Jackalope Wives and Other Stories
3 journalers for this copy...
I've enjoyed the author's work, both under this name (see the quirky horror novel The Twisted Ones) and as Ursula Vernon (most notably for the marvelous graphic novel about the adventures of a brave wombat, Digger), and wanted to read more. Got this softcover from an online seller.
Later: I really enjoyed this collection! The mix of humor, pithy characters, and intriguing mythologies and settings worked wonderfully well. Among my favorites:
"The Jackalope Wives" takes the legend of the selkie - in which seals shed their skins to become human women, and if someone finds and hides the skin, that seal-woman cannot change back - and applies it to jackalopes, the fictional American-west animal that's basically a jackrabbit with antelope horns. At the half-moon, the jackelope wives come out to the desert and dance, often witnessed by human men - who admired their loveliness but (usually) didn't dare do anything about it. And then one young man does dare, taking the skin - but his plan doesn't go as he intended. Cue his arrival at his grandmother's house, with the half-changed jackelope wife he'd tried to catch... Turns out his grandmother is Grandma Harken, a noted witch and wisewoman, and she's very, very disappointed in him for what he's done. And then she goes on a quest to find some way to restore the jackalope wife, one that brings in other desert powers and reveals a truly delightful - and touching - secret about Grandma Harken herself...
"Wooden Feathers" is a spin on "Pinocchio", kinda-sorta, with some lyrical scenes of woodcarving so delicate that the creations come to life.
"Bird Bones" is about a woman whose care of her garden and the birds that visit is repaid by the birds themselves - who are a lot better-organized than anyone might have expected. The way they deal with the abusive neighbor is very, very satisfying.
"Razorback" features another witch, this one dwelling in the mountains. She's befriended a razorback hog, which has become something of a familiar - and when a local hunter kills the hog, she takes steps... The bittersweet resolution to this one felt just right.
"The Dryad's Shoe" revisits "Cinderella", and lets its garden-happy heroine find her own future instead of having to go for a prince. Her relationship with her godmother/dryad is... different, and I liked the way the step-sister dynamic was much more cheerful here than in the original.
"Let Pass the Horses Black" - well, this one's based on the tale of "Tam Lin", but has a beautifully nasty twist in it, as the heroine goes through the same challenges to rescue a man from the faeries, but with a motive all her own. {shudder} I really liked this one.
"This Vote is Legally Binding" is a tart rejoinder to a spate of negative reactions (by men) to women-wearing-headphones: some (too many) of them seemed to think that they should be allowed to talk to strangers even when those strangers had headphones on, and the story opens:
"Someone always says it, whenever it comes up:
'I guess I'm just not allowed to talk to anyone any more!'
Well,
Yes.
It is my duty to inform you that we took a vote
all us women
and determined that you are not allowed to talk to anyone
ever again...."
"Well, of course all women know each other, the way you always suspected..."
It goes on in that vein, and while I hope that the syndrome that inspired it isn't as prevalent anymore, I still got a kick out of the story.
"The Tomato Thief" brought back Grandma Harken, from the jackelopes story. It mixes her daughter's concern with the old woman's safety, living out in the desert alone, with the love of fresh-picked, garden-ripe heirloom tomatoes, for the perfect tomato sandwich. [I really, really empathized with that!] But this year something's been stealing the tomatoes before Grandma Harken can get to them, and she is NOT happy about it... She finally figures out who or what has been doing the thieving, and promptly gets caught up in another quest to save a magically-bound creature. Along the way we learn about the train-gods, whose avatars are people whose ancestors died building the railways, before the trains and rails became powers in their own right and began to warp reality along the lines. Wonderful concept, btw, and beautifully executed! "The bargain was between the desert and the trains, and no business of any mortal creature at all." And the story introduces a new apprentice for Grandma Harken, a lovely touch. I hope there are more stories in this setting!
"Pocosin" has yet another witch, this one dwelling in the peaty marshes of the Carolinas, where she tends to the crossing-over of small gods - battling both heaven and hell for the ones that only want to return to this world again. Lyrical and strange.
So... my "favorites" included practically everything, and I liked the other tales and poems as well. Really fine book!
[There's a TV Tropes page on the author and her work, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Later: I really enjoyed this collection! The mix of humor, pithy characters, and intriguing mythologies and settings worked wonderfully well. Among my favorites:
"The Jackalope Wives" takes the legend of the selkie - in which seals shed their skins to become human women, and if someone finds and hides the skin, that seal-woman cannot change back - and applies it to jackalopes, the fictional American-west animal that's basically a jackrabbit with antelope horns. At the half-moon, the jackelope wives come out to the desert and dance, often witnessed by human men - who admired their loveliness but (usually) didn't dare do anything about it. And then one young man does dare, taking the skin - but his plan doesn't go as he intended. Cue his arrival at his grandmother's house, with the half-changed jackelope wife he'd tried to catch... Turns out his grandmother is Grandma Harken, a noted witch and wisewoman, and she's very, very disappointed in him for what he's done. And then she goes on a quest to find some way to restore the jackalope wife, one that brings in other desert powers and reveals a truly delightful - and touching - secret about Grandma Harken herself...
