, and we're entering the third story, and you know what they say: third time's the charm! Anyway, everyone knows the story of the musicians of Bremen. And this is a Station Eleven-esque postapoc setting, which itself can make you feel like you know where you are. After all, maybe you read Station Eleven. If you did, you know it got lovely and poignant and emotional, but emotional in, y'know, also generally a feel-good way. Humans are so good. :D So you're sitting here like, OK, here is this band of travelers, and here they go, oh, they're going to Bremen! Awesome! I know what happens in Bremen!
I cannot emphasize this enough: none of this shit happened in Bremen.
I feel vaguely nauseous writing this right now. I do not know what happened in this story. There is a mystery that is discomfiting on its own, and then everything else happens. "Edge of my seat" is an understatement. "Life and death" is an understatement. You could have pulled the fire alarm and I would not have looked up. I still don't know what happened with that fucking mystery. I don't know if I'm supposed to know. I don't know if I'm allowed to know. It feels like there is an answer, but not one that is deductible to the reader. It could be this-- but, no, it can't, because... or this? but no, that doesn't make sense either... You sit there puzzling it all out, but you don't know anything other than it happened. This is mirrored in a dozen other elements of the story: sometimes in life, something that should not happen Happens, and you don't know why. and you can't do shit about it. If you have control issues good luck :D
I've spent half my review talking about this story so I'll switch to the next one but Jesus fucking Christ. This was it. I was obsessive after this one.
THE GIRL WHO DID NOT KNOW FEAR
This happens to be my other favorite of the collection. I found myself rereading it because-- guess what!-- I, too, had to spend five minutes in an airport, which made me feel just like the protagonist, who gets stuck in an airport for literal days. Furthermore, she has an unnamed condition which makes this intolerable, and an undisclosed appointment which she absolutely cannot miss... and a child, and a wife, who are patiently waiting.
My favorite thing about this story is how little it has to do with its titular fairy tale. Unlike the other two stories, it is literally named for its source, and yet we run nearly the whole story through without a passing mention. This happens to be a fairy tale I've never really understood the point of myself, so I was curious-- I already wasn't sure what thread to pick at long enough for a short story, and this one didn't seem to be interested in answering it.
Then our narrator sits down between two other dykes and is told a story and-- hang on, it's this story. It's this fairy tale, filtered through a modern setting and dyke drama. (Our protagonist, delightfully, is also having a moment of recognition, though for a very different reason.) I admit I barked out a laugh at .
This was the first story that, to me, played only with ideas: with Other, with love as championship, with fear itself. It's like Kelly Link took apart the puzzle, cut out all the prettiest segments, and put them together in her own found-art piece. It needs to be said: she knows what she's doing. The strongest feeling I got was one of intentionality; even when I did not understand something, I felt I could understand it, and this story was no different.
I didn't "get" this one on the first time. That is to say, there is one story, entirely enjoyable, on the surface, and another, subtly intelligible, below that body in the water. You can enjoy it easily on its own, knowing there is something you are missing, and then reread for that wealth of understanding.
A good question to get you started, if you're struggling: what makes this story speculative at all? Several more, spoiled for slightly more directness:
THE GAME OF SMASH AND RECOVERY
This was the one I understood so little of-- and, honestly, found so simplistic-- that I did not freak out about it. Yet. I have confidence if I read this again I will lose my mind. I like the approach to Hansel and Gretel, to lostness, to foundness, to the fear that comes with discovery, to the question of The Parents, to the nature of the game... There is so much at play here I honestly had to look up explanations to even get to the basics of What Happened In The Story, which I think is why I was perhaps disappointed at how deceptively simple the events really are? but also, I think I had just read some other pieces of fiction that were making parts of my skull fly off and release wet giblets of my brain to drip down my spine. So maybe we'll try again in a minute.
THE LADY AND THE FOX
A lovely penultimate story, and I mean that both ways: I like the way it leads us towards a wrap-up, and I like how it differentiates itself from the end. It's a little different from everything else, in part because it is very nearly a YA story of a girl enamoured with a beautiful otherworldly boy, just as Link wrote in her last favorite story of mine, The New Boyfriend (<- just got why this title is so earthshakingly good. Link is a master). It's quite simply an entirely different thing from every other story in the book, and so putting it at the end (where it does not lead you to believe that what comes beyond will be In This Style) but not quite (so that its ending does not have to bear the weight of the entire anthology, allowing it to be more truly light and softly YA-like) is genius. The attention to detail, the setting (not just place but surrounding people and time), the light romance, the bone-deep awareness of the importance of young girls' feelings... this is it for me. It is just so, so, so sweet. And when the fairy tale it was retelling came out in full force, I felt it like I never had before.
(Sorry Siren Queen. You wish you were this collection, genuinely.)
SKINDER'S VEIL
I'm just about out of steam. I worked myself up writing this review, and it's been an hour, and I have to go to bed. What can I say? The approach to modernizing this one is as ingenious as the rest. The quick, surprising little jibes made me laugh out loud. The relatability of the writer-can't-write trope, which usually drives me nuts, really shone. The mood! This is one that proves horror is not all about fear. Sometimes, horror is about some silly quirkiness.
The way this story seems to adapt, more than any of the rest, the plot beats without the original tone-- it surprises me how well Link proves that you can have not an emotional but a structural attachment to a fairy tale; one which allows you to see the potential of those puzzle pieces without getting swept up in how the messaging or tone of the original makes you Feel. This detachment works us up to a comfortable, inevitable ending, which both resolves and is left ambiguous in a perfect braid of storytelling-- and a perfect close to the book itself.
In flipping back through my copy to detail everything, I realized I'd nearly failed to praise Shaun Tan's art at all. This would be neglectful in the extreme. His little portraits are perfection itself: iconic Tan style, delicately penciled, tonally superb, matched as directly as a button to its buttonhole. It's hard to praise them just because they are so good you can't even imagine them not working. Everything comes together here in the collection's favor.
Anyway: I recommend this. But I don't just recommend this; I need you to read it so you can talk about these stories with me. It's rare for me to be so batshit obsessed with something I just want people to tell me their thoughts on everything about it. I find myself almost stoppered, after all of this, like if someone said "so what did you want to talk about re: this book?" I'd open and shut my mouth a couple of times and then blurt out: "BOOK GOOD." I need somebody else to talk about this now. I need all these stories 'explained'. I need a hundred interviews, and I need a thousand author events. I want to eat this book. I want it to get stuck in me more than it already has.
Firstly, it has to be said: these are LOOSE fairy tale retellings. If your interest in a fairy tale retelling is solely in reenacting the plot beats with a currently-popular trope in place, get out. If you're not compelled by engagement with a theme or figure or handful of elements from a given tale, this is not for you. I will be the first one to call out a retelling that does not engage with its source text, and if Kelly Link does one thing, it's engage-- on her own terms. I'll try to get into this with each story, but suffice it to say, this is the perfect example of "learn the rules so you can break them." It is obvious in every story that Kelly Link knows how to drive her steamroller across culture. It is trained, intentional, enigmatic defilement, and it works so fucking well.
