The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet

by Kelly Link (Editor), Gavin J. Grant (Editor), Jeffrey Ford

Unexpected tales of the fantastic, & other odd musings by Nalo Hopkinson Karen Joy Fowler Karen Russell Jeffrey Ford among many others

Contains STORIES by the AMAZING Jeffrey Ford, the FABULOUS Karen Joy Fowler, the UNLIKELY Kelly Link, the THRILLING Nalo Hopkinson, the SHOCKINGLY GOOD Karen Russell, the UNNERVING James Sallis, and dozens of UNCANNY others, as well as USEFUL lists of many kinds and STRAIGHT-SHOOTING advice from Aunt Gwenda.

Edited by Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant
Introduction by Dan Chaon

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Anthologies, Fiction, Science Fiction, Essays, Adult Fiction

420 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Kelly 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.

Reviews

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fanzines emerged out of the 1930s science-fiction fan culture, eventually propagating among such active fandoms as music, role-playing games, and comics. Zines played a pivotal role in the development of new talent often publishing the best and brightest before they were well-known: Ray Bradbury, Greil Marcus, Robert Crumb, and Bruce Sterling, among others. The advent of the Internet ushered in the webzine, seemingly dooming the traditional zine, but experimental, postmodern science-fiction fanzines like Electric Velocipede and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet keep the print form alive and pertinent. The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet reprints the finest fiction, essays, poetry, and other oddities from the zine's first decade.

The first two pieces, written separately by co-editors Kelly Link – "Travels With the Snow Queen," a nonlinear tale of forbidden love – and Gavin J. Grant – his insightful nonfiction exploration "Scotch: An Essay Into a Drink" – quickly establish the tenor both in quality and content for this stunning anthology. Excellent and unconventional pieces abound: Margaret Muirhead's profound Swiftian parody "An Open Letter Concerning Sponsorship"; Sarah Monette's tortured romance "Three Letters From the Queen of Elfland"; Jan Lars Jensen's frightening study of the dangers of television nostalgia, "Happier Days"; Gwenda Bond's twisted Dear Abby columns, "Dear Aunt Gwenda"; and David J. Schwartz's comical letter "The Icthyomancer Writes His Friends With an Account of the Yeti's Birthday Party," to name a few. Interspersed within the stories, the editors sprinkle trivial tidbits about literature, movies, music, and other strangeness.

The compositions appear in order of original publication, creating an odd, uneven flow to the book. Later in the collection, as the editing duo became more comfortable with their craft and their writers, the contributions get stronger. Showcasing a selection of the top new and exciting writers working today, The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet presents a wondrous playground for lovers of experimental and avant-garde literature. If this is the 21st century zine, the form can be taken off the endangered list.

(This review originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle, September 7, 2007)
link:[http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyroba...]

[Tim Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have had a different reaction to this collection had I encountered it earlier, but familiar as I am now with the kind of story that might appear in Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, this one didn't do it for me. The stories included within (there's a fair amount of poetry, too) are exactly my kind of genre--that difficult-to-label, slipstreamy, edge-of-fantasy stuff I've been drawn to in the past couple of years--but this didn't quite strike me as a best-of, unfortunately. The pieces by authors I've encountered elsewhere, folks like Kelly Link, Theodora Goss, Ray Vukcevich, Karen Joy Fowler, and Karen Russell (all of whom I've thoroughly enjoyed) were not their best. And many of the other stories were intriguing but lacking a real spark. Two stood out to me: "The Fishie," a sort of Riddley Walker-type tale of some simple folk living in an alternate world that may or may not be post-apocalyptic, and "What's Sure to Come," a more realist story (that felt a lot like a Stuart Dybek tale) about a child narrator observing his gambling, card-reading elders. I also really enjoyed the illustrated essay "The Well-Dressed Wolf." As for the others, I was seldom repulsed (like I often was with the Kelly Link-edited Trampoline--and by the way, I absolutely adore Kelly Link's writing; see my other reviews), but I wasn't quite enchanted, which is what writing of this variety can/should do.

