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Sleight of Hand
Abundant with tales of quiet heroism, life-changing decisions, and determined searches for deep answers, this extraordinary collection of contemporary fantasy explores the realms between this world and the next. From the top of the Berlin Wall to the depths of the darkest seas, gods and monsters battle their enemies and innermost fears, yet mere mortals make the truly difficult choices. A slightly regretful author and a vengeful-but-dilapidated dragon square off over an abandoned narrative; the children of the Shark God demand painful truths from their chronically absent father; and a bereaved women sacrifices herself to change one terrible moment, effortlessly reversed by a shuffle of the deck. Whether melancholic, comedic, or deeply tragic, each new tale is suffused with misdirection and discovery, expressed in the rich and mesmerizing voice of a masterful storyteller.
“The Rock in the Park"
“Sleight of Hand”
“The Children of the Shark God”
“The Best Worst Monster”
“What Tune the Enchantress Plays”
“La Lune T’Attend”
“Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers”
“The Rabbi’s Hobby”
“Oakland Dragon Blues”
“The Bridge Partner”
“Dirae”
“Vanishing"
"The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon” (A Schmendrick Tale)
“The Rock in the Park"
“Sleight of Hand”
“The Children of the Shark God”
“The Best Worst Monster”
“What Tune the Enchantress Plays”
“La Lune T’Attend”
“Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers”
“The Rabbi’s Hobby”
“Oakland Dragon Blues”
“The Bridge Partner”
“Dirae”
“Vanishing"
"The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon” (A Schmendrick Tale)
287 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
33 people are currently reading
1338 people want to read
About the author
Peter S. Beagle
222 books3,870 followersPeter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
August 11, 2011
Three and a half stars
An interesting collection, a couple up to Beagle's highest works and his characteristic haunting, sorrowful tone. Most are previously published in magazines or short story collections. A couple read more like writing exercises; the are polished in their own way but don't really reach excellence.
"The Rock in the Park" is about centaurs in Brooklyn. Wonderful tale about friends, magic, art and probably one of my favorites in the collection.
"Sleight of Hand" a woman wants to escape her life. Haunting and puzzling, and despite a second read, I'm not sure I understand it fully.
"The Children of the Shark God" for a monster brides anthology. Actually quite thoughtful and sad, and about being a child of a missing parent as much as the bride of a "monster."
"The Best Worst Monster" A silly one about a man who makes a monster and terrorizes a town until the monster grows some ethics.
"What Tune the Enchantress Plays" written from the perspective of an enchantress musing on her life before killing a demon.
"La Lune T'Attend" aging New Orleans werewolves take a stand. A very unique take on a werewolf tale. Sorrowful and noble.
"Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers" a wife musing on Jacks and husbands--rather funny.
"The Rabbi's Hobby" a young boy studying with a rabbi finds a mysterious woman in a photo. Haunting, the way a box full of old black and white photos are.
"Oakland Dragon Blues" a dragon lands in Berkley; reads a little more like a writing exercise and lacks the fullness and sophistication of most of his works.
"The Bridge Partner" a submissive woman finds a new bridge partner. "Bridges" on horror.
"Dirae" revenge fantasy starring a mysterious warrior woman that finds herself saving people.
"Vanishing" a return to the Berlin wall for an old soldier.
"The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon" set in the same world as The Last Unicorn
An interesting collection, a couple up to Beagle's highest works and his characteristic haunting, sorrowful tone. Most are previously published in magazines or short story collections. A couple read more like writing exercises; the are polished in their own way but don't really reach excellence.
"The Rock in the Park" is about centaurs in Brooklyn. Wonderful tale about friends, magic, art and probably one of my favorites in the collection.
"Sleight of Hand" a woman wants to escape her life. Haunting and puzzling, and despite a second read, I'm not sure I understand it fully.
"The Children of the Shark God" for a monster brides anthology. Actually quite thoughtful and sad, and about being a child of a missing parent as much as the bride of a "monster."
"The Best Worst Monster" A silly one about a man who makes a monster and terrorizes a town until the monster grows some ethics.
"What Tune the Enchantress Plays" written from the perspective of an enchantress musing on her life before killing a demon.
"La Lune T'Attend" aging New Orleans werewolves take a stand. A very unique take on a werewolf tale. Sorrowful and noble.
"Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers" a wife musing on Jacks and husbands--rather funny.
"The Rabbi's Hobby" a young boy studying with a rabbi finds a mysterious woman in a photo. Haunting, the way a box full of old black and white photos are.
"Oakland Dragon Blues" a dragon lands in Berkley; reads a little more like a writing exercise and lacks the fullness and sophistication of most of his works.
"The Bridge Partner" a submissive woman finds a new bridge partner. "Bridges" on horror.
"Dirae" revenge fantasy starring a mysterious warrior woman that finds herself saving people.
"Vanishing" a return to the Berlin wall for an old soldier.
"The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon" set in the same world as The Last Unicorn
October 5, 2025
Another powerful experience. I'm running out of words to do justice to it, but what matters is that Peter's words aren't running out of power.
Here're some words anyway:
https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...
Here're some words anyway:
https://choveshkata.net/forum/viewtop...
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April 25, 2013I didn't like this collection quite as much as The Line Between, which I also read this year, but it's a hard thing to ask another book to go up against one which contains "Two Hearts," "Quarry," "A Dance for Emilia," "Salt Wine," and "Mr. Sigerson," just to name my own personal favourites from the earlier book, even if both were written by the same author. This collection doesn't contain as many stunners, and actually has a couple of misfires (the Cajun werewolves jut didn't work for me) but it has a power and a weather, a real landscape, all its own: darker, quieter, almost somber.
Like The Line Between, although this isn't a thematic anthology, there is a sort of guiding principle threaded through all (or at least most) of the stories which appear. Sleight of Hand might appear to be about magic, or at least magicians, and its stories are about wizards, dragons, ghosts, and enchantresses; but, like the obvious trick which distracts you while the real mechanics of magic are going on somewhere else, sight unseen, those easy magical tropes aren't the point of the stories at all. Beagle himself, appearing in a Hitchcockean cameo in the hilarious "Oakland Dragon Blues", spells it out for a baffled patrolman:
I grew up in a time when there wasn't much Beagle; I devoured The Last Unicorn, which was one of the first modern fantasy novels I ever read (checked it out of the Santa Fe Preparatory School library and never brought it back; come get me, coppers) and then found A Fine and Private Place, which guiltily I thought I loved even more, and the public library had American Denim and The Garden of Earthly Delights and I See By My Outfit and then there were some wonderful short stories in the out-of-print Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle, and then that was it -- except for the dazzling Folk of the Air, and then that really was it, for a terribly long, long time, so long it seemed he'd fallen silent. There were rumours of a sequel to Folk, and a friend of mine swore she'd seen an ad in the NYTBR for it, but for nearly ten years, there was an empty, aching silence. I didn't know then that he was trying to make money by writing screenplays and episodes of television shows, and later, he was sunk deeply in debt and despair. All I knew was, suddenly there was a new novel, The Innkeeper's Song, and two new short story collections, Giant Bones and The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche (which may be my sentimental favourite of all his later books) and the beautiful Tamsin, perhaps the best-structured novel he's ever written, and stories, stories, stories -- an exuberant sky full of fireworks, a drenching after parched seasons in the desert, stories which held a kind of exuberance beneath their surface plots no matter if they were silly or tragic because there was an almost palpable relief in their being told. That, to me, is true magic, and the magic, again, as the storyteller informs us, is in the old, old telling.