THE WHITE CAT'S DIVORCE
This is the most straightforward of the lot, being a modern retelling with a cute little feminist twist, and as such a perfect introduction to the rest. If you know the story of the White Cat (and I do, albeit from a Gail Carson Levine retelling [For Biddle's Sake]), you will recognize the beats, and goddamn if I don't love the beats. This is a great example of Link knowing the rules: there is a reason the three-brothers trope compels us, and she wrings every ounce of family turmoil from it while cleverly subverting expectations where effect is best, e.g. You can even sense the bend of the story overall, as one often can with, say, a Bluebeard retelling; it spoils none of the satisfaction of the ending. You know, after all, that the white cat will be getting her divorce...
PRINCE HAT UNDERGROUND
This was fantastic from the moment it introduced a hapless gay guy with a slutty boyfriend inexplicably named Prince Hat, who, sluttily, goes missing. I have to note here that the story also doesn't know why he's named Prince Hat, and numerous stranger characters have comparatively more normal names, which just seems to add to the whimsy. This is a case of understanding fairy tales tonally even where the beats are also preserved, which is to say that you'd think in a retelling you can either keep the Vibes or the Plot, and Link somehow manages to do both in a modern setting. While I drifted occasionally during more literary reveries, I always came back, and I find myself looking back on this one warmly. A really good way to segue from Modern Retelling Of Story to Vibes Only, Bitch.
THE WHITE ROAD
OK. Yes. Do you ever read something that makes you have to go get up and talk to another human being just to know where the fuck you are anymore.
I really can't stress this enough. I was so off-put. I'm not talking about the genre switch here, though it's that. I'm not talking about, oh, you know, I was 'scared'. Anything can scare anybody. It takes a lot to make me feel like it could be the year 3000 and I might have left the planet while I was reading. I felt insane. It was like the feeling you get in your stomach on a roller coaster but it was in my brain. The best thing about it was that I was in a religious household where the inhabitants don't even read secular fiction, so I couldn't be like, hey, get fucked up! LOL! and that is exactly what I wanted to do. This has been one of the hardest books to keep ARC secrets on, and I read fucking Nona the Ninth three months before release. I just NEEDED SOMEONE ELSE TO FEEL THIS. You know what? If you're not sure about the collection, why don't you go pick it up to read this, and then if you feel nothing you're welcome to stop. Also, congrats on your metal robot body and blinking virtual eyes, because you are not a human person.
Anyway. This is the perfect segue because, at this point, you feel like you know where you are. You've read two retellings which largely follow the contours of the originals with some feel-good fantasy twists. The whimsy! The silliness! THE WHITE CAT'S DIVORCE has, like, four hundred weed jokes in it! Things have been very much on the rails, and we're entering the third story, and you know what they say: third time's the charm! Anyway, everyone knows the story of the musicians of Bremen. And this is a Station Eleven-esque postapoc setting, which itself can make you feel like you know where you are. After all, maybe you read Station Eleven. If you did, you know it got lovely and poignant and emotional, but emotional in, y'know, also generally a feel-good way. Humans are so good. :D So you're sitting here like, OK, here is this band of travelers, and here they go, oh, they're going to Bremen! Awesome! I know what happens in Bremen!
I cannot emphasize this enough: none of this shit happened in Bremen.
I feel vaguely nauseous writing this right now. I do not know what happened in this story. There is a mystery that is discomfiting on its own, and then everything else happens. "Edge of my seat" is an understatement. "Life and death" is an understatement. You could have pulled the fire alarm and I would not have looked up. I still don't know what happened with that fucking mystery. I don't know if I'm supposed to know. I don't know if I'm allowed to know. It feels like there is an answer, but not one that is deductible to the reader. It could be this-- but, no, it can't, because... or this? but no, that doesn't make sense either... You sit there puzzling it all out, but you don't know anything other than it happened. This is mirrored in a dozen other elements of the story: sometimes in life, something that should not happen Happens, and you don't know why. and you can't do shit about it. If you have control issues good luck :D
I've spent half my review talking about this story so I'll switch to the next one but Jesus fucking Christ. This was it. I was obsessive after this one.
THE GIRL WHO DID NOT KNOW FEAR
This happens to be my other favorite of the collection. I found myself rereading it because-- guess what!-- I, too, had to spend five minutes in an airport, which made me feel just like the protagonist, who gets stuck in an airport for literal days. Furthermore, she has an unnamed condition which makes this intolerable, and an undisclosed appointment which she absolutely cannot miss... and a child, and a wife, who are patiently waiting.
My favorite thing about this story is how little it has to do with its titular fairy tale. Unlike the other two stories, it is literally named for its source, and yet we run nearly the whole story through without a passing mention. This happens to be a fairy tale I've never really understood the point of myself, so I was curious-- I already wasn't sure what thread to pick at long enough for a short story, and this one didn't seem to be interested in answering it.
Then our narrator sits down between two other dykes and is told a story and-- hang on, it's this story. It's this fairy tale, filtered through a modern setting and dyke drama. (Our protagonist, delightfully, is also having a moment of recognition, though for a very different reason.) I admit I barked out a laugh at .
This was the first story that, to me, played only with ideas: with Other, with love as championship, with fear itself. It's like Kelly Link took apart the puzzle, cut out all the prettiest segments, and put them together in her own found-art piece. It needs to be said: she knows what she's doing. The strongest feeling I got was one of intentionality; even when I did not understand something, I felt I could understand it, and this story was no different.
I didn't "get" this one on the first time. That is to say, there is one story, entirely enjoyable, on the surface, and another, subtly intelligible, below that body in the water. You can enjoy it easily on its own, knowing there is something you are missing, and then reread for that wealth of understanding.
A good question to get you started, if you're struggling: what makes this story speculative at all? Several more, spoiled for slightly more directness:
THE GAME OF SMASH AND RECOVERY
This was the one I understood so little of-- and, honestly, found so simplistic-- that I did not freak out about it. Yet. I have confidence if I read this again I will lose my mind. I like the approach to Hansel and Gretel, to lostness, to foundness, to the fear that comes with discovery, to the question of The Parents, to the nature of the game... There is so much at play here I honestly had to look up explanations to even get to the basics of What Happened In The Story, which I think is why I was perhaps disappointed at how deceptively simple the events really are? but also, I think I had just read some other pieces of fiction that were making parts of my skull fly off and release wet giblets of my brain to drip down my spine. So maybe we'll try again in a minute.
THE LADY AND THE FOX
A lovely penultimate story, and I mean that both ways: I like the way it leads us towards a wrap-up, and I like how it differentiates itself from the end. It's a little different from everything else, in part because it is very nearly a YA story of a girl enamoured with a beautiful otherworldly boy, just as Link wrote in her last favorite story of mine, The New Boyfriend (<- just got why this title is so earthshakingly good. Link is a master). It's quite simply an entirely different thing from every other story in the book, and so putting it at the end (where it does not lead you to believe that what comes beyond will be In This Style) but not quite (so that its ending does not have to bear the weight of the entire anthology, allowing it to be more truly light and softly YA-like) is genius. The attention to detail, the setting (not just place but surrounding people and time), the light romance, the bone-deep awareness of the importance of young girls' feelings... this is it for me. It is just so, so, so sweet. And when the fairy tale it was retelling came out in full force, I felt it like I never had before.
(Sorry Siren Queen. You wish you were this collection, genuinely.)
