PanTor.comLike [L\'Engle\'s] novels, the stories here vary greatly in quality: some are excellent, some mediocre, one the worst story I have read in some time, enough to make me groan out loud more than once, and to cast a negative light on the entire collection ... The early stories—like her early novels—often feature awkward viewpoint changes and transitions, an awkwardness that vanishes in the middle stories, only to reappear with a vengeance in the last story. Again, much like her novels. More than one story—particularly those written after her marriage—has a certain soap opera feel ... contains some casual anti-Semitism, along with an odd insistence that the two characters coded as Jewish, with Jewish names, are not in fact Jewish, and a really odd moment of nudity that I found difficult to reconcile with my general, perhaps—probably—inaccurate of New England in the 1950s. (I’m not saying that no one ever decided to ditch clothing from time to time back then, just that this particular episode feels odd.) And that the stories contain a few other moments of casual, unthinking racism here and there that some readers might find offensive ... intentionally or not, L’Engle did, in the middle of an otherwise just terrible story on all levels, identify one truth I am witnessing right now: sometimes, survival can uncover some very ugly things
Gregory Maguire
PositiveTorHiddensee functions, like much of the rest of Maguire’s work, almost as an anti-fairy tale. That is, rather than having a protagonist leave the real world for a place of enchantment, before returning, Hiddensee has its protagonist leave the world of enchantment for the real world ... As with most of Maguire’s work, Hiddensee has a certain coldness, a certain distance, which may make it a bit difficult for some readers. The actual Nutcracker, it should be noted, takes some time to appear, and if you are looking for the Nutcracker’s story—well, as I warned you up above, this probably isn’t it ... The queer subplot, however, is handled with compassion, and a gentle touch, as is the story of another character troubled by dreams and clinical depression, unable to find medical help. And Maguire’s comedy continues to shine through, even in a book examining many dark moments, in and out of the fairy tale forest. If you’ve liked any of Maguire’s previous novels, or The Nutcracker, or have an interest in German Romanticism, I think you’ll like this.
Edmund Gordon
RaveTor...admiration ensures that Gordon is a careful, considerate and sympathetic reader of Angela Carter’s stories—of real life and fiction – and makes this a marvelously readable, strangely sympathetic biography of a woman who clearly could be often hell to live with (even leaving aside the chain smoking), but also, endlessly fascinating. It also provides needed context for the striking stories of The Bloody Chamber, stories we will be taking a later look at. It’s an early contender for my Hugo ballot next year.