Like The Line Between, although this isn't a thematic anthology, there is a sort of guiding principle threaded through all (or at least most) of the stories which appear. Sleight of Hand might appear to be about magic, or at least magicians, and its stories are about wizards, dragons, ghosts, and enchantresses; but, like the obvious trick which distracts you while the real mechanics of magic are going on somewhere else, sight unseen, those easy magical tropes aren't the point of the stories at all. Beagle himself, appearing in a Hitchcockean cameo in the hilarious "Oakland Dragon Blues", spells it out for a baffled patrolman:
"....that wasn't a real story. It's not in any book -- you were just spitballing, improvising, making it up as you went along. Hell, I'll bet you couldn't erpeat it right now if you tried. Like a little kid telling a lie."Since you asked, the stories I liked best were all in the latter half of the collection: the wonderful New York of Beagle's childhood, by now as lost and fantastic as any moonscape, is resurrected fully in "The Rabbi's Hobby"; "Oakland Dragon Blues," the whole book in miniature; and the chilling almost-concluding trio, "The Bridge Partner," "Dirae," and "Vanishing," which show a cold, stark uncompromising vision most people don't associate with Schmendrick and unicorns. Schmendrick himself appears in a final bagatelle that doesn't quite live up to its title, "The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon," but it can't shake the stark despair of those three final stories. "Vanishing," in particular, has the brutal compelling morality of the best old Twilight Zone episodes.
The author laughed outright, and then stopped quickly when he saw Guerra's expression. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. You're quite right, we're all little kids telling lies, writers are, hoping we can keep the lies straight and get away with them. And nobody lasts very long in this game who isn't prepared to lie his way out of trouble. Absolutely right....But you make the same mistake most people do....The magic's not in books, not in the publishing -- it's in the telling, always. In the old, old telling."
I grew up in a time when there wasn't much Beagle; I devoured The Last Unicorn, which was one of the first modern fantasy novels I ever read (checked it out of the Santa Fe Preparatory School library and never brought it back; come get me, coppers) and then found A Fine and Private Place, which guiltily I thought I loved even more, and the public library had American Denim and The Garden of Earthly Delights and I See By My Outfit and then there were some wonderful short stories in the out-of-print Fantasy Worlds of Peter S. Beagle, and then that was it -- except for the dazzling Folk of the Air, and then that really was it, for a terribly long, long time, so long it seemed he'd fallen silent. There were rumours of a sequel to Folk, and a friend of mine swore she'd seen an ad in the NYTBR for it, but for nearly ten years, there was an empty, aching silence. I didn't know then that he was trying to make money by writing screenplays and episodes of television shows, and later, he was sunk deeply in debt and despair. All I knew was, suddenly there was a new novel, The Innkeeper's Song, and two new short story collections, Giant Bones and The Rhinoceros Who Quoted Nietzsche (which may be my sentimental favourite of all his later books) and the beautiful Tamsin, perhaps the best-structured novel he's ever written, and stories, stories, stories -- an exuberant sky full of fireworks, a drenching after parched seasons in the desert, stories which held a kind of exuberance beneath their surface plots no matter if they were silly or tragic because there was an almost palpable relief in their being told. That, to me, is true magic, and the magic, again, as the storyteller informs us, is in the old, old telling.
June 21, 2011
Perhaps learning to think was not a good idea.Or perhaps it was, at least in master fantasist Peter S. Beagle's case. Discoverer of A Fine and Private Place, chronicler of The Last Unicorn and interviewer of The Folk of the Air, Beagle has lost nothing of his skill in Sleight of Hand.
--"Dirae," p. 219
Sometimes writers do, you know; they grow tired of doing the same tricks, or scared of going hungry, or the well of words just runs dry on them while they just keep hauling and pouring out buckets of air... but not Beagle. What he accomplished in the 20th Century is quite enough to tempt anyone to rest on his laurels—but here he is well into the 21st, with a collection as whimsically strong, as gracefully unfettered, as anything of his I've ever read.
The stories in this all-too-slender book run the gamut from "The Rock in the Park," with its memories of a childhood touched by magic (in not nearly so florid a style as Ray Bradbury) to creepy psychological horror ("The Bridge Partner"), to a light-hearted reimagining of a fairy tale from the ogre's perspective ("Up the Down Beanstalk," which has got to be one of the most brilliant parody titles ever). Although there's much to like about each story (we even learn a little bit more about ol' gangleshanks Schmendrick, from before he met the Last Unicorn), my favorite, I think, is "The Rabbi's Hobby," a quiet and wistful tale that, I don't mind telling you, made me weep at the most surpassing beauty ever to come from a pitch-perfect thirteen-year-old boy's mouth. (And yes, Joseph, other congregations do the thing with the hard candy at the end of a bar mitzvah; I've seen it myself.)
There are people who sling words around like buckets of air, and there are those who place them gently and with, to borrow a phrase though I'm not sure from where, lapidary precision. Peter S. Beagle is one of the latter, and Sleight of Hand is one well-faceted gem.
June 11, 2011
Peter S. Beagle will probably always be best known for The Last Unicorn, the 1968 fantasy novel many consider his masterpiece, but the author has assembled a long and impressive bibliography since this perennial classic, including several excellent short story collections. The most recent of these is Sleight of Hand, recently released by Tachyon. If all you know of Peter S. Beagle is The Last Unicorn, this is as good an opportunity as any to jump in and explore the author’s shorter works.
Sleight of Hand offers thirteen stories that stretch to the far corners of the fantasy field, from cute children’s tales to ghost and werewolf stories, from traditional, straightforward narratives to more challenging fiction, and from humor to the most painful emotions. With such variety, you’re more or less guaranteed to find something you like here.
Peter S. Beagle has one of the most distinct and recognizable voices in fantasy fiction. His writing style sometimes reminds me of the lyrics of Paul Simon, because Beagle has the same ability to sound at the same time tentative and utterly exact in his choices. His writing is never overbearing, often gently humorous, always subtle and eloquent. In fact, it’s so gentle and unassuming that it’s easy to miss how delicately each sentence and paragraph have been constructed. It’s all easily enjoyable and readable, but there aren’t very many people out there who could put a story together with such precision.
Nevertheless, as with almost any collection, some stories in Sleight of Hand are stronger than others. While none of them are anything less than good, the book contains a few stories that feel considerably less substantial than the others, which is a shame in a collection that’s already short at under 300 pages. Interestingly, I felt that most of the stronger stories were clustered toward the end of the book, with some of the less impressive ones appearing early on.