SKINDER'S VEIL
I'm just about out of steam. I worked myself up writing this review, and it's been an hour, and I have to go to bed. What can I say? The approach to modernizing this one is as ingenious as the rest. The quick, surprising little jibes made me laugh out loud. The relatability of the writer-can't-write trope, which usually drives me nuts, really shone. The mood! This is one that proves horror is not all about fear. Sometimes, horror is about some silly quirkiness.
The way this story seems to adapt, more than any of the rest, the plot beats without the original tone-- it surprises me how well Link proves that you can have not an emotional but a structural attachment to a fairy tale; one which allows you to see the potential of those puzzle pieces without getting swept up in how the messaging or tone of the original makes you Feel. This detachment works us up to a comfortable, inevitable ending, which both resolves and is left ambiguous in a perfect braid of storytelling-- and a perfect close to the book itself.
In flipping back through my copy to detail everything, I realized I'd nearly failed to praise Shaun Tan's art at all. This would be neglectful in the extreme. His little portraits are perfection itself: iconic Tan style, delicately penciled, tonally superb, matched as directly as a button to its buttonhole. It's hard to praise them just because they are so good you can't even imagine them not working. Everything comes together here in the collection's favor.
Anyway: I recommend this. But I don't just recommend this; I need you to read it so you can talk about these stories with me. It's rare for me to be so batshit obsessed with something I just want people to tell me their thoughts on everything about it. I find myself almost stoppered, after all of this, like if someone said "so what did you want to talk about re: this book?" I'd open and shut my mouth a couple of times and then blurt out: "BOOK GOOD." I need somebody else to talk about this now. I need all these stories 'explained'. I need a hundred interviews, and I need a thousand author events. I want to eat this book. I want it to get stuck in me more than it already has.
January 11, 2023
Kelly Link is f**king bonkers, and I mean that as the highest compliment. I've been a fan of her work for many years but given the gap in releases, I forgot just how her brilliant mind works and some of the strange, wonderful, ridiculous things it comes up with.
This collection pretty much has it all. Some gruesome details she manages to make hilarious, some food for thought, some bizarre elements that make you think, "Wait, what the hell did I just read?" and so much more.
While no story here was out of place, my favorites were the first two, The White Cat’s Divorce and Prince Hat Underground. The first especially was such a brilliant start to the collection that set the tone for the rest of the book in the most perfect way. The final story, Skinner's Veil, was perhaps the most thought-provoking without being heavy-handed, which is something Link does so well.
A total pleasure to read!
This collection pretty much has it all. Some gruesome details she manages to make hilarious, some food for thought, some bizarre elements that make you think, "Wait, what the hell did I just read?" and so much more.
While no story here was out of place, my favorites were the first two, The White Cat’s Divorce and Prince Hat Underground. The first especially was such a brilliant start to the collection that set the tone for the rest of the book in the most perfect way. The final story, Skinner's Veil, was perhaps the most thought-provoking without being heavy-handed, which is something Link does so well.
A total pleasure to read!
April 16, 2023
3★
“The White Road (The Musicians of Bremen)
All of this happened a very long time ago and so, I suppose, it has taken on the shape of a story, a made-up thing, rather than true things that happened to me and to those around me. Things I did and that others did. And so I will write it down that way. As a story.”
The seven stories in this collection are inspired by old tales, fairy or traditional, with the title of the old tales written underneath Link’s titles. I admit I didn’t know some of the original fairy tales or fables, and the ones I did, I had a hard time connecting with Link’s.
Having said that, the ones I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. The ones I didn’t like, I skimmed. They are far-fetched, but then what folktales aren’t? We who choose to read them learn to accept that people transform into animals and vice-versa. If we can suspend disbelief that far, what are the boundaries?
I won’t discuss the stories, just select a few representative quotations. This is about a man who wants to live forever.
“The White Cat’s Divorce
(The White Cat)
All stories about divorce must begin some other place, and so let us begin with a man so very rich, he might reach out and have almost any thing he desired. . .”
He intends to live as well as possible until
“ a day in which an expert team will cryogenically freeze my body as well as the body of my current wife until such a time when medical advances can resurrect me into some unknown hellish future in a body that can satisfy more than three women at a time while also battling apocalyptic mutant lizards and conquering whatever remains of the New York Stock Exchange.”
Another I liked was Prince Hat, particularly this description of the seasons of the sun.
“Prince Hat Underground
(East of the Sun, West of the Moon)
And who, exactly is Prince Hat? Gary, who has lived with Prince Hat for over three decades, still sometimes wonders.
. . .
Off to Reykjavik goes Gary. When he was here with Prince Hat, all those years ago, it was summer. Light the nurse washing everyone and everything, light the voyeur seeping in around the black seal of curtains in their hotel room. It pressed on his eyeballs, lapped hotly at his skin and came pouring out through him again like a tide when he tried to sleep. He and Prince Hat went to clubs, danced, drank, came out at 3 A.M. and found light the idler still waiting for them.
. . .
Now, like Prince Hat, the sun is sly, sneaks off as soon as you’ve caught sight of it, staying away as if it means to stay away forever.”
I enjoy quirky stories and grew up loving old myths and legends. This selection is right out there, and I’m balancing the ones I loved against the ones I didn’t care for to arrive at my (completely subjective) middle-of-the-road rating.
If you have access, you might enjoy the article about this book in the 3 April 2023 edition of ‘The New Yorker’ with the headline ‘The Story Goes.’
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Publishing for the copy for review.
“The White Road (The Musicians of Bremen)
All of this happened a very long time ago and so, I suppose, it has taken on the shape of a story, a made-up thing, rather than true things that happened to me and to those around me. Things I did and that others did. And so I will write it down that way. As a story.”
The seven stories in this collection are inspired by old tales, fairy or traditional, with the title of the old tales written underneath Link’s titles. I admit I didn’t know some of the original fairy tales or fables, and the ones I did, I had a hard time connecting with Link’s.
Having said that, the ones I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. The ones I didn’t like, I skimmed. They are far-fetched, but then what folktales aren’t? We who choose to read them learn to accept that people transform into animals and vice-versa. If we can suspend disbelief that far, what are the boundaries?
I won’t discuss the stories, just select a few representative quotations. This is about a man who wants to live forever.
“The White Cat’s Divorce
(The White Cat)
All stories about divorce must begin some other place, and so let us begin with a man so very rich, he might reach out and have almost any thing he desired. . .”
He intends to live as well as possible until
“ a day in which an expert team will cryogenically freeze my body as well as the body of my current wife until such a time when medical advances can resurrect me into some unknown hellish future in a body that can satisfy more than three women at a time while also battling apocalyptic mutant lizards and conquering whatever remains of the New York Stock Exchange.”
Another I liked was Prince Hat, particularly this description of the seasons of the sun.
“Prince Hat Underground
(East of the Sun, West of the Moon)
And who, exactly is Prince Hat? Gary, who has lived with Prince Hat for over three decades, still sometimes wonders.
. . .
Off to Reykjavik goes Gary. When he was here with Prince Hat, all those years ago, it was summer. Light the nurse washing everyone and everything, light the voyeur seeping in around the black seal of curtains in their hotel room. It pressed on his eyeballs, lapped hotly at his skin and came pouring out through him again like a tide when he tried to sleep. He and Prince Hat went to clubs, danced, drank, came out at 3 A.M. and found light the idler still waiting for them.
