Stories - Edited by Neil Gaiman & Al Sarrantonio

This anthology of short stories by acclaimed authors is not something to be read in one sitting, but rather something to be dipped in and out of. I've only read a few of the stories so far, and been delighted by all. As is the tradition in short story telling, each is a self-contained tale of the Other. From the twisted revenge in Neil Gaiman's The Truth Is A Cave In The Black Mountains, to the curious twin bond in Joyce Carol Oates' Fossil-Figures, and the vampirism of Walter Mosley's Juvenal Nyx, and the meta-fictive twists in Michael Swanwick's Goblin Lake, to name but a few, each story explores an aspect of the weird, sometimes frightening Other that preoccupies humanity.
Of what I've read so far, it's all rather brilliant. But then asking world-renowned, prize winning, authors to write a short story was bound to turn up some corkers. It's currently a hardback, so it might be out of some readers price range, but I highly recommend borrowing a copy from your local library, or just waiting for it to be a paperback.

Short and sweet

This week's recommended reads are a few days late (apologies, I got distracted!) and are all short story collections. Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite writers and as well as several novels, films, graphic novels and other writings, he has written several collections of short stories, I picked FragileThings as it happened to be the one I'm re-reading right now. I also suggested one of Roald Dahl's deliciously dark collections for adults, Switch Bitch, and Emma Donaghue's fairytale retellings Kissing The Witch.
Short stories can be fun, dipping in and only requiring a little time in a busy day to stretch your imagination and take a moment to recharge. Short stories are often dark, creepy, a little strange. Some of them grow into full novels, others just stay a brief glimpse at a narrative that never gets to be fully realised. Not everyone likes short stories, generally I prefer nice tasty novels I can get lost in, but if they're well written short stories can be almost as satisfying.
Even if the short story isn't normally your cup of tea, give one of these collections a read or find another author who tickles your fancy and stop for a while and go somewhere else in your head!
Happy Reading!!

The Oldest Stories...

This week's recommended (see right) are all traditional tales from great classic cultures, The Mabinogian is Welsh mythology, I suggest the OUP edition, it's the one I have. The Prose Edda is Norse, translated, the Penguin is a good edition, there's also the poetic version available as well. Finally I chose Seamus Heaney's version of the epic poem Beowulf. It's a beautiful, lyrical retelling of one of the oldest stories we have. There are plenty of other collections of myths and legends from around the world, something I collect and am fascinated by, especially creation myths and stories of gods, from Hindu to Ancient Greek. Many of these tales and myths recur in literature down the ages, as do folk and fairy tales. Something in these oft-retold histories speaks to us and means that they continue to survive and are handed down through the ages.
Here's a bonus recommendation of a few books that reinvent and retell the old stories;
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
L'Morte de Arthur - Sir Thomas Malory
The World's Wife - Carol Ann Duffy

Happy reading!!

Revisiting old friends...

Sometimes I find it difficult to re-read a book, I remember too much of the plot and it makes it hard to get back into the story. However certain books, after a decent period of time can easily be re-read, and re-read and so on. In this case it's American Gods by Neil Gaiman, one of my favourite writers, and one of (in my opinion) his best novels.
It's a fantasy novel, a blend of old world mythology and the modern with its cast of old gods in a new world, fighting to survive when no one believes in them anymore. It's complex and sprawling, but not too hard to follow and the character of Shadow is sympathetic and sometimes I feel as confused as he is with the strange things happening around him that make no sense and aren't always explained. Anyway it's a great book, and probably benefits from a repeated reading.