Here are three of the most memorable stories:
- “Dirae” is probably the most challenging story in Sleight of Hand, as well as the one that’s least recognizable as a Peter S. Beagle story. I won’t try to summarize it here because it’s best to let you approach it without any preconceived notions, but “Dirae” is a true tour de force that bears reading and rereading a few times.
- “Vanishing” is a chilling and touching story in which a former American soldier, now an old man, mysteriously finds himself transported back to the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. He encounters the Russian soldier who faced him in the corresponding checkpoint on the other side of the Wall, as well as a younger man who has been drawn there for a different, but ultimately connected, reason. “Vanishing” is one of those stories that will stick with you for a long time, because of its dark, claustrophobic atmosphere and emotional conclusion.
- One of my favorite stories by Peter S. Beagle is “Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel” (from 2009’s We Never Talk about My Brother), because it mixes fantastical elements with very realistic (and, I believe, somewhat autobiographical) impressions of growing up as a young Jewish boy in New York in the middle of the last century. Sleight of Hand offers a similar and equally wonderful story in “The Rabbi’s Hobby,” about a boy studying Hebrew for his upcoming bar mitzvah, and his rabbi who grows increasingly more fascinated with a mysterious girl pictured in old magazine advertisements. This is one of those perfect pieces of fiction in which literally not a single word could be changed without making it less perfect.
While these three are my personal favorites in this collection, there are several others that are more than worthy of mentioning. “La Lune T’Attend” is a great Cajun werewolf story set in the Deep South. “The Rock in the Park” is another one of Peter S. Beagle’s eloquent evocations of childhood, this time describing a young boy’s meeting with a family of centaurs in Central Park. “Oakland Dragon Blues” is a neat meta-fictional account of a dragon’s meeting with the writer who created him. “The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon” is a story about The Last Unicorn’s Schmendrick, whereas “What Tune the Enchantress Plays” is set in the same world as Beagle’s The Innkeeper’s Song.
Just like all the great authors working in the genre, Peter S. Beagle uses fantasy to examine the most straightforward, non-fantastical, human aspects of our lives. In Sleight of Hand, he offers thirteen excellent examples of why he’s one of the better fantasists working today. Recommended.
(This review was also published on www.fantasyliterature.com.)
Sleight of Hand offers thirteen stories that stretch to the far corners of the fantasy field, from cute children’s tales to ghost and werewolf stories, from traditional, straightforward narratives to more challenging fiction, and from humor to the most painful emotions. With such variety, you’re more or less guaranteed to find something you like here.
Peter S. Beagle has one of the most distinct and recognizable voices in fantasy fiction. His writing style sometimes reminds me of the lyrics of Paul Simon, because Beagle has the same ability to sound at the same time tentative and utterly exact in his choices. His writing is never overbearing, often gently humorous, always subtle and eloquent. In fact, it’s so gentle and unassuming that it’s easy to miss how delicately each sentence and paragraph have been constructed. It’s all easily enjoyable and readable, but there aren’t very many people out there who could put a story together with such precision.
Nevertheless, as with almost any collection, some stories in Sleight of Hand are stronger than others. While none of them are anything less than good, the book contains a few stories that feel considerably less substantial than the others, which is a shame in a collection that’s already short at under 300 pages. Interestingly, I felt that most of the stronger stories were clustered toward the end of the book, with some of the less impressive ones appearing early on.
Here are three of the most memorable stories:
- “Dirae” is probably the most challenging story in Sleight of Hand, as well as the one that’s least recognizable as a Peter S. Beagle story. I won’t try to summarize it here because it’s best to let you approach it without any preconceived notions, but “Dirae” is a true tour de force that bears reading and rereading a few times.
- “Vanishing” is a chilling and touching story in which a former American soldier, now an old man, mysteriously finds himself transported back to the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. He encounters the Russian soldier who faced him in the corresponding checkpoint on the other side of the Wall, as well as a younger man who has been drawn there for a different, but ultimately connected, reason. “Vanishing” is one of those stories that will stick with you for a long time, because of its dark, claustrophobic atmosphere and emotional conclusion.
- One of my favorite stories by Peter S. Beagle is “Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel” (from 2009’s We Never Talk about My Brother), because it mixes fantastical elements with very realistic (and, I believe, somewhat autobiographical) impressions of growing up as a young Jewish boy in New York in the middle of the last century. Sleight of Hand offers a similar and equally wonderful story in “The Rabbi’s Hobby,” about a boy studying Hebrew for his upcoming bar mitzvah, and his rabbi who grows increasingly more fascinated with a mysterious girl pictured in old magazine advertisements. This is one of those perfect pieces of fiction in which literally not a single word could be changed without making it less perfect.
While these three are my personal favorites in this collection, there are several others that are more than worthy of mentioning. “La Lune T’Attend” is a great Cajun werewolf story set in the Deep South. “The Rock in the Park” is another one of Peter S. Beagle’s eloquent evocations of childhood, this time describing a young boy’s meeting with a family of centaurs in Central Park. “Oakland Dragon Blues” is a neat meta-fictional account of a dragon’s meeting with the writer who created him. “The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon” is a story about The Last Unicorn’s Schmendrick, whereas “What Tune the Enchantress Plays” is set in the same world as Beagle’s The Innkeeper’s Song.
Just like all the great authors working in the genre, Peter S. Beagle uses fantasy to examine the most straightforward, non-fantastical, human aspects of our lives. In Sleight of Hand, he offers thirteen excellent examples of why he’s one of the better fantasists working today. Recommended.
(This review was also published on www.fantasyliterature.com.)
April 19, 2015
I adore Peter Beagle's writing. It always evokes something in me, whether it be joy, or sadness, or nostalgia. A few of the stories in this turned out to be tales I loved to some degree, and it's weird that I read this right after Kabu Kabu, since it became my favorite short story collec.rtion that I'd read to that point, then this one blew it out of the water.
Part is probably just the deftness that comes with long practice and honing of a craft. The stories all flow smoothly, just as long as they need to be, sometimes haunting and beautiful, sometimes joyful, sometimes just really interesting. There's the sweet "Best Worst Monster," the mythological "Shark God's Children," the sometimes hilarious "Oakland Dragon Blues" (which will speak to anyone with a creative spirit), the poignant titular story "Sleight of Hand" and the lovely "The Rabbi's Hobby."
I don't want to say too much about it because really, this is a masterful collection of fantasy stories and if you like those, or if you like Beagle's writing, this is something you should definitely try. Seriously. It's fabulous.
Part is probably just the deftness that comes with long practice and honing of a craft. The stories all flow smoothly, just as long as they need to be, sometimes haunting and beautiful, sometimes joyful, sometimes just really interesting. There's the sweet "Best Worst Monster," the mythological "Shark God's Children," the sometimes hilarious "Oakland Dragon Blues" (which will speak to anyone with a creative spirit), the poignant titular story "Sleight of Hand" and the lovely "The Rabbi's Hobby."
I don't want to say too much about it because really, this is a masterful collection of fantasy stories and if you like those, or if you like Beagle's writing, this is something you should definitely try. Seriously. It's fabulous.
November 14, 2011
To say that I loved this book would be an understatement.
