The Secrets of a Fire King: Stories
3 journalers for this copy...
the secrets of the fire king
sending to gorydetails
The wishlist-tag books arrived safely today; many thanks! This one is an anthology by the author of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and looks fascinating.
Later: I read this book in installments, using it as my "carrying-around" book, and that helped me to savor each story rather than bolting a bunch of them at once. And they repaid that attention! I'm a bit iffy on magical-realism in general, but the way it's handled in some of these stories is deft, evocative, and occasionally chilling. The variety of themes and settings impressed me too; there's a lot of emphasis on relationships, and on individuals struggling with their own desires and limitations, but these are cast into many different types of tales.
I marked too many bits to cite them all, but some of my favorite stories include:
"Spring, Mountain, Sea" - a war veteran with a Japanese wife finds himself at odds with her over many things, including what to name their children, yet over the years their relationship changes them both. Bittersweet notes on aging and love here.
"A Gleaming in the Darkness" - perhaps my favorite story here, this one is from the viewpoint of an aging woman who, in her youth, worked in the laboratory of Marie Curie, and became fascinated with the glowing substances that were the focus of Curie's work. The reader knows, as the narrator (and Curie herself) did not until too late, that the radium will cause tremendous harm if mishandled, yet the narrative retains a sense of wonder.
"The Invitation" is a painfully stark look at a woman who has worked in a foreign land for years, yet who has deliberately kept everything about the place at arms' length. She doesn't realize how beyond the pale she is until a new arrival blithely starts learning the language, listening to the people, and appreciating the surroundings, while the main character watches in increasing bafflement, rage, and fear. This one has a strong feel of Shirley Jackson's work; I liked it very much.
"Thirst" is the story that the little mermaid might have told if she'd won her prince.
Strife in a family of acrobats, a young woman trying sky-diving to test herself, idealistic people trying to forge a perfect community in a lovely tropical location, a wandering fire-eater and con-man trying to seduce the wrong girl, young women seeking to escape a life of prostitution, and more - this is a fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking, collection.
Later: I read this book in installments, using it as my "carrying-around" book, and that helped me to savor each story rather than bolting a bunch of them at once. And they repaid that attention! I'm a bit iffy on magical-realism in general, but the way it's handled in some of these stories is deft, evocative, and occasionally chilling. The variety of themes and settings impressed me too; there's a lot of emphasis on relationships, and on individuals struggling with their own desires and limitations, but these are cast into many different types of tales.
I marked too many bits to cite them all, but some of my favorite stories include:
"Spring, Mountain, Sea" - a war veteran with a Japanese wife finds himself at odds with her over many things, including what to name their children, yet over the years their relationship changes them both. Bittersweet notes on aging and love here.
"A Gleaming in the Darkness" - perhaps my favorite story here, this one is from the viewpoint of an aging woman who, in her youth, worked in the laboratory of Marie Curie, and became fascinated with the glowing substances that were the focus of Curie's work. The reader knows, as the narrator (and Curie herself) did not until too late, that the radium will cause tremendous harm if mishandled, yet the narrative retains a sense of wonder.
"The Invitation" is a painfully stark look at a woman who has worked in a foreign land for years, yet who has deliberately kept everything about the place at arms' length. She doesn't realize how beyond the pale she is until a new arrival blithely starts learning the language, listening to the people, and appreciating the surroundings, while the main character watches in increasing bafflement, rage, and fear. This one has a strong feel of Shirley Jackson's work; I liked it very much.
"Thirst" is the story that the little mermaid might have told if she'd won her prince.
Strife in a family of acrobats, a young woman trying sky-diving to test herself, idealistic people trying to forge a perfect community in a lovely tropical location, a wandering fire-eater and con-man trying to seduce the wrong girl, young women seeking to escape a life of prostitution, and more - this is a fascinating, sometimes heartbreaking, collection.
Journal Entry 4 by 
GoryDetails
at Little Free Library (UBCZ), 14 Epping Rd in Exeter, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, June 13, 2015
GoryDetails at Little Free Library (UBCZ), 14 Epping Rd in Exeter, New Hampshire USA on Saturday, June 13, 2015
Released 8 yrs ago (6/12/2015 UTC) at Little Free Library (UBCZ), 14 Epping Rd in Exeter, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left the book in the Little Free Library at around 11. Hope the finder enjoys it! *** Released as part of the 2015 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***
Picked up from the little library across from our house for some summer reading. Will release back to the library when read! thnx