. . .
Now, like Prince Hat, the sun is sly, sneaks off as soon as you’ve caught sight of it, staying away as if it means to stay away forever.”
I enjoy quirky stories and grew up loving old myths and legends. This selection is right out there, and I’m balancing the ones I loved against the ones I didn’t care for to arrive at my (completely subjective) middle-of-the-road rating.
If you have access, you might enjoy the article about this book in the 3 April 2023 edition of ‘The New Yorker’ with the headline ‘The Story Goes.’
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus Publishing for the copy for review.
May 7, 2023
Link presents another fine, imaginative, and strange collection of stories, all loosely based on fairy tales. Some are more rooted in reality than others, all are engrossing.
The first story involves a white cat, and the last story does indeed feature a little black dog.
In that final story, Skinder's Veil, my favorite, and the longest, most mesmerizing of the seven, we meet a grad student who takes a temporary job housesitting in a secluded area, for Skinder, a mysterious gentleman who expects his list of very specific rules to be followed to a T:
RULE ONE! IMPORTANT! If any friends of Skinder show up, let them in no matter what time it is . . .
RULE TWO! THIS ONE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!!! Skinder may show up. If he does, DO NOT LET HIM IN . . .
This mist-shrouded, dreamy tale made me laugh, but also left me wondering what exactly happened. It's kind of a disturbing feeling, but it jump-started my brain for a bit, so I'll take it.
The first story involves a white cat, and the last story does indeed feature a little black dog.
In that final story, Skinder's Veil, my favorite, and the longest, most mesmerizing of the seven, we meet a grad student who takes a temporary job housesitting in a secluded area, for Skinder, a mysterious gentleman who expects his list of very specific rules to be followed to a T:
RULE ONE! IMPORTANT! If any friends of Skinder show up, let them in no matter what time it is . . .
RULE TWO! THIS ONE IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!!! Skinder may show up. If he does, DO NOT LET HIM IN . . .
This mist-shrouded, dreamy tale made me laugh, but also left me wondering what exactly happened. It's kind of a disturbing feeling, but it jump-started my brain for a bit, so I'll take it.
Read
June 29, 2023Sometimes you forget where you heard of a book or why you even TBR'd it, much less checked it out from a library. Short stories. American writer who owns a bookstore in western Mass. And here's where I had my serious doubts: fairy tale-like, only in a contemporary setting.
I don't read this sort of thing, do I?
Well I haven't. Not for many moons. And there's bad news, of the seven stories I only liked three. But there's good news, too. I really enjoyed the three, as in a lot. What's more, the threesome were much longer than the four "whatever" tales. In total, they took up 146 of the books 255 pp. That's better than half and reason for cheer.
The first two kick the book off: "The White Cat's Divorce," about a man who wants to live forever in a Silicon Valley throw-money-at-it-kind-of-way. Trouble is, his three sons, as they age, keep looking like his executioners (the older they get, the older he gets), so he sends them off on impossible tasks to get them out of his sight at a clip of one quest per year.
The youngest son is of note, in that he gets help from a White Cat that talks. She'll take care of everything, and boy does she. Yikes.
Story number two ("Prince Hat Underground") is one of those "Hero's Journey" deals where you go to Hell and then try to come back -- in this case it's a man going after his husband who has been spirited off by a she-devil who wants to marry him herself (said "man" started Down Under -- and I don't mean Oz -- himself, but wanted to try this human game out). The trip down is...memorable. Help from very weird things that have no right to talk but do, on cue from Joseph Campbell as they help our aptly-named (Gary, of all things) hero who would go anywhere for his squeeze.
Then the four "meh" outings that I could take or leave before we hit the book's anchor, "Skinder's Veil," about a college kid who house sits a home deep in the Vermont woods with with two very weird instructions: Anyone who knocks on the back door, let them in no questions asked. But if the owner (Skinder) knocks on the front door, don't let him in NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
I mean, all manner of things knock on the back door, from Rose Whites to Rose Reds to bears and deer and even the fog. For our college-aged hero, it's difficult finishing his thesis to say the least. Like a hotel, this place, with the strangest guests who make themselves at home and then some. It's the kind of tale Herr Grimm would love and, between rapid page turns, you will too.
So is this an endorsement? Mostly. No one said you have to read every story in a collection. And who knows, maybe you'll like the middle ones I only found fair to middling. Just don't open your front door while you're reading. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
I don't read this sort of thing, do I?
Well I haven't. Not for many moons. And there's bad news, of the seven stories I only liked three. But there's good news, too. I really enjoyed the three, as in a lot. What's more, the threesome were much longer than the four "whatever" tales. In total, they took up 146 of the books 255 pp. That's better than half and reason for cheer.
The first two kick the book off: "The White Cat's Divorce," about a man who wants to live forever in a Silicon Valley throw-money-at-it-kind-of-way. Trouble is, his three sons, as they age, keep looking like his executioners (the older they get, the older he gets), so he sends them off on impossible tasks to get them out of his sight at a clip of one quest per year.
The youngest son is of note, in that he gets help from a White Cat that talks. She'll take care of everything, and boy does she. Yikes.
Story number two ("Prince Hat Underground") is one of those "Hero's Journey" deals where you go to Hell and then try to come back -- in this case it's a man going after his husband who has been spirited off by a she-devil who wants to marry him herself (said "man" started Down Under -- and I don't mean Oz -- himself, but wanted to try this human game out). The trip down is...memorable. Help from very weird things that have no right to talk but do, on cue from Joseph Campbell as they help our aptly-named (Gary, of all things) hero who would go anywhere for his squeeze.
Then the four "meh" outings that I could take or leave before we hit the book's anchor, "Skinder's Veil," about a college kid who house sits a home deep in the Vermont woods with with two very weird instructions: Anyone who knocks on the back door, let them in no questions asked. But if the owner (Skinder) knocks on the front door, don't let him in NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
I mean, all manner of things knock on the back door, from Rose Whites to Rose Reds to bears and deer and even the fog. For our college-aged hero, it's difficult finishing his thesis to say the least. Like a hotel, this place, with the strangest guests who make themselves at home and then some. It's the kind of tale Herr Grimm would love and, between rapid page turns, you will too.
So is this an endorsement? Mostly. No one said you have to read every story in a collection. And who knows, maybe you'll like the middle ones I only found fair to middling. Just don't open your front door while you're reading. NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.
April 18, 2025
I’d read another Kelly Link collection a few years back and remember coming away from the experience lukewarm. But, as I work my way through a much larger historical novel, I’ve got to have something on the side for some quick hits of the fantastical. Luckily, White Cat, Black Dog has been peering out at me, enticing me to open its pages and marvel at the weirdness within. Coming back to Link now was a terrific experience: each of these stories scratched a particular itch of genre and had really terrific writing.
I’m most impressed with the seamless marriage of the mundane world we all know with the whimsical, bizzare, and unexplainable. Some other works in the same genre have the feeling of a sharp dividing line: the world before and the world after. Not so here! There’s a story of a man going to actual Hell to retrieve his husband so that they can make it to their favourite brunch spot. Or maybe you’ll prefer the Troupe who walk the post-apocalyptic roads of a world ravaged by…some mysterious magical weirdness?