[Leaf Grabenstetter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most perfect anthology I've ever read. With the exception of one story, I was engaged and excited throughout.
I'd already been a fan of Kelly Link's own endeavors prior to discovering LCRW, but that didn't stop me from being blown away by the skill exhibited in this volume.
I've since become a subscriber to LCRW (chocolate level), and I have to admit that it really does just keep getting better. That little hand-copied, stapled little pamphlet is my favorite among all of the literary magazines I subscribe to (Realms of Fantasy, Weird Tales, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and Tin House being among them).

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book holds the contents of a couple of zines created by Kelly Link and her husband. It has short stories, short-shorts, essays, film reviews and poems. There are lots of gems here, and lots that I skipped over. Highlights:

Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland - A husband finds a mysterious set of letters in his wife's possessions.

Happier Days - A series of high school reunions with a "Happy Days" theme begin to have drastic effects on the participants.

Help Wanted - Mer-Girl, Bat Girl and Centaur Girl all seek employment.

The Pirate's True Love - Looooved this story about some pirates' wives who find feminism.

Bright Waters - About a Dutch fur trapper and trader in the early 1700's and his relationship with a tribe of Indians.

The Ichthyomancer Writes his Friend with an Account of the Yeti's Birthday Party - Here's an excerpt from this hilarious short: There were presents, of course. Dr. Wise gave the Yeti a first printing of Walden, which quite moved the Yeti and left the rest of us feeling our gifts were inadequate. The Zulus gave a set of ivory combs and brushes, and were careful to mention that the ivory came from elephants who had died of old age. The Yeti thanked them and ruffled up his fur to try out the brushes, which produced a roar of laughter and a few sparks of static electricity. Maggie and I gave him a pair of snowshoes... since he had told us that he was going back to visit the Himalayas in March. He thanked us and said they'd be useful for outrunning photographers.

[Jennifer Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is one of those rare journals which is always fresh and surprising, and well worth watching. If you like the weird, the original, the speculative, the original, the strange, or even if you simply like good writing, it's worth taking note of. As a result, this is simply a fun anthology of work. Filled with an odd assortment of poetry, fiction, observation, and note, the book is incredibly entertaining. There's little doubt in my mind that any reader will find something worth re-reading and sharing, just as other things won't be in line with their tastes. In the end, though, the book is worth searching out.

To my own taste, the best tales are "Pretending" by Ray Vukcevich, "Bay" by David Erik Nelson, and "You Were Neither Hot Nor Cold, But Lukewarm, and So I Spit You Out" by Cara Spindler and David Erik Nelson. But, that said, I was never bored by this collection, and LCRW is one of those rare journals which is not only spilling over with talent, but incredibly varied.

Recommended, absolutely.

[Josie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I returned this book to the library early - oddly, because the stories are so excellent. I had to own it, knowing I'd re-read it many times. In a way, it's a primer for how to write outside the stagnant, boring, patriarchal academic/intellectual elite that infects most published fiction.
This is a collection of stories from many authors first published in the literary zine (yes, a real zine that still looks photocopied, although the book isn't) Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J Grant (both good writers who have a story in this collection!) C'mon, how awesome is a literary zine named after Winston Churchill's mom's tattoo?

[Gisele Walko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. All stories were unique, well-written and flowed well.

[chris_debian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Sadly, I found that off the wall didn't equal well written/ interesting. Worth a try, though.

[Aaron Dehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

Favs:
Tan-Tan & Dry Bone, Hopkinson
Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland, Monette
Help Wanted, Russell
The Mushroom Duchess, Roggie
The Pirate’s True Love, Graham

[Groucho42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

From the intro, the title publication is a fanzine, and it shows. Pretentious drivel.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I randomly remember just now that I bought this the night before Spanky & Karen's wedding while wandering around Tyson's with Nattie and Georg. Also, I've just turned the book over for the first time, really, and see these notes on the back cover: "HIGH IN FIBER -- rough on your stomach! Keep contents unsettling -- SHAKE WELL. Waste DAYS of VALUABLE time that YOU could spend ONLINE!"