Peter S. Beagle has constructed a tiny home in my heart where he will live as long as I am alive.
I am already predisposed to short fiction and this book just proves why. I marvel at power and intensity of short stories. The way they can make me laugh, cry, and think in a matter of ten pages.
Peter S. Beagle is a master of short fiction in a way I feel rivals J.D. Salinger. One of the differences between the two men of course is that Peter S. Beagle injects magic into this collections while Salinger is content examining the very real, mundane details of existence.
Both men find truth although their methods slightly differ. Both men also have an incredible ability to create whole characters with scant details. The people contained in every story feel so real and alive that I find myself wondering about their lives beyond the pages.
I absolutely adore this book and hope to have an enduring magical relationship with Peter S. Beagle.
Highly recommended!!!!
Peter S. Beagle has constructed a tiny home in my heart where he will live as long as I am alive.
I am already predisposed to short fiction and this book just proves why. I marvel at power and intensity of short stories. The way they can make me laugh, cry, and think in a matter of ten pages.
Peter S. Beagle is a master of short fiction in a way I feel rivals J.D. Salinger. One of the differences between the two men of course is that Peter S. Beagle injects magic into this collections while Salinger is content examining the very real, mundane details of existence.
Both men find truth although their methods slightly differ. Both men also have an incredible ability to create whole characters with scant details. The people contained in every story feel so real and alive that I find myself wondering about their lives beyond the pages.
I absolutely adore this book and hope to have an enduring magical relationship with Peter S. Beagle.
Highly recommended!!!!
July 16, 2017
Wonderful mix of stories, some made me laugh, some cry and all made me think. I love this author, must read more.
September 21, 2020
These stories feel orthoganal to conventional fantasy in much the same way Orrin Grey's stories feel orthoganal to conventional horror for me. The infinite strangeness, and a chance to exist in that world.
"Dirae" was stunning. The moment I realized what Schmendrick meant, the same. And the finale of "The Bridge Partner" was beautiful.
Highly recommended.
"Dirae" was stunning. The moment I realized what Schmendrick meant, the same. And the finale of "The Bridge Partner" was beautiful.
Highly recommended.
June 28, 2017
Reading Peter Beagle's short stories reminded me of nothing so much as the whimsy and wonder I found as a teenager, when reading Ray Bradbury. It is not only Beagle's sense of humor and ranging imagination that made me think of Bradbury, but his tendency to make deeply relatable characters from ordinary people: a bar mitzvah student, a disgruntled veteran of the Berlin Wall, a hapless bridge enthusiast. (This also holds when the main characters are less ordinary -- two elderly Cajun werewolves, a woman who has just lost her husband and family, or a certain morose magician.)
Two things separate Beagle from Bradbury in my mind. One is their focus: Bradbury looked outward from the heart, considering what humans would do in fantastic and futuristic settings, while Beagle tends to work his way ever inward, so his conclusions are less graphic, and can depend more on interpretation. Likewise, their prose; where Bradbury was given to the florid turn, Beagle's turn of phrase (especially his dialogue) frequently amounts to plain-spoken poetry.
While some of these stories are much simpler in their scope than others, they are all enjoyable. And the best ones, like the best poems, open your heart with laughter to a startling poignancy you would otherwise have kept at arm's length.
Two things separate Beagle from Bradbury in my mind. One is their focus: Bradbury looked outward from the heart, considering what humans would do in fantastic and futuristic settings, while Beagle tends to work his way ever inward, so his conclusions are less graphic, and can depend more on interpretation. Likewise, their prose; where Bradbury was given to the florid turn, Beagle's turn of phrase (especially his dialogue) frequently amounts to plain-spoken poetry.
While some of these stories are much simpler in their scope than others, they are all enjoyable. And the best ones, like the best poems, open your heart with laughter to a startling poignancy you would otherwise have kept at arm's length.
March 29, 2017
It is no secret that Peter is my favorite author. This is the fourth (I think) short story collection of his I've read.
It is, without a doubt, his strongest collection, in my opinion.
Within the first 20 pages I was already wistful for something I couldn't name, as happens every time I read Peter's works. I laughed and cried (a lot), I was perplexed and angry, and more than once a bit frightened (I am a coward, after all).
The range of emotions and settings and characters Peter is able to expertly knit with his words is nothing but magic. A magic I am always in awe of.
It is, without a doubt, his strongest collection, in my opinion.
Within the first 20 pages I was already wistful for something I couldn't name, as happens every time I read Peter's works. I laughed and cried (a lot), I was perplexed and angry, and more than once a bit frightened (I am a coward, after all).
The range of emotions and settings and characters Peter is able to expertly knit with his words is nothing but magic. A magic I am always in awe of.
March 14, 2014
Peter S. Beagle is such an amazing writer, and he sparked my love for fantasy at an incredibly young age. This is a nice collection of Beagle's work, and I found it one of those perfect books to read on a lazy Sunday afternoon. I would recommend this collection to anyone that enjoyed The Last Unicorn.
December 29, 2022
I have finally realized that I don’t like short stories very much. I did not know this when i started this book, though this book was not the first I’ve struggled to get through for that reason. It was merely the one to shed light on the fact.
Because this is a book of short stories, I would rate it three stars. Individually, the stories were fascinating and fabulous, and most of the time, if I were rating the stories on their own, they would earn a five star rating. Hence, my current four star rating is an averaging out. 🤗
Because this is a book of short stories, I would rate it three stars. Individually, the stories were fascinating and fabulous, and most of the time, if I were rating the stories on their own, they would earn a five star rating. Hence, my current four star rating is an averaging out. 🤗
August 28, 2020
Peter S. Beagle has a gift for writing stories that make you feel warm and fuzzy, sometimes a bit shaken up but not in a bad way. You end up feeling like people are basically good and maybe there's hope for the world. Kind of like Clifford Simak, though the subject matter is far different. Also, I like the Bronx Jewish touch. Excellent stories.
May 8, 2014
Another book by Peter S. Beagle to tide me over before I meet him on Monday! It makes me so sad that my library only had We Never Talk About My Brother, Sleight Of Hand, and The Last Unicorn when Beagle has written so many novels and short story books in his lifetime. At least at the tour I'll be able to buy some of his books that aren't at Chapters or the library!
Sleight Of Hand was a beautiful collection of short stories that really made me think, feel, and inspired me to write. I think that's what marks a book as great, if it inspires you to write something just as great.
Like my previous review, I'll highlight some of my favourite stories in the collection:
“The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon”: What I really loved about this story is that it's one of the three short stories Peter S. Beagle wrote about Schmendrick the Magician who appears in The Last Unicorn! It was nice to become reacquainted with Schmendrick and to read about what he was up to before he was working with Mommy Fortuna or travelling with the unicorn. I felt this story was about growing up and believing in yourself. This story really brought some background on Schmendrick's character. A fantastic story for fans of The Last Unicorn!
“Sleight of Hand”: This is one of my favourite stories in the whole book, it's tied as my favourite with "Dirae", I just can't choose between them! "Sleight of Hand" is about a young woman struggling with grief after the sudden death of her husband and daughter. Driving away from her problems the young woman runs into a magician at a diner who says he can change what happened, but only if she switches places with her husband and dead daughter. It's a fantastic story and it was appropriate to name the collection after this story.
