When
Mrs. Sorensen's husband dies, she rekindles a long-dormant love with an
unsuitable mate in "Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch." In "Open
the Door and the Light Pours Through," a young man wrestles with grief and
his sexuality in an exchange of letters with his faraway beloved.
"Dreadful Young Ladies" demonstrates the strength and power--known
and unknown--of the imagination. "The Insect and the Astronomer"
upends expectations about good and bad, knowledge and ignorance, love and longing.
The World Fantasy Award-winning novella The Unlicensed Magician introduces the
secret, magical life of an invisible girl once left for dead .
 Having only read one
book by Barnhill previously (and a middle-grade book, at that), I can say I
wasn't nearly prepared for the strangeness of her fiction. Each story is full
of bizarre creatures that are not quite fully formed - you only get a hint of
what it is you're actually reading. I guess that's just part of the
whimsical/psychotic style she prefers, and by that I mean as you read each
story, you feel the narrator is somehow a bit cracked, not to be trusted, but
even more so, they seem like they're experiencing some sort of psychotic
break with reality.Some of the stories are pure fantasy, others are more magical realism (more magical than real, though), and the point of each story is a bit hard to define, though with some stories it's more clear than others. I can't say I had a favorite amongst these stories, but I can say I had a least favorite. Most of the stories are pretty forgettable - their weird, creepy, or off in some way, but most don't really stick because they don't seem to have a particular point to them. I can see strong ties between "The Unlicensed Magician" and her book that I had read, "The Girl Who Drank the Moon." She seems to have a very particular vision of what magic is and how it manifests itself. In the end, though, I end each story wondering "What have I just read?" I don't regret reading this collection of short stories, but I don't think I'd recommend it very freely. I think this book is best reserved for those who really enjoy short stories, but particularly of the kind that are ethereal or of the bizarre. Barnhill does have a knack for descriptive prose and some of the visions she creates are quite lovely, but I will definitely proceed with caution the next time I consider reading one of her books. |
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