My short reaction to the book was "I liked some of the stories, and really disliked others"; Mina's was "I loved some of the stories, and thought others were just decent." (Approximately; I can't remember her exact words. Mina, correct me if I'm misrepresenting you!) Sometimes I think I just don't particularly like interstitial writing.

Kelly Link is one of the editors of the 'zine and the collection, and her story "Travels with the Snow Queen" starts it off. "Ladies. Has it ever occurred to you that fairy tales aren't easy on the feet?" There are some fantastic lines in this, and I'd probably rank it as among my favorites of Link's stories (I've also read her Magic for Beginners), with its self-conscious fairy tale narration.

Karen Joy Fowler's "Heartland" is neat, and also not at all what I associated with her from her novels (not that I've read any of them). "The whole goddamn country is small now, my grandfather says. Small country. Small people."

Sarah Monette's "Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland" is probably my favorite story in the collection, though I reserve the right to change my mind, and really, no one is surprised: it's the most straightforwardly fantasy story in there. (With lesbians!) This despite becoming disenchanted with faerie stories and especially historical faerie stories lately. Monette's also the only contributor whose novels I've read. I had pretty mixed reactions to them, but there were some things I liked quite a bit.

David J. Schwartz's "The Ichthyomancer Writes His Friend with an Account of the Yeti's Birthday Party" made me giggle pretty much straight through, starting with the title.

Sarah Micklem's "'Eft' or 'Epic'" is far and away my favorite if not Monette's, and again no one is surprised, because it's a mock translation of a snippet of an imaginary language, mostly consisting of notes and a note on translation. I have to figure out a way to steal this idea without, you know, stealing the idea. BRILLIANT. And I am graciously looking past the Eskimo words for snow bit, because there is enough linguistic geekiness to make up for even such a fundamental misapprehension. I will have to pick up her novel -- too bad it's about a red-headed girl named Firethorn.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are writers who are write fearlessly, unafraid of following a good story wherever it might try to hide. Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet - the magazine itself, that is - was barely more than a decade old when this book was published. That's an eternity, perhaps, for a small-press publication, but it's still a remarkably short time in which to have attracted so many excellent, energetic genre-benders.

I recognized many familiar names from other places, like Karen Joy Fowler ("Heartland"), Jeffrey Ford ("What's Sure to Come"), Sarah Monette ("Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland") and Ray Vukcevich ("Pretending"); several others, such as fellow Portlander Douglas Lain ("Music Lessons"), John Brown ("Bright Waters") and Deborah Roggie ("The Mushroom Duchess") were new to me. It was a good mix of the known and unknown.

There were some parts of this anthology didn't work as well for me, of course. It could hardly be otherwise in a compilation with this kind of breadth. There were a couple of tales told in strained dialects that I had to struggle through. But on the whole, this best-of lives up to its name - a variegated delight, light, playful and eclectic, which includes not just stories and the occasional poem but also lists of tomato varieties and kinds of tea, and even one little article that wasn't there at all. This catchall approach makes the book all over the map thematically, but it stays surprisingly even in tone, unified by the steady editorial sensibilities of Link and Grant. Well worth picking up and consuming, cover-to-cover or in small, tasty bites.

[Sessily]

An excellent collection of short stories, essays, and other short writings. As with any collection, I didn't like every story I read, but there was only one story that I almost didn't finish reading. The rest ranged from "good" to "great" to "added to my list of favorites." Standout stories, falling into the great and favorites columns, are Kelly Link's "Travels With The Snow Queen," Nalo Hopkinson's "Tan-Tan and Dry Bone," Philip Raines and Harvey Welles' "The Fishie," Veronica Schanoes' "Serpents," and Becca de la Rosa's "This is the Train the Queen Rides On."