“The Children of the Shark God”: A combination of fairy-tale and myth "The Children of the Shark God" is very much like "The Tale of Junko and Sayuri" from We Never Talk About My Brother. "The Children of the Shark God" is about a young plain woman who becomes the love interest for the Shark God. The two marry and have children but the Shark God cannot live with her permanently, only visiting her once a year because he is a god and she is a mortal. This causes resentment on the children who go looking for their father. A very good story for mythology lovers!
“The Best Worst Monster”: This is a perfect bedtime story for children! It's short, sweet, and to the point!
"What Tune the Enchantress Plays”: This story again makes me angry that The Innkeeper's Song is out of print! Fingers crossed it is reprinted soon! The story follows a young woman named Breya who comes from a town, and a long line, of witches, sorceresses, and entrantresses, since it is only women in the town who are capable of performing magic. Breya falls in love with a young man named Lathro who was born outside the town meaning that if the two marry they will not produce a magical child. Lathro goes on a quest to find a way he can achieve magical powers while Breya is taught by her mother how to use her powers to find Lathro. A beautiful story of magic and love with just the right amount of darkness.
“La Lune T’Attend”: This story is about two old men from Louisiana who are werewolves who must find and kill an old pack-mate who has been brought back from the dead. What I loved about this story is that it didn't follow the tropes of werewolves so common today but felt like I was reading an old werewolf novel. It was refreshing to get out of the modern mindset and read something that felt classic, it made me nostalgic for the old ways of paranormal writing.
“Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers”: Another good bedtime story for kids! This story is a short retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" told from the perspective of the Giants wife Eunice. It was a very cute story, and what can I say I'm a sucker for fairy-tale retellings!
“The Rock in the Park”: This is a story about centaurs! I've never read a story about centaurs! Two boys hang out at their rock in central park when they meet a family of centaurs who got lost from their group and are trying to find their way to Mexico. What I particularly loved about this story is that it placed fantastical creatures in the real world (granted the story takes place in 1950s, it still takes place in reality), not a high fantasy world.
“The Bridge Partner”: This short story is getting it's own film (short film?) because of a kickstarter account! This story features timid Mattie who goes to the Bridge Group and is paired with Olivia who on their first meeting whispers to Mattie that she is going to kill her. A great thriller, I'm excited for the short film!
“Dirae”: Tied as my favourite with "Sleight of Hand"! I can't really give a synopsis of this story because it would spoil to much! Read the story slow, it's a bit confusing because the reader is thrown into action and feels the same distortion the narrator feels. It's a lovely story and a great mystery!
And again I'll advertise for The Last Unicorn Screening Tour! If you live in Canada and the tour is coming near you buy your tickets now!
www.lastunicorntours.com
Sleight Of Hand was a beautiful collection of short stories that really made me think, feel, and inspired me to write. I think that's what marks a book as great, if it inspires you to write something just as great.
Like my previous review, I'll highlight some of my favourite stories in the collection:
“The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon”: What I really loved about this story is that it's one of the three short stories Peter S. Beagle wrote about Schmendrick the Magician who appears in The Last Unicorn! It was nice to become reacquainted with Schmendrick and to read about what he was up to before he was working with Mommy Fortuna or travelling with the unicorn. I felt this story was about growing up and believing in yourself. This story really brought some background on Schmendrick's character. A fantastic story for fans of The Last Unicorn!
“Sleight of Hand”: This is one of my favourite stories in the whole book, it's tied as my favourite with "Dirae", I just can't choose between them! "Sleight of Hand" is about a young woman struggling with grief after the sudden death of her husband and daughter. Driving away from her problems the young woman runs into a magician at a diner who says he can change what happened, but only if she switches places with her husband and dead daughter. It's a fantastic story and it was appropriate to name the collection after this story.
“The Children of the Shark God”: A combination of fairy-tale and myth "The Children of the Shark God" is very much like "The Tale of Junko and Sayuri" from We Never Talk About My Brother. "The Children of the Shark God" is about a young plain woman who becomes the love interest for the Shark God. The two marry and have children but the Shark God cannot live with her permanently, only visiting her once a year because he is a god and she is a mortal. This causes resentment on the children who go looking for their father. A very good story for mythology lovers!
“The Best Worst Monster”: This is a perfect bedtime story for children! It's short, sweet, and to the point!
"What Tune the Enchantress Plays”: This story again makes me angry that The Innkeeper's Song is out of print! Fingers crossed it is reprinted soon! The story follows a young woman named Breya who comes from a town, and a long line, of witches, sorceresses, and entrantresses, since it is only women in the town who are capable of performing magic. Breya falls in love with a young man named Lathro who was born outside the town meaning that if the two marry they will not produce a magical child. Lathro goes on a quest to find a way he can achieve magical powers while Breya is taught by her mother how to use her powers to find Lathro. A beautiful story of magic and love with just the right amount of darkness.
“La Lune T’Attend”: This story is about two old men from Louisiana who are werewolves who must find and kill an old pack-mate who has been brought back from the dead. What I loved about this story is that it didn't follow the tropes of werewolves so common today but felt like I was reading an old werewolf novel. It was refreshing to get out of the modern mindset and read something that felt classic, it made me nostalgic for the old ways of paranormal writing.
“Up the Down Beanstalk: A Wife Remembers”: Another good bedtime story for kids! This story is a short retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" told from the perspective of the Giants wife Eunice. It was a very cute story, and what can I say I'm a sucker for fairy-tale retellings!
“The Rock in the Park”: This is a story about centaurs! I've never read a story about centaurs! Two boys hang out at their rock in central park when they meet a family of centaurs who got lost from their group and are trying to find their way to Mexico. What I particularly loved about this story is that it placed fantastical creatures in the real world (granted the story takes place in 1950s, it still takes place in reality), not a high fantasy world.
“The Bridge Partner”: This short story is getting it's own film (short film?) because of a kickstarter account! This story features timid Mattie who goes to the Bridge Group and is paired with Olivia who on their first meeting whispers to Mattie that she is going to kill her. A great thriller, I'm excited for the short film!
“Dirae”: Tied as my favourite with "Sleight of Hand"! I can't really give a synopsis of this story because it would spoil to much! Read the story slow, it's a bit confusing because the reader is thrown into action and feels the same distortion the narrator feels. It's a lovely story and a great mystery!
And again I'll advertise for The Last Unicorn Screening Tour! If you live in Canada and the tour is coming near you buy your tickets now!
www.lastunicorntours.com
April 24, 2018
Peter S. Beagle is one of my favorite authors, a storyteller whose imagination ranges far. His 2011 anthology takes us from tough city streets where a dreaming woman's avenger metes out justice on those who prey on helpless folk, to a medieval village where a woman recounts her love affair with the Man in the Moon, to my personal favorite (if that's not being unfair to the other marvels): "The Rabbi's Hobby," involving a boy studying for his Bar Mitzvah with a rabbi with a secret quest.
