Book 35
A Knot In The Grain and Other Stories by Robin McKInley
I like Robin McKinley's novels a lot. Beauty [1] is one of my favourite comfort reads and I've enjoyed all the others I've read too. But these five short stories seemed lacking somehow. It's not that they seemed unfinished exactly, but more that they weren't fleshed out as well as they could have been. The writing was still good, but the tales themselves seem oddly pointless, as if something important hasn't been explained. The title story was probably the worst in this regard and the one I liked least overall.
The present day setting worked against it and I really disliked the ending, because I found the protagonist's decision completely alien - her rejection of the magic in the attic and refusal to explore it any further seemed amazingly unadventurous and cowardly, but it annoyed me particularly because she rejects it not only for herself but for anyone else who might otherwise have found it.
Also there seem to be no hints as to what the magic is or where it came from. I appreciate that not everything needs to be spelled out in six foot high letters, but I do like a few clues at least.
I think any one of these stories would make a good novel if it were expanded and developed, but as short stories they're missing something.
[1] Not to be confused with the novel of the same title by Sheri S. Tepper, which is an entirely different beast.
I like Robin McKinley's novels a lot. Beauty [1] is one of my favourite comfort reads and I've enjoyed all the others I've read too. But these five short stories seemed lacking somehow. It's not that they seemed unfinished exactly, but more that they weren't fleshed out as well as they could have been. The writing was still good, but the tales themselves seem oddly pointless, as if something important hasn't been explained. The title story was probably the worst in this regard and the one I liked least overall.
The present day setting worked against it and I really disliked the ending, because I found the protagonist's decision completely alien - her rejection of the magic in the attic and refusal to explore it any further seemed amazingly unadventurous and cowardly, but it annoyed me particularly because she rejects it not only for herself but for anyone else who might otherwise have found it.
Also there seem to be no hints as to what the magic is or where it came from. I appreciate that not everything needs to be spelled out in six foot high letters, but I do like a few clues at least.
I think any one of these stories would make a good novel if it were expanded and developed, but as short stories they're missing something.
[1] Not to be confused with the novel of the same title by Sheri S. Tepper, which is an entirely different beast.