Each of these stories feels fairy tale adjacent, or maybe it’s better to say these stories feel like they share the common ancestor of fairy tale. There’s rules, morals, and the inscrutable logic of magic. That these stories take place in kaleidoscopic visions of our world make them all the more special.
Without characters you’d be lost on a sea of beautiful prose and strange ideas. Fortunately, the plights and experiences of the leads in these stories are interesting and their personality comes through even on the shortest of the tales. You’ll want to hang with Andy at the sketchy house sitting gig because you know writing a dissertation is hell and his roommate challenges are relatable. If he happens to do mushrooms with a bear: bonus!
Overall, a most impressive collection of stories. In fact, it’s the type of book that makes me wonder if I should loop back on the earlier collection (Get in Trouble) and try it again. Though there are the other collections. Oh, and there’s a novel she’s recently put out.
Really, I’m spoiled for choice.
[4.5 Stars]
I’m most impressed with the seamless marriage of the mundane world we all know with the whimsical, bizzare, and unexplainable. Some other works in the same genre have the feeling of a sharp dividing line: the world before and the world after. Not so here! There’s a story of a man going to actual Hell to retrieve his husband so that they can make it to their favourite brunch spot. Or maybe you’ll prefer the Troupe who walk the post-apocalyptic roads of a world ravaged by…some mysterious magical weirdness?
Each of these stories feels fairy tale adjacent, or maybe it’s better to say these stories feel like they share the common ancestor of fairy tale. There’s rules, morals, and the inscrutable logic of magic. That these stories take place in kaleidoscopic visions of our world make them all the more special.
Without characters you’d be lost on a sea of beautiful prose and strange ideas. Fortunately, the plights and experiences of the leads in these stories are interesting and their personality comes through even on the shortest of the tales. You’ll want to hang with Andy at the sketchy house sitting gig because you know writing a dissertation is hell and his roommate challenges are relatable. If he happens to do mushrooms with a bear: bonus!
Overall, a most impressive collection of stories. In fact, it’s the type of book that makes me wonder if I should loop back on the earlier collection (Get in Trouble) and try it again. Though there are the other collections. Oh, and there’s a novel she’s recently put out.
Really, I’m spoiled for choice.
[4.5 Stars]
April 28, 2023
Fantastic work, I see why it was lauded by big names. My favorite were Dan Stevens' and Patton Oswalt's narrations, the East of the Sun West of the Moon and final story respectively.
March 21, 2024
Well, this one was a journey! The first three stories were immensely frustrating, but then I started to like the next four ones, and loving the last two, which I really wasn't expecting. I really loved the weirdness of the worldbuilding and a lot of little detail and elements in all of them. But I think what made the difference between the ones I didn't like that much and the ones I really really liked was the feeling of emotional truth and closeness with the character. The first ones felt deficient in that aspect. And they also felt disjointed somehow, lacking balance in pacing and theme.
I actually felt a bit mad reading reviews that loved the first few stories, because I just didn't... get them, you know? And I was like: is it me?
Final rating (I actually calculated my ratings for each story this time, which I don't usually do): 3.4/5. And now a bit about each:
The White Cat's Divorce: a play on the classic 'king sends his three sons to do some chores to inherit the kingdom', but with billionaires and weed farms. I enjoyed more what I felt it was trying to say than what it actually said. It had a lot of recognizable fairy tale tropes, but I had a difficult time connecting to the main character - obviously, the younger son as usually happens in this type of tale.
Prince Hat's Underground: my least favorite of the bunch, I didn't much connect/ care about Gary, the main character, whose slutty bisexual husband, Prince Hat, just disappears. It was very imaginative, but the writing felt cold and removed, keeping me at a distance.
The White Road: another one that was extremely intriguing in the beginning - a postapocalyptic world where modern technology isn't used anymore, borrowing elements from Station Eleven (postapoc theater troupe travelling from town to town), but adding some weird stuff about corpses keeping some sort of beings at bay. This had a lot of elements that were just great. But the narrator kept making statements like: perhaps this should be the story I tell, but I won't (he should have, though, it would have made it more emotionally affecting imo), or and as for me, I don't know what the story is (same here, buddy!).
The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear: Another one that was quite interesting, but felt disjointed, we spend a lot of time in one particular place and then the setting changes and it all accelerates, but the two parts don't seem that much connected, at least to me. I felt very fucking confused by the end. But still, a lot of weird, cool elements to it. Not super sure about all the lesbian commentary though.
The Game of Smash and Recovery: a play on Hansel and Gretel, this is where the tide started turning for me. This felt well-paced and cohesive, it's sci-fi-ish and I enjoyed it beginning to end. It also features the kind of ambiguity that allows for emotional truth, whereas it felt like the previous stories had featured just confusion, not ambiguity.
The Lady and the Fox: 100% loved this story, somehow all the weird elements and details were also accompanied by a very engaging main character, Miranda, and it got me in the feels. Absolutely loved the ending. In a way, this felt like a much better, confident version of Prince Hat's Underground. And also it had by far the most fairy tale feel of them all.
Skinder's Veil: I also quite loved this one, happily! It feels like a fairy tale and it also has characters telling very twisted & cool fairy tales within it. It was also hilarious and had some great shroom-tripping moments and a road trip that felt super stressful and had me at the edge of my seat.
So thanks to the last 2 or 3 stories, definitely will read more Kelly Link (perhaps her chonky debut novel, The Book of Love? Excited to talk about this at book club!
I actually felt a bit mad reading reviews that loved the first few stories, because I just didn't... get them, you know? And I was like: is it me?
Final rating (I actually calculated my ratings for each story this time, which I don't usually do): 3.4/5. And now a bit about each:
The White Cat's Divorce: a play on the classic 'king sends his three sons to do some chores to inherit the kingdom', but with billionaires and weed farms. I enjoyed more what I felt it was trying to say than what it actually said. It had a lot of recognizable fairy tale tropes, but I had a difficult time connecting to the main character - obviously, the younger son as usually happens in this type of tale.
Prince Hat's Underground: my least favorite of the bunch, I didn't much connect/ care about Gary, the main character, whose slutty bisexual husband, Prince Hat, just disappears. It was very imaginative, but the writing felt cold and removed, keeping me at a distance.
The White Road: another one that was extremely intriguing in the beginning - a postapocalyptic world where modern technology isn't used anymore, borrowing elements from Station Eleven (postapoc theater troupe travelling from town to town), but adding some weird stuff about corpses keeping some sort of beings at bay. This had a lot of elements that were just great. But the narrator kept making statements like: perhaps this should be the story I tell, but I won't (he should have, though, it would have made it more emotionally affecting imo), or and as for me, I don't know what the story is (same here, buddy!).
The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear: Another one that was quite interesting, but felt disjointed, we spend a lot of time in one particular place and then the setting changes and it all accelerates, but the two parts don't seem that much connected, at least to me. I felt very fucking confused by the end. But still, a lot of weird, cool elements to it. Not super sure about all the lesbian commentary though.
The Game of Smash and Recovery: a play on Hansel and Gretel, this is where the tide started turning for me. This felt well-paced and cohesive, it's sci-fi-ish and I enjoyed it beginning to end. It also features the kind of ambiguity that allows for emotional truth, whereas it felt like the previous stories had featured just confusion, not ambiguity.
