There was a good review from Texas Monthly in the NY Times: [link] It's an excellent book, although I think some of the asides could have been handled better, and it's nice to see Victor as more than a comic foil. Her background does make it understandable that Victor might be concerned that her growing collection of taxidermied animals might lead to things like late-night squirrel puppets.
Ray Lafferty was a funny little man. He used to wander around at sf conventions in the '70s, drinking out of a bottle and making snarky remarks until he passed out.
I love Lafferty. I reread him on a regular basis.
Yay, Bloggess. That book is totes going on my birthday list, if I don't manage to acquire it sooner.
I have it on hold at the library, along with the newest (and last) of David Wellington's vampire books.
Oops. I posted this in Beep Me by accident.
Hec, great piece on Angela Carter. When I was packing all of my books they other day with thessaly she ended up borrowing one of my Angela Carters. I have only read Night Circus and The Bloodly Chamber, but I really want to read more of her stuff.
but I really want to read more of her stuff.
Check out The Magic Toyshop. It's so enjoyable, and I think a natural fit if you enjoyed The Bloody chamber.
I'd actually recommend getting into some of her non-fiction before you took a stab at Dr. Hoffman or New Eve. It helps to understand what she's wrestling with when she's using such unconventional structures.
You don't have to write a thesis on her book The Sadeian Woman, but it helps if you've glanced through it.
But definitely check out her other short stories too, like Fireworks. Some of the stories there are a bit half formed, but the three stories set in Japan and The Executioner's Daughter are amazing. Not like anybody else, and not like the rest of her work quite.
Hec, I'll check to see if the library has The Magic Toyshop. After packing up all my books I'm not buying anymore right now.
Most people are familiar with the movie A Company of Wolves
based on her short stories in The Bloody Chamber, but there's also a little seen movie version of The Magic Toyshop that's worth finding.
I love Lafferty too. But I never thought of him as obscure. Does he really have a more limited audience than your average genre writer/
The only reason I have heard of him is because of Neil Gaiman's short story, "Sunbird," which he said was his attempt to write a Lafferty story. I have never heard of him anywhere else ever.