Though he does bring back Schmendrick the Magician, first glimpsed in Beagle's best-known work, The Last Unicorn, most of his characters step onto the stage of Beagle's dreamscape only in passing, on their way in lives we can only guess at. He pulls in fairy-tale residents, like the wife of the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, and creatures of fantasy, like the dragon who's taken up residence at a busy intersection in Oakland, California.
The loving strokes of Beagle's pen bring them all to life. This book would make a fine desert-island companion!
Though he does bring back Schmendrick the Magician, first glimpsed in Beagle's best-known work, The Last Unicorn, most of his characters step onto the stage of Beagle's dreamscape only in passing, on their way in lives we can only guess at. He pulls in fairy-tale residents, like the wife of the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk, and creatures of fantasy, like the dragon who's taken up residence at a busy intersection in Oakland, California.
The loving strokes of Beagle's pen bring them all to life. This book would make a fine desert-island companion!
April 10, 2011
Peter Beagle is one of my favorite authors of all time so I was thrilled to hear that he had a new collection of short stories coming out and I picked up Slight of Hand as soon as I could. I can’t say that this is the best anthology of short stories Peter ever wrote. (That honor is held by We Never Talk About My Brother… with the Immortal Unicorn really high up there… I mean, I know he edited that one instead of writing it but it had Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros in it and that counts for a lot.). Anyway, while there are other Beagle collections I like better, there were some definite high points that made Sleight of Hand well worth the read.
My favorite stories were
The Rabbi's Hobby – a young Jewish boy, studying Hebrew for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and the rabbi who is tutoring him get drawn into a quest to discover the identity of a young woman pictured in an old magazine. I loved the unexpected ending and the odd sense of grace that settles on each of the characters at the close of the story.
Oakland Dragon Blues – a young policeman has a rough day when he has to deal with a dragon out for revenge against the author who created him for a book and then edited him out of the story, leaving him stranded in the real world. I had my concerns going into this one. I am not a big fan of authors writing themselves into their own stories. It never goes well (I’m looking at you Mercedes Lackey!). At best, you end up with a sort of fan fic gone amuck feeling. But I should have had more faith in Peter. He stayed just on the right side of clever and never veered off into self importance or silliness.
The Children of the Shark God – the children of the shape-shifting shark god undertake a quest to find their father and take him to task for being absent from their lives.
The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon – a story featuring a pre – The Last Unicorn Schmendrick. As a fan of The Last Unicorn, it was great to get a deeper look at my favorite magician. Peter did an amazing job portraying Schmendrick’s despair and doubt while leaving room for hope and redemption to come in later.
My favorite stories were
The Rabbi's Hobby – a young Jewish boy, studying Hebrew for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and the rabbi who is tutoring him get drawn into a quest to discover the identity of a young woman pictured in an old magazine. I loved the unexpected ending and the odd sense of grace that settles on each of the characters at the close of the story.
Oakland Dragon Blues – a young policeman has a rough day when he has to deal with a dragon out for revenge against the author who created him for a book and then edited him out of the story, leaving him stranded in the real world. I had my concerns going into this one. I am not a big fan of authors writing themselves into their own stories. It never goes well (I’m looking at you Mercedes Lackey!). At best, you end up with a sort of fan fic gone amuck feeling. But I should have had more faith in Peter. He stayed just on the right side of clever and never veered off into self importance or silliness.
The Children of the Shark God – the children of the shape-shifting shark god undertake a quest to find their father and take him to task for being absent from their lives.
The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon – a story featuring a pre – The Last Unicorn Schmendrick. As a fan of The Last Unicorn, it was great to get a deeper look at my favorite magician. Peter did an amazing job portraying Schmendrick’s despair and doubt while leaving room for hope and redemption to come in later.
May 14, 2012
The Last Unicorn — a proto-anime classic featuring the vocal talents of Mia Farrow — epitomized grace and magic and longing for me back in preschool, a good decade before I ever fell, weeping, in love with the book on which it was based. Another decade has passed since I last re-read the story, or tried to share that love with my then-four-year-old half-sister, who found the film dull. Anyway, it's refreshing to hear his authorial voice again in this varied bunch. Peter S. Beagle is a special writer: fatherly, friendly, wise and uncompromising, whether his focus is half-human children of gods or murderous murmurings or fairy tale retellings from the perspective of the maligned. He'll make you laugh and cry with the same turn of phrase, and drop what really matters into your waiting hand, folding your fingers over, nodding and compelling you to keep it close to your heart. Like all short story collections, Sleight of Hand is a mixed bag, some of its contents more compelling and interesting than others, but, as a quick perusal of other reviews suggests, what works best depends quite reassuringly on the reader. For me, the highlights were the eponymous second story, in which love and death intersect in the hands of a magician, and, most of all, "The Rabbi's Hobby." Full of keys without locks — temporarily, I think — and old magazines and ghosts who seem more alive than the living, it's told from the perspective of a boy named Joseph whose relationship with Hebrew makes the prospect of his upcoming bar mitzvah rather terrifying. But things always turn out to be less awful than we'd imagined, especially when we're surrounded by love. Remember this.
March 7, 2012
The four stars were earned single-handedly by two of the stories. (Which makes it not-so single-handed, yes.) "Dirae" and "The Rock in the Park" both represent the best of Beagle's considerable gift of making the fantastic seem mundane and ordinary. "Dirae," especially, was a masterpiece in its own right, regardless of the fact that several circumstances conspire to keep people from calling it a classic (Wrong genre, wrong length, and it was written too recently...). But the plot is inventive, the style is unique, and the magic is there. "Oakland Dragon Blues," "Vanishing," "Up the Down Beanstalk: a Wife Remembers," and "The Bridge Partner" would kept the collection up to three stars even without the other two stories. "Up the Down Beanstalk" being a light little tale that dances along to its interesting ending, "The Bridge Partner" being a slightly disturbing story that wasn't really my cup of tea, but was so well done I have to admire it anyway, and the first two being meatier stories about guilt and responsibility. "The Woman Who Married The Man in the Moon" stands alone as an excellent tale including a young Schemdrick, but I can't quite decide how I feel about the main character, a young girl who has rather too much in common with the heroine of his story "Two Hearts." The other six stories in this collection are nice stories - none of them were badly written, and all were enjoyable - but I don't think I would call them more than OK, and I'd probably give them a two-star rating.
May 29, 2015
I like Peter S. Beagle's writing a lot. I like his dynamic and interesting characters, his quirky twists on reality and fantasy, the originality of what pours forth from his imagination. This collection showcases all of those wonderful aspects of his writing.
Sleight of Hand has a lot to like. There's a Schmedrick story, from before he met the unicorn and Molly Grue. There's a story of a dragon in downtown San Francisco. There's a tale of an avenging angel, and another noirish story about a woman's survival. They're all memorable, and lovely, and easily revisited. There's a great variety, so that people can pick and choose between the fantasy elements they most like.
Some readers may think Peter S. Beagle is simply the author of The Last Unicorn. Such readers are missing out on a lot of wonderful fantasy he's written since then. This short story collection is definitely a good example of what they're missing out on.