The Lady and the Fox: 100% loved this story, somehow all the weird elements and details were also accompanied by a very engaging main character, Miranda, and it got me in the feels. Absolutely loved the ending. In a way, this felt like a much better, confident version of Prince Hat's Underground. And also it had by far the most fairy tale feel of them all.
Skinder's Veil: I also quite loved this one, happily! It feels like a fairy tale and it also has characters telling very twisted & cool fairy tales within it. It was also hilarious and had some great shroom-tripping moments and a road trip that felt super stressful and had me at the edge of my seat.
So thanks to the last 2 or 3 stories, definitely will read more Kelly Link (perhaps her chonky debut novel, The Book of Love? Excited to talk about this at book club!
January 31, 2023
I'm not convinced Kelly Link lives on the same plane of existence as many of the rest of us--certainly she doesn't think there. Nearly every encounter I have with one of her stories leaves me thinking that hers are unlike other stories... even others of hers. I went into this collection of fairy tale retellings with no idea of what to expect, and I was right!
Link's writing often lives, if it calls any place home for long, at the place where weird fiction and literary fiction meet. This latest collection has seven stories with some connection to fairy tales, and though each begins both with its own title and the title of the tale it draws from in parentheses, the connection is clearer in some cases than others. Her adaptation of Tam Lin is the most straightforwardly identifiable in its relationship to the source material as well as being the most fatasy-esque (also it's utterly lovely). Several, while having a titular connection to one fairy tale, evoke multiple tales at once; East O the Sun, West O the Moon feels like an Orpheus tale as well as several others besides. A few use what seem at first like an altogether unrelated story to bring your attention to elements or dynamics you missed in the story as you were used to thinking of it (The White Cat's Divorce).
A couple of the stories in this collection had connections to their source material that struck me as either tenuous or possibly as just having gone entirely over my head; both options seem equally likely. One, ostensibly based on the Grimm story about a boy who couldn't feel fear (I half-recall the title in German translating to the Boy Who Couldn't Shudder), was so esoteric that any real link to the original escaped me, although I enjoyed and was unsettled by reading it. The adaptation of Hansel and Gretel is a space science fiction story dedicated to Iain M. Banks that contains a sibling-like relationship and abandonment of said siblings, but otherwise nothing I could see that had any thematic or other ties to Hansel & Gretel. It was a damn good story, though, and I didn't mind it a bit.
Overall, Kelly Link is a wonder, and one kind of had to figure that if she put together a collection inspired by fairy tales, they'd be weird stories that would get under your skin, never anything predictable.
[A word of caution for anyone who might be thinking that fairy tale-inspired short stories might be suited for kids: these probably aren't. There are references to recreational substance use and sex (I'm happy to report excellent queer rep).]
White Cat, Black Dog is a strange and delightful collection; I never understand how she manages to be literary and so irreverent at the same time without coming across as smug. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC--my opinions are entirely my own.
Link's writing often lives, if it calls any place home for long, at the place where weird fiction and literary fiction meet. This latest collection has seven stories with some connection to fairy tales, and though each begins both with its own title and the title of the tale it draws from in parentheses, the connection is clearer in some cases than others. Her adaptation of Tam Lin is the most straightforwardly identifiable in its relationship to the source material as well as being the most fatasy-esque (also it's utterly lovely). Several, while having a titular connection to one fairy tale, evoke multiple tales at once; East O the Sun, West O the Moon feels like an Orpheus tale as well as several others besides. A few use what seem at first like an altogether unrelated story to bring your attention to elements or dynamics you missed in the story as you were used to thinking of it (The White Cat's Divorce).
A couple of the stories in this collection had connections to their source material that struck me as either tenuous or possibly as just having gone entirely over my head; both options seem equally likely. One, ostensibly based on the Grimm story about a boy who couldn't feel fear (I half-recall the title in German translating to the Boy Who Couldn't Shudder), was so esoteric that any real link to the original escaped me, although I enjoyed and was unsettled by reading it. The adaptation of Hansel and Gretel is a space science fiction story dedicated to Iain M. Banks that contains a sibling-like relationship and abandonment of said siblings, but otherwise nothing I could see that had any thematic or other ties to Hansel & Gretel. It was a damn good story, though, and I didn't mind it a bit.
Overall, Kelly Link is a wonder, and one kind of had to figure that if she put together a collection inspired by fairy tales, they'd be weird stories that would get under your skin, never anything predictable.
[A word of caution for anyone who might be thinking that fairy tale-inspired short stories might be suited for kids: these probably aren't. There are references to recreational substance use and sex (I'm happy to report excellent queer rep).]
White Cat, Black Dog is a strange and delightful collection; I never understand how she manages to be literary and so irreverent at the same time without coming across as smug. Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC--my opinions are entirely my own.
February 8, 2023
Like any collection of stories by Kelly Link, this one is amazing, full of magic and mysteries, and bouncing between gravity and levity—sometimes in the same sentence—in the easeful way that only Kelly Link can do. The stories are all inspired by fairy tales, but you might not identify the influencing story in some of those immediately, and they aren’t what some would call retellings or reimaginings so much as remixes that feel vibrant and contemporary and strange in the best way possible.
May 22, 2023
Another magical short story collection from Kelly Link! These stories are more directly inspired by existing fairy tales than Link's other work, but each one has been moved into the modern day, and generally changed so much as to be only loosely recognizable. A Game of Smash and Recovery, inspired by Hansel and Gretel, does feature a brother and sister; but they have been stranded on a foreign moon by their space-traveling parents, and live by scavenging supplies from vast warehouses left behind by previous inhabitants, while evading the vampires which flutter around the edges of their downed spacecraft. As the younger sister gets older, she comes closer and closer to a realization that neither she nor her brother nor their parents are who she thinks they are. The Lady and the Fox, based on Tamlin, does involve a young woman clutching her beloved to her chest through a series of painful magical transformations, but the woman is a charity case goddaughter of a rich actress who's family hosts ridiculously elaborate Christmas parties in their family mansion. Skinder's Veil, loosely Snow-White and Rose Red, does contain two nearly identical sisters, but the main character is a grad student struggling to finish his thesis who takes on a house-sitting job in a cabin in Vermont that might be visited by immortals. And so on and so on, Link weaves her threads. This one didn't unseat Get in Trouble as my favorite Link collection, but I enjoyed it very much.
October 14, 2022
Reading this collection felt like dreaming. Each fable is mesmeric, dense with meaning, and Link writes with such confidence and clarity of vision that you can’t help but fall under her spell. It’s Shirley Jackson by way of Aesop - at once familiar and frightening, these stories take root in the gaps in our perception, toying with our assumptions to make something that feels disturbingly real. Atmospheric, intoxicating, and intricately wrought,
White Cat, Black Dog is her best collection yet, a dazzling triumph that cements her place at the forefront of contemporary magical realism.
(Favorite stories - The White Road, The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear, The Game of Smash and Recovery)
White Cat, Black Dog is her best collection yet, a dazzling triumph that cements her place at the forefront of contemporary magical realism.