The stories fall into that most uncertain of categories often referred to as "slipstream." As in "this story is pretty fantastical, but it's not doing what I expect a fantasy story to do." The ones I loved the most (the ones I mentioned above) are the ones that specifically play with either form or language. Link and Schanoes play with our expectations for fairy tales, twisting them around, throwing in some random elements, and shaking it up into something unexpected. Hopkinson and the duo of Raines and Welles do great things with language (from "Tan-Tan": Duppy Dead Town is where people go when life boof them, when hope left them and happiness cut she eye 'pon them and strut away." from "The Fishie": "When two storms dally, folk dispute which is bairn, which is fierce--but this time, there's sure that the second storm will be the cracker.") And Becca de la Rosa distills a story down to its basic elements and creates something new and living.

Also recommended are the Dear Gwenda columns, which made me giggle, and Gavin Grant's essays.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 'best of' volume encompasses the first ten years (1996-2006) of the pioneering 'zine edited by Kelly (MacArthur Genius Grant) Link and her husband, Gavin (Regular Genius) Grant. The 'zine helped to shape and define the term 'slipstream', which contains a lot of bizarre and disjointed elements with a loose narrative structure, mainly intended to give the reader a disquieted but pronounced feeling of cognitive dissonance.

And fun. Don't forget the fun.

Kelly and Gavin may have grown up on 'Fractured Fairytales' from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show, for all the strange variations of classic fairytales and myths that they publish, albeit more polished and nuanced than the cartoon versions. You can see the roots of some of today's 'repurposed' writings in these 15-25 year old stories and poems.

It's fun to see the early form of experimental writing that the field went through on its way to large, epic trope-subverting fantasies that seem all the rage today. It's also fun to see early stories by favorite authors: Karen Russell (her first published story!), Theodora Goss, John Kessel, Karen Joy Fowler, Nalo Hopkinson, Jeffrey Ford, and of course Kelly Link herself.

LCRW is still going strong and has generous subscription offerings (including chocolate bars, other 'zines, and signed books).

[Jennybeast · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one, I was not expecting to like. I thought I'd enjoy it, because I like Kelly Link, and a couple of her stories would be in there. But it's an anthology, so it's a crapshoot and what are the odds of most of the stories being phenomenal? I guess when your editors are Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, your odds are pretty damn high. It's an amazing book. Some of the best writing I've come across in years, certainly the best collection of short stories I've ever encountered.

The writing! Great writing! By many people all in one place in short stories! Wow! ahem, sorry, it still blows my mind. I took about two weeks to read this because I didn't want to rush the sheer pleasure of the activity. This is the book I would recommend as an ambassador to people who like literary fiction but hate sci-fi, people who refuse to read zines, people who read nothing but sci-fi/fantasy and are afraid of literary fiction. Well, ok, I'd recommend it for practically everybody. It's not good, it's brilliant.

[Noam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of the best kind of sci fi/fantasy. You see, growing up, I've always loved sci fi and fantasy, but I was always aware that 90% of the genre are total crap. By the time I was 12, I was sick of Prince Hapless going on a quest to prove himself to Lady Bigbreasts, and Princess Too-Many-Letters-in-her-Name proving girls can be magicians, too, not to mention all the robots and evil aliens and Captain Hapless proving himself to Token Female Bigbreasts. But my favorite books were still in that genre. Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet is full of very original fiction and poetry which really pushes the boundaries of the sci fi/fantasy genres. My favorites were "Snow," "A is for Apple: an Easy Reader," and "My Father's Ghost."

[lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am really not that into anthologies most of the time, so i only read the things in here that i immediately was drawn to or seemed like a thing i would like. kelly link's opening story is killer, just like pretty much everything she has ever written, and karen russell's contribution is so beautiful, as well as many others. i am not sure what to rate this, because not reading all of the pieces in here had less to do with them not being good and way more to do with my own lack of endurance and patience when it comes to reading anthologies. the things i read were really, really good, though.

[Lianne Burwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely recommend that you be in the right mindset for this collection. The zine it's collected from is known for publishing stories that are somewhat out there, and this collection highlights it.

It also contains more than just short stories. Movie reviews, articles on whiskey and martinis. Poetry, and even artwork. All in all, it's a collection that you have to be in the mood for.

But there are flashes of brilliance. The story based on the fairy tale about the boy with the shard of glass in his eye is wonderful. The article on whiskey makes me want to try it, even though I can't stand alcohol. And I definitely want to get a subscription to the magazine.