At the very least, I'd advise SF/fantasy readers to glance at a short story or two in this collection to let it draw you in. Certainly you can spare that much time for a master fantasist. If that doesn't draw you in, well, nothing much lost. If it does, though, you're in for a treat.
Sleight of Hand has a lot to like. There's a Schmedrick story, from before he met the unicorn and Molly Grue. There's a story of a dragon in downtown San Francisco. There's a tale of an avenging angel, and another noirish story about a woman's survival. They're all memorable, and lovely, and easily revisited. There's a great variety, so that people can pick and choose between the fantasy elements they most like.
Some readers may think Peter S. Beagle is simply the author of The Last Unicorn. Such readers are missing out on a lot of wonderful fantasy he's written since then. This short story collection is definitely a good example of what they're missing out on.
At the very least, I'd advise SF/fantasy readers to glance at a short story or two in this collection to let it draw you in. Certainly you can spare that much time for a master fantasist. If that doesn't draw you in, well, nothing much lost. If it does, though, you're in for a treat.
September 8, 2011
I'm somewhat late to Peter Beagle: I meant to get around to reading him, but for a long time I didn't, despite many recommendations. That's my loss, and I'm glad it's been rectified.
This collection shows a mature and skilled writer with a wide range and deft touch. The range is impressive: the title story is a touching, very adult consideration of loss and grief: 'The Best Worst Monster' a children's tale so wonderfully told I had to go and read it to my daughter straight away (though it's certainly not without depth or complexity.) 'The Bridge Partner' has arguably no genre element to it at all: 'Oakland Dragon Blues' starts with a dragon slap in the middle of a crowded city intersection. 'Up The Down Beanstalk' is a light-hearted amusement, 'La Lune T'Attend' is tense, dramatic and touching.
Almost all of the stories are wonderful, though I'll admit to not being a fan of 'Dirae' (which I'd come across elsewhere) and the ending to 'Oakland Dragon Blues' is a little disappointing. Against that, though, 'The Rock In The Park' is magical and 'The Rabbi's Hobby' absorbing. The collection would be worth buying for these two alone, but there's much, much more here too.
This collection shows a mature and skilled writer with a wide range and deft touch. The range is impressive: the title story is a touching, very adult consideration of loss and grief: 'The Best Worst Monster' a children's tale so wonderfully told I had to go and read it to my daughter straight away (though it's certainly not without depth or complexity.) 'The Bridge Partner' has arguably no genre element to it at all: 'Oakland Dragon Blues' starts with a dragon slap in the middle of a crowded city intersection. 'Up The Down Beanstalk' is a light-hearted amusement, 'La Lune T'Attend' is tense, dramatic and touching.
Almost all of the stories are wonderful, though I'll admit to not being a fan of 'Dirae' (which I'd come across elsewhere) and the ending to 'Oakland Dragon Blues' is a little disappointing. Against that, though, 'The Rock In The Park' is magical and 'The Rabbi's Hobby' absorbing. The collection would be worth buying for these two alone, but there's much, much more here too.
December 22, 2014
LJ review:
Multiple Hugo and Nebula award–winning Beagle opens readers’ eyes to wonder with his latest collection of 13 short stories. Each piece bridges the rich intersection of fantasy and fairy tale, reality and possibility, exploring predestination, fate, and the power of love through characters that come to vivid, three-dimensional life within a few short pages. Beagle’s lyrical writing is set in a wide range of landscapes both familiar and fresh, with twists on Jack and the Beanstalk, monsters and dragons, a singing enchantress, ghostly photographs, and a modern werewolf tale. ‘The Bridge Partner’ is more noir than fantasy yet fits within the collection quite well, as does the deeply chilling, experimental, and dark ‘Dirae.’ ‘The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon’ features two lost children and an encounter with an early version of Schmendrick the Magician from his classic novel, The Last Unicorn. Each story is introduced with some background about its origin. Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, Oxford, MI
Multiple Hugo and Nebula award–winning Beagle opens readers’ eyes to wonder with his latest collection of 13 short stories. Each piece bridges the rich intersection of fantasy and fairy tale, reality and possibility, exploring predestination, fate, and the power of love through characters that come to vivid, three-dimensional life within a few short pages. Beagle’s lyrical writing is set in a wide range of landscapes both familiar and fresh, with twists on Jack and the Beanstalk, monsters and dragons, a singing enchantress, ghostly photographs, and a modern werewolf tale. ‘The Bridge Partner’ is more noir than fantasy yet fits within the collection quite well, as does the deeply chilling, experimental, and dark ‘Dirae.’ ‘The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon’ features two lost children and an encounter with an early version of Schmendrick the Magician from his classic novel, The Last Unicorn. Each story is introduced with some background about its origin. Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, Oxford, MI
April 13, 2012
This is a delightful book, the first I ever read after Beagle's iconic The Last Unicorn.
Sleight of Hand is a collection of Beagle's short stories, each written at various times and first published in other collections, magazines or online sites. Each short story is prefaced by the author's thoughts after the publication, and how easy or hard it was to write the piece. Background information on the characters are given, and his personal touch lends a warmth to even the darkest shape-shifters which preside his stories.
My favourite is one called Vanishing, and which he akins to 'passing out a kidney stone.' Its a story set in Germany, when the Wall between East and West Berlin was up. Like many things of beauty, Vanishing has the presence of evil, of nostalgia and memory, of sacrifice and history, of a haunting that refuses to leave until there is a kind of cleansing, after which you close the book with a sigh, for seeing something so beautiful as told a story as the Vanishing.
Sleight of Hand is a collection of Beagle's short stories, each written at various times and first published in other collections, magazines or online sites. Each short story is prefaced by the author's thoughts after the publication, and how easy or hard it was to write the piece. Background information on the characters are given, and his personal touch lends a warmth to even the darkest shape-shifters which preside his stories.
My favourite is one called Vanishing, and which he akins to 'passing out a kidney stone.' Its a story set in Germany, when the Wall between East and West Berlin was up. Like many things of beauty, Vanishing has the presence of evil, of nostalgia and memory, of sacrifice and history, of a haunting that refuses to leave until there is a kind of cleansing, after which you close the book with a sigh, for seeing something so beautiful as told a story as the Vanishing.
January 24, 2013
That I'm giving five stars to a collection of short stories should be an indication to anyone who knows me at all that "Sleight of Hand" is quite excellent - I just don't usually like short stories. I know, from reading what Mr. Beagle has written about his writing, that a lot of his work is painstakingly crafted, and may not even find a final form until after many years of languishing in a file, unfinished. It's easy to lose sight of that though because his writing is so fluid, and his stories so varied, he makes it look easy.
"Sleight of Hand" brings together stories of fantasy, science fiction and even horror. Some have a feeling of mythology to them, while others bring to mind the magic of of childhood, when anything seems possible, while one is quite experimental in nature. He's not afraid to explore and learn as he crafts a story.
Peter S. Beagle has been a favorite writer of mine, for most of my life, and I can say that this collection only strengthens my belief that he is one of America's best, contemporary fantasy writers.