(Favorite stories - The White Road, The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear, The Game of Smash and Recovery)
May 24, 2023
The audiobook is… interesting because the diff narrators for each short story threw me off a bit and I def enjoyed some others more than others
I really really liked every short story fairytale retelling here except for The Game of Smash and Recovery (Hansel and Gretel) and The Lady and the Fox (Tam Lin). Very original and clever and funny
I really really liked every short story fairytale retelling here except for The Game of Smash and Recovery (Hansel and Gretel) and The Lady and the Fox (Tam Lin). Very original and clever and funny
February 24, 2023
Like any collection, there are hits and misses. I won't enumerate the misses, but will instead focus on some of the hits. Fantasy not being one of my go-to's, I admit to a certain reluctance to the genre, but these witty, and in some cases, haunting modernized fairy tales held me. Kelly Link's ability to weave atmospheric spells overrode my basic pragmatic attitude, and made me curious to read others she has written.
February 25, 2025
Modern magical fables ingenious in construction. These stories are dainty little urban fantasies with twisty plots with a little extra sex and drugs. Unfortunately, some of this rubbed me the wrong way. I actually thought the sexual focus in this was a bit cringey, but maybe this is a more feminine horniness than I'm used to. Everyone is always just smoking weed and doing it. Very cool (rolls eyes). This is still all very interesting and thoughtful and I can see why people like it. Kind of reminded me of Neil Gaimen. Score is rounded up to a 4 because they got Dan Stevens and Patton Oswalt on the audiobook.
March 31, 2024
in short, the first and last stories were solid, but everything in between had me going either “???????” or “oh i guess that’s it” and that is a pity
December 6, 2023
Collection of seven retellings of fairy tales. The original inspiration is listed next to the title, though some are barely recognizable. Most contain elements of magical realism, fantasy, or horror. My favorite is The White Cat’s Divorce, which features a talking white cat running a cannabis farm and the youngest son of a wealthy man who refuses to name an heir. I also enjoyed the holiday related story of a young girl who is a yearly Christmas guest of a wealthy family after her mother is imprisoned. Each year she sees a ghostly man wandering outside. Although they are fairy tales, they are geared more toward adults in theme and content. They are creative and more than a little bizarre. The writing is strong, but the content is a little too gruesome for me. I think fans of short story collections would enjoy it.
May 9, 2023
2.5 stars rounded up (generously)
Meh.
I adored Link's collection, Get in Trouble, but this one fell far short for me.
Of the seven short stories here, I can only say I enjoyed The White Road and Skinder's Veil. The other five, I ended up skimming because they left me scratching my head. Random and weird, which I'm usually a fan of, but here I just didn't get it. You know what I mean? Sometimes literary fiction has you feeling like you missed something? I don't think I missed anything here, there were a couple hits but more misses. Short stories can be a mixed bag and I always go into the collection aware of that. I'll still pick up the next Kelly Link because she's an extremely talented writer, this one just wasn't for me, unfortunately.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
Meh.
I adored Link's collection, Get in Trouble, but this one fell far short for me.
Of the seven short stories here, I can only say I enjoyed The White Road and Skinder's Veil. The other five, I ended up skimming because they left me scratching my head. Random and weird, which I'm usually a fan of, but here I just didn't get it. You know what I mean? Sometimes literary fiction has you feeling like you missed something? I don't think I missed anything here, there were a couple hits but more misses. Short stories can be a mixed bag and I always go into the collection aware of that. I'll still pick up the next Kelly Link because she's an extremely talented writer, this one just wasn't for me, unfortunately.
For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com
April 29, 2023
White Cat, Black. Dog is a collection of short stories by author Kelly Link. The stories are based on seven fairy tales which have all been modernized and, like in any collection, I liked some more than others. My favourite was The White Cat’s Divorce in which a rich man sets difficult tasks for his sons. But, honestly, I enjoyed them all. They were well-written and entertaining with a nice touch of humour and reminded me of the joy fairy tales provided my childhood. I loved the drawings by Shaun Tan at the beginning of each story and appreciated Link letting the reader know which fairy tale the story is based on. It shoUld be noted that this collection is definitely for adults but my inner child thought it was great fun.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
March 21, 2024
3/7 ain’t bad - but those first four are like a moat, or an entangled morass of boring thorns to get to some quite excellent writing at the back end. I recommend skipping to the fifth story and just enjoying those three, which are warm, clever and magical in all the ways the first four decidedly were not.
September 2, 2024
This is a collection of seven very well-written, very literate fantasy stories that are launched from traditional classic fairy tales. They're very finely crafted pieces that reminded me somewhat of the best work of Peter S. Beagle. There were a couple that I'm afraid I didn't really fully understand because the conclusions must have been somewhere over my head, but I enjoyed reading them all, nonetheless. For example, The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear is a character study of a lady stranded when a series of flight cancellations delays her return home. Or The White Road, which is a dreamlike post-apocalyptic tale about a troupe of traveling performers. My favorites were The White Cat's Divorce and especially Skinder's Veil, from an Ellen Datlow anthology with Shirley Jackson inspirations.
January 8, 2023
Read courtesy of NetGalley and publisher.
A year with a new Kelly Link collection is a good year - what a treat it was to read more stories from her. The first two didn't bowl me over, but then it was all postapocalyptic horror, dark creepiness and surprises. I only wish it was longer. I particularly enjoyed "The White Road", with its mounting horror and excellent worldbuilding, and "The Girl Who Didn't Know Fear", with that twist ending. But they're all strong, and not typical retellings of fables but rather contemporary stories taking bits and pieces as starting points.
A year with a new Kelly Link collection is a good year - what a treat it was to read more stories from her. The first two didn't bowl me over, but then it was all postapocalyptic horror, dark creepiness and surprises. I only wish it was longer. I particularly enjoyed "The White Road", with its mounting horror and excellent worldbuilding, and "The Girl Who Didn't Know Fear", with that twist ending. But they're all strong, and not typical retellings of fables but rather contemporary stories taking bits and pieces as starting points.
March 20, 2024
21st book for 2024.
The premise of this collection—rewriting classic fairytales in contemporary grab—sounds great, but unfortunately the stories were mostly uninteresting. Of the seven, I only found three interesting: first and second, The White Cat's Divorce and Prince Hat Underground; and the last, Skinder's Veil. The last, about a grad student house-sitting in a particularly weird out of the way place—while trying to write up their dissertation was by far the best.
2-stars.
The premise of this collection—rewriting classic fairytales in contemporary grab—sounds great, but unfortunately the stories were mostly uninteresting. Of the seven, I only found three interesting: first and second, The White Cat's Divorce and Prince Hat Underground; and the last, Skinder's Veil. The last, about a grad student house-sitting in a particularly weird out of the way place—while trying to write up their dissertation was by far the best.
2-stars.
December 11, 2023
A collection of short stories that reminded me more and more strongly as the collection progressed of why I don't read Kelly Link short stories. The premise for each was thin but made to seem weightier by telling it in obscuring ways and then ending most of them before a resolution.
The White Cat's Divorce: the youngest son of a rich man is sent on three quests, each of which he wins after being provided the answer by a white cat. (The white cat works growing, designing, and selling weed, as do the other cats who live with her.) For the third quest, Also, throughout the youngest son is the dimmest and most tractable bulb in the world, such that it beggars belief. wtf?
Prince Hat Underground: a man goes in search of his husband, who has seemingly left him for his long-lost fiancee. I liked this the best in the collection. I had a feel for the personalities of the characters, the main character didn't just passively let weird shit happen to him (as is the case in most of these stories), and there's actually a resolution.