[Barrita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet suena como el tipo de revista que me gustaría haber leído periódicamente desde que empezó a ser publicada. Este libro contiene una seleción de lo mejor de esa revista, incluyendo cuentos, microcuentos, poesía, reseñas y todo de temas, géneros y estilos variados.

Lo que une a todos estos elementos es lo inesperado. Los textos juegan con el lector, lo invitan a rincones desconocidos y voltean la realidad de cabeza si se les antoja.

Aunque no es un libro para todos, a mi me encantó por muchos motivos, incluyendo el hecho de que ya conocía y me agradaban muchos de los autores.

[Becky Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly Link's aesthetic is the best. I love her short stories, and for the most part, I loved the short stories and poems she selected for her zine, and consequently for her anthology. There are some real gems. Jan Lars Jensen's story "Happier Days" is about a Happy Days-themed high school reunion that goes horribly wrong--or right? Don't want to give it away, but I loved that one. Deborah Roggie's "The Mushroom Duchess," also very good--think The Favorite meets Phantom Thread? Only losing a star here because, as with every anthology I've ever read, I didn't care for every single story and poem inside of it. But overall it's wonderful!

[Ginger K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never read a slipstream collection before. The experience was akin to walking through a gallery modern art. Several of the pieces I connected with and loved instantly. Some have grown on me since the initial encounter. There were a couple pieces which, although I can tell they were very finely crafted, I did not 'get' on any meaningful level. And then there were one or two to which my response was, "This is not art. What is it even doing here?"

Overall, though, I recommend the trip.

[Holley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved several of the stories in this collection.

My favorites were:
Travels with the Snow Queen
Tan-Tan and Dry Bone
What's Sure to Come
Three Letters from the Queen of Elfland
Happier Days
Serpents
Help Wanted
The Mushroom Duchess

Others were good, but these were absolute favorites. There was only one story in the collection that I didn't care for, but all in all, very worth the read, and I will definitely be looking for other work by some of these authors.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little dubious about the cover blurb that declared this book "nothing short of a 'best practices' tutorial for the resuscitation of innovative literature." I'm not dubious anymore. The "other odd musings" of the book were interesting (I really did find the essay on scotch a nice diversion), and made the collection a better representation of the LCRW 'zine, itself.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Except for the very last tale, this is probably one of the best and most consistently high-quality anthologies I've ever read. (The last story sucked. Sorry, Cara Spindler and David Erik Nelson.) It is chock-full of weird, wild, confusing, evocative and poetic prose, and weirder, wilder poetry. I highly recommend this to those who like their fiction short and strange.

[shean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kelly Link was what drew me to this book. I only made it halfway through before it was due back at the library but the stories were interesting and well written. Kelly Link, one of two editors put a story in and that shone above everything else I read. Worth reading, worth subscribing to the magazine although it doesn't compete with a book full of Kelly Link stories.

[Elena Mooney Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man I love these guys. Im sick with jealousy that Im not part of this whole literary group. Its my lack of writing ability and oldladyosity that keeps me from thier sides. Oh well at least I have the Flanders PTA! (sound of gunshot)

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this collection convinced me that I am TOTALLY SICK of reimagined postmodern fairy tales - entirely done with the concept - I still enjoyed much of it, notably stories by Link, Goss and Monette. The poetry and drink articles were also enjoyable.

[meeners · Rating 4 out of 5]

strong, fantastically eclectic collection. loved how it slips in and out and in-between genre conventions. favorite pieces were the ones by link, fowler, blair, schimel & rojo, muirhead, vukcevich...etc.!

[Paula McConnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of the out-there, wacky and weird tales and poems from the magazine. I had never heard of LCRW and no longer feel an orphan; I have finally found my tribe of writers. Great fun.

[Kinsey_m · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made the mistake of reading Bay by David Erik Nelson in bed, and then I had to lay in the darkness, scared stiff. It may be that I was not expecting a horror story in this anthology, or it may be that it was brilliant...