"Sleight of Hand" brings together stories of fantasy, science fiction and even horror. Some have a feeling of mythology to them, while others bring to mind the magic of of childhood, when anything seems possible, while one is quite experimental in nature. He's not afraid to explore and learn as he crafts a story.
Peter S. Beagle has been a favorite writer of mine, for most of my life, and I can say that this collection only strengthens my belief that he is one of America's best, contemporary fantasy writers.
March 31, 2011
I love Peter S. Beagle's writing, so I guess it shouldn't be any surprised that I loved this book. The stories were beautifully written, and I think I'll have to seek out more of his short stories. I liked all of them, but my favorites were "The Rock in the Park," about a young Beagle and his friend discovering a family of centaurs in Central Park; "Slight of Hand," in which a woman tricks death; "Oakland Dragon Blues," concerning a police officer, an author, and a dragon; "Vanishing," an eerie ghost story centered around the Berlin Wall; and, of course, "The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon," the short story featuring Schmendrick from The Last Unicorn.
It might be because I'm half in love with a certain magician, but the last of those stories was probably my favorite. Beagle could write an entire novel just about Schmendrick, and I imagine it would quickly become a favorite of mine.
It might be because I'm half in love with a certain magician, but the last of those stories was probably my favorite. Beagle could write an entire novel just about Schmendrick, and I imagine it would quickly become a favorite of mine.
August 30, 2014
The Last Unicorn is one of my favorite movies ever; I still get lost in the wonderfulness of it all, even now, and I've met Peter Beagle before (Anime Expo), and he's just amazing. So when I saw this sitting on a shelf at the library, I instantly grabbed for it.
I wasn't disappointed.
Beagle has SUCH an amazing mind and I'm so glad he put it to use with all these amazing, inventive ideas. His words just flow so well that I didn't want to stop reading. I can't pick just one favorite in the bunch, thought I really loved Sleight of Hand, The Rabbi's Hobby, and The Best Worst Monster. Dirai was just...completely fascinating, really, and gave me ideas for my own writing. The Bridge Partner was compelling and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out. Up The Down Beanstalk was greatly amusing. And of course Schmendrick's tale, The Woman Who Married The Man In The Moon, was awesome--I could hear all the dialogue in Schmendrick's voice as though I was watching it.
I wish this was longer.
I wasn't disappointed.
Beagle has SUCH an amazing mind and I'm so glad he put it to use with all these amazing, inventive ideas. His words just flow so well that I didn't want to stop reading. I can't pick just one favorite in the bunch, thought I really loved Sleight of Hand, The Rabbi's Hobby, and The Best Worst Monster. Dirai was just...completely fascinating, really, and gave me ideas for my own writing. The Bridge Partner was compelling and I couldn't wait to see how it turned out. Up The Down Beanstalk was greatly amusing. And of course Schmendrick's tale, The Woman Who Married The Man In The Moon, was awesome--I could hear all the dialogue in Schmendrick's voice as though I was watching it.
I wish this was longer.
October 15, 2013
For the most part, these are the Beagle stories I like. The two boys in Central Park who meet a centaur family lost on their way to Central Park. The rabbi searching for a girl in a picture, the man who falls asleep in a Planned Parenthood office and wakes up on the Berlin Wall.
Yes, there were a few that were classic Beagle, the kind of wizards and wizardry stories that have a hard time keeping my attention. For example, The Woman Who Loved the Man in the Moon, a story featuring the wizard Schmendrick from The Last Unicorn, is almost all dialogue. Not much happens, and the end doesn't satisfy. There's also the Enchantress story, where again, it's an enchantress telling a story to a demon. More happens, but nothing surprises, and the dialogue is flat and, for the most part, cliche.
Still, it's a pretty awesome collection, the title story especially will break your heart, and then mend it again.
Yes, there were a few that were classic Beagle, the kind of wizards and wizardry stories that have a hard time keeping my attention. For example, The Woman Who Loved the Man in the Moon, a story featuring the wizard Schmendrick from The Last Unicorn, is almost all dialogue. Not much happens, and the end doesn't satisfy. There's also the Enchantress story, where again, it's an enchantress telling a story to a demon. More happens, but nothing surprises, and the dialogue is flat and, for the most part, cliche.
Still, it's a pretty awesome collection, the title story especially will break your heart, and then mend it again.
February 3, 2012
Peter Beagle has a style of writing which I really enjoy. This collection of short stories is no different, although I have to say that my enjoyment varies, and I find that I prefer his pure fantasy writing as opposed to the ones that are more mystical realism, ie set in this world, rather than one imagined.
I'd be happy if I could write like him. Sometimes the way he uses words makes my breath catch in my throat. I don't think there are many writers who can evoke a sense of longing, wistfulness, nostalgia and loss like he does. More along the lines of Patricia McKillip fantasy than anything else, I think. And oh - Schmendrick the magician makes an appearance here. I think he is slowly rising to challenge Raistlin as my all time favourite mage.
I wish he had written more novels, but I'll make do with the short stories, if that's all I can get.
I'd be happy if I could write like him. Sometimes the way he uses words makes my breath catch in my throat. I don't think there are many writers who can evoke a sense of longing, wistfulness, nostalgia and loss like he does. More along the lines of Patricia McKillip fantasy than anything else, I think. And oh - Schmendrick the magician makes an appearance here. I think he is slowly rising to challenge Raistlin as my all time favourite mage.
I wish he had written more novels, but I'll make do with the short stories, if that's all I can get.
January 20, 2013
A nice collection of fantasy short stories. There's a lot of diversity in this book, with Beagle giving us a wide range of different moods and settings, original ideas and well-built characters. With such a variety of content it's only natural that I found some tales more interesting than others, probably a simple matter of taste. However, even when I felt like a particular story was amongst the weaker of the bunch, his skillful writing and pacing and the way he infuses everything with so much character and mood always managed to make read to the end. I was never really bored, always wanted to see the resolution.
In the end I think parts of his collection are amazing while others are "just good". My absolute favorite is the titular "Sleight of Hand".
In the end I think parts of his collection are amazing while others are "just good". My absolute favorite is the titular "Sleight of Hand".
September 6, 2013
This is a book of short stories; and while I didn't love all of the stories; it ended with a short story about Schmendrick's past.
I love Schmendrick. I love the last unicorn. I love Peter Beagle's writing in the world of the Unicorn.
I don't love all of his world's; although they never fail to intrigue. But since this book left me on a happy note, with a page in Schmendrick's history with his brush with the Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon; I give it 4 stars. The rest of the book...enjoyable reads. Probably closer to 3 stars, though. Some I enjoyed more than others. And there was a good mix of worlds and supernatural touches woven throughout.
I love Schmendrick. I love the last unicorn. I love Peter Beagle's writing in the world of the Unicorn.
I don't love all of his world's; although they never fail to intrigue. But since this book left me on a happy note, with a page in Schmendrick's history with his brush with the Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon; I give it 4 stars. The rest of the book...enjoyable reads. Probably closer to 3 stars, though. Some I enjoyed more than others. And there was a good mix of worlds and supernatural touches woven throughout.
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