The White Road: a group of players in a fantasy post-apocalypse is trapped with no way to fight off the monsters who come at night. They hit upon the idea of holding a fake funeral, which only works for a time. I have always liked the original tale this is based on, The Musicians of Bremen, and so had hopes for this one. Alas, it has none of the cleverness of that tale. The only common thread I could think of (and this is me really reaching) is that the players attempt to fool monsters, and in the original the animals fooled a group of robbers.
The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear: a professor's flight is delayed repeatedly. At home, her young daughter has a repeating nightmare of a clogged toilet. At last the professor gets on a plane and discovers in quick succession that her seatmate knew her wife, she's just gotten her period, and that the airplane toilet is clogged. Then the story ends. It feels like something bad is about to happen, caused by the professor who might have some sort of supernatural genetic thing going on? I have no idea, and I have no idea how this is connected to the tale that supposedly inspired it.
The Game of Smash and Recovery: Oscar has raised Anat almost all her life on an otherwise abandoned moon. They spend their time playing and inventorying a vast warehouse. At last, Anat is almost grown up and Oscar tells her that their parents are on their way home. As before, how is this connected to the Hansel and Gretel, which supposedly inspired it?
The Lady and the Fox: a retelling of Tam Lin which is actually too close to the original to be any fun. I did like
Skinder's Veil: A man having trouble with his dissertation is offered a house-sitting job and meets a variety of creatures and odd people who enter the house as guests. As with The White Cat's Divorce, the main character is implausibly passive and incurious.
If you have any thoughts or speculations on my areas of confusion, I'd love to hear them!
The White Cat's Divorce: the youngest son of a rich man is sent on three quests, each of which he wins after being provided the answer by a white cat. (The white cat works growing, designing, and selling weed, as do the other cats who live with her.) For the third quest, Also, throughout the youngest son is the dimmest and most tractable bulb in the world, such that it beggars belief. wtf?
Prince Hat Underground: a man goes in search of his husband, who has seemingly left him for his long-lost fiancee. I liked this the best in the collection. I had a feel for the personalities of the characters, the main character didn't just passively let weird shit happen to him (as is the case in most of these stories), and there's actually a resolution.
The White Road: a group of players in a fantasy post-apocalypse is trapped with no way to fight off the monsters who come at night. They hit upon the idea of holding a fake funeral, which only works for a time. I have always liked the original tale this is based on, The Musicians of Bremen, and so had hopes for this one. Alas, it has none of the cleverness of that tale. The only common thread I could think of (and this is me really reaching) is that the players attempt to fool monsters, and in the original the animals fooled a group of robbers.
The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear: a professor's flight is delayed repeatedly. At home, her young daughter has a repeating nightmare of a clogged toilet. At last the professor gets on a plane and discovers in quick succession that her seatmate knew her wife, she's just gotten her period, and that the airplane toilet is clogged. Then the story ends. It feels like something bad is about to happen, caused by the professor who might have some sort of supernatural genetic thing going on? I have no idea, and I have no idea how this is connected to the tale that supposedly inspired it.
The Game of Smash and Recovery: Oscar has raised Anat almost all her life on an otherwise abandoned moon. They spend their time playing and inventorying a vast warehouse. At last, Anat is almost grown up and Oscar tells her that their parents are on their way home. As before, how is this connected to the Hansel and Gretel, which supposedly inspired it?
The Lady and the Fox: a retelling of Tam Lin which is actually too close to the original to be any fun. I did like
Skinder's Veil: A man having trouble with his dissertation is offered a house-sitting job and meets a variety of creatures and odd people who enter the house as guests. As with The White Cat's Divorce, the main character is implausibly passive and incurious.
If you have any thoughts or speculations on my areas of confusion, I'd love to hear them!
April 1, 2023
2,5
I liked some of these reinvented fairy tales but most were too strange and silly for my liking. I’m afraid this was not for me.
Thank you Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the ARC.
I liked some of these reinvented fairy tales but most were too strange and silly for my liking. I’m afraid this was not for me.
Thank you Head of Zeus and Netgalley for the ARC.
September 10, 2023
It's interesting that all the stories that intrigued me are actually towards the ends of the collection. Each story is a retelling of a different fairytale. without reading the original fairytale, they seem really bizarre and outlandish at times. I think reading the original tales will bring more nuance and understanding of each story.
mini reviews
1- The White Cat's Divorce: Each story highlights the myth or original story it retells and that's very useful. I don't know the original story for this one, but it was very bizarre. It follows a rich man afraid of growing old, and he starts sending his three sons on quests to get them out of his sight because every time he sees them he remembers his impending death. there's lot of cute dogs and talking cats. so that's a bonus. I kept waiting for the grim ending, and it didn't disappoint
2- Prince Hat Underground: I'm liking how there are older protagonists in these stories. A man goes on an odyessey-like journey searching for his love. I liked the dark ending.
3- The White Road: I like the travelling actors vibes.
4- The Girl who did not know Fear: I think this is my favorite story in the collection so far, though I'm not sure I fully understood it without really knowing the original fairytale. I guess this is my issue with this collection. without knowing the fairytales, the stories just seems weird and incomplete.
5- The Game of Smash and Recovery: eerie and atmospheric. really liked this one too. its spookiness crawls under yout skin as you can't really make sense of the setting but it's captivating. it also helped that I was more familiar (just a little bit) with the fairytale this one was inspired from (Hansel & Gretel), though that didn't really help much, since this was more sci-fi.
6- The Lady and the Fox: well, I really loved that one. there's romance and shape-shifting fox and magical snow on christmas day. I have some issues with some characters, but overall, I think this is another win in the collection
7- Skinder's Veil: I think this one is the highlight of the entire collection. personification of death? a lot of creepy stories woven into the narrative? talking bear? hallucinations? a big secluded house?
mini reviews
1- The White Cat's Divorce: Each story highlights the myth or original story it retells and that's very useful. I don't know the original story for this one, but it was very bizarre. It follows a rich man afraid of growing old, and he starts sending his three sons on quests to get them out of his sight because every time he sees them he remembers his impending death. there's lot of cute dogs and talking cats. so that's a bonus. I kept waiting for the grim ending, and it didn't disappoint
2- Prince Hat Underground: I'm liking how there are older protagonists in these stories. A man goes on an odyessey-like journey searching for his love. I liked the dark ending.
3- The White Road: I like the travelling actors vibes.
4- The Girl who did not know Fear: I think this is my favorite story in the collection so far, though I'm not sure I fully understood it without really knowing the original fairytale. I guess this is my issue with this collection. without knowing the fairytales, the stories just seems weird and incomplete.
5- The Game of Smash and Recovery: eerie and atmospheric. really liked this one too. its spookiness crawls under yout skin as you can't really make sense of the setting but it's captivating. it also helped that I was more familiar (just a little bit) with the fairytale this one was inspired from (Hansel & Gretel), though that didn't really help much, since this was more sci-fi.
6- The Lady and the Fox: well, I really loved that one. there's romance and shape-shifting fox and magical snow on christmas day. I have some issues with some characters, but overall, I think this is another win in the collection
7- Skinder's Veil: I think this one is the highlight of the entire collection. personification of death? a lot of creepy stories woven into the narrative? talking bear? hallucinations? a big secluded house?
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