"Wooden Feathers" is a spin on "Pinocchio", kinda-sorta, with some lyrical scenes of woodcarving so delicate that the creations come to life.
"Bird Bones" is about a woman whose care of her garden and the birds that visit is repaid by the birds themselves - who are a lot better-organized than anyone might have expected. The way they deal with the abusive neighbor is very, very satisfying.
"Razorback" features another witch, this one dwelling in the mountains. She's befriended a razorback hog, which has become something of a familiar - and when a local hunter kills the hog, she takes steps... The bittersweet resolution to this one felt just right.
"The Dryad's Shoe" revisits "Cinderella", and lets its garden-happy heroine find her own future instead of having to go for a prince. Her relationship with her godmother/dryad is... different, and I liked the way the step-sister dynamic was much more cheerful here than in the original.
"Let Pass the Horses Black" - well, this one's based on the tale of "Tam Lin", but has a beautifully nasty twist in it, as the heroine goes through the same challenges to rescue a man from the faeries, but with a motive all her own. {shudder} I really liked this one.
"This Vote is Legally Binding" is a tart rejoinder to a spate of negative reactions (by men) to women-wearing-headphones: some (too many) of them seemed to think that they should be allowed to talk to strangers even when those strangers had headphones on, and the story opens:
"Someone always says it, whenever it comes up:
'I guess I'm just not allowed to talk to anyone any more!'
Well,
Yes.
It is my duty to inform you that we took a vote
all us women
and determined that you are not allowed to talk to anyone
ever again...."
"Well, of course all women know each other, the way you always suspected..."
It goes on in that vein, and while I hope that the syndrome that inspired it isn't as prevalent anymore, I still got a kick out of the story.
"The Tomato Thief" brought back Grandma Harken, from the jackelopes story. It mixes her daughter's concern with the old woman's safety, living out in the desert alone, with the love of fresh-picked, garden-ripe heirloom tomatoes, for the perfect tomato sandwich. [I really, really empathized with that!] But this year something's been stealing the tomatoes before Grandma Harken can get to them, and she is NOT happy about it... She finally figures out who or what has been doing the thieving, and promptly gets caught up in another quest to save a magically-bound creature. Along the way we learn about the train-gods, whose avatars are people whose ancestors died building the railways, before the trains and rails became powers in their own right and began to warp reality along the lines. Wonderful concept, btw, and beautifully executed! "The bargain was between the desert and the trains, and no business of any mortal creature at all." And the story introduces a new apprentice for Grandma Harken, a lovely touch. I hope there are more stories in this setting!
"Pocosin" has yet another witch, this one dwelling in the peaty marshes of the Carolinas, where she tends to the crossing-over of small gods - battling both heaven and hell for the ones that only want to return to this world again. Lyrical and strange.
So... my "favorites" included practically everything, and I liked the other tales and poems as well. Really fine book!
[There's a TV Tropes page on the author and her work, with some entertaining tidbits.]
Journal Entry 2 by 
GoryDetails
at LFL [OBCZ] - New Searles Rd, #46 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, October 4, 2020
GoryDetails at LFL [OBCZ] - New Searles Rd, #46 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA on Sunday, October 4, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (10/4/2020 UTC) at LFL [OBCZ] - New Searles Rd, #46 in Nashua, New Hampshire USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Guidelines for safely visiting and stocking Little Free Libraries during the COVID-19 pandemic, from the LFL site here.I left this book in my Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!
[See other recent releases in NH here.]
*** Released for the 2020 You're Such an Animal challenge. ***
I'm reclaiming this from my Little Free Library, as it's been there for several months with no takers; will pass it along elsewhere.
I'm adding this book to the Otherworldly bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop shortly. Hope it travels safely, and that people enjoy the selection!
*** Released for the 2021 Valentine challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Great Backyard Bird Count challenge (see www.birdcount.org to join the count). ***
*** Released for the 2021 Valentine challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2021 Great Backyard Bird Count challenge (see www.birdcount.org to join the count). ***
I picked this book out of emmejo's Otherworldly Bookbox (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror). I look forward to reading this one. I am in book_drunkard's ABC book Challenge (on Goodreads) and this will be the book I'll read for the letter "J". Thanks for sharing!
I loved this book! It had some very good short stories that had a taste of Native American storytelling. Others tales in this book, had a fairy tale/folklore feel. I read it in just two sittings. I just couldn't put T. Kingfisher's book down. There is a reason that it was a Nebula Award winner.
I am putting this in HI77's Bookbox of Intentional Variety #9. Short Story/Fantasy. Happy Travels!
I am putting this in HI77's Bookbox of Intentional Variety #9. Short Story/Fantasy. Happy Travels!
Arrived in the Intentional Variety bookbox - I am pulling this one from the box, I often have similar tastes as GoryDetails, so, perhaps this one will be enjoyable for me as well.
