Book-It '10! Book #51
The Fifty Books Challenge, year two! This was a library request.
Title: The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, illustrated by Charles Vess
Details: Copyright 2002, Viking
Synopsis (By Way of Front Flap): "One of our most enduring, universal myths is that of the Green Man-the spirit who stands for Nature in its most wild and untamed form, a man with leaves for hair who dwells deep within the mythic forest. Through the ages and around the world, the Green Man and other nature spirits have appeared in stories, songs, and artwork, as well as many beloved fantasy novels, from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to Charles de Lint's Forests of the Heart.
Now Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, the award-winning editors of over twenty anthologies, have gathered some of today's finest writers of magical fiction- including, among many others, the bestselling Neil Gaiman (American Gods), Jane Yolen (Briar Rose), Gregory Maguire (Wicked), and Patricia A. McKillip (The Tower at Stony Wood)-to interpret the spirits of nature in short stories and poetry. Folklorist and artist Charles Vess (Stardust) brings his stellar eye and brush to the decorations, and Windling provides an introduction exploring Green Man symbolism and forest myth.
The Green Man will become required reading for teenagers and adults alike- not only for fans of fantasy fiction, but for all readers interested in mythology and the mysteries of the wilderness."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Pagan interests, of course, run high, and the cover is gorgeous.
How I Liked It: I've said before (and will say again) that short stories are always a mixed bag. I was not aware that this collection featured Neil Gaiman and Gregory Maguire (I am not as big a Maguire fan as I am a Gaiman one, but I've enjoyed some of his work) and less interestingly, Patricia A. McKillip, who I have also read before.
Not to spoil this for those considering reading it, but the Gaiman offering is a brief poem, not a short story (the dude's famous after all) and I didn't find it particularly remarkable.
Like the previous collection of short-stories centered around a Pagan theme I've read, the "urban" stuff (stories set in the present) generally fares better than the attempts at fairy tales (which I've found don't really work well in this format). A particularly haunting offering suggests the image of modern ruins (ala Dixie Square Mall?) and the Gods of nature being in what we've made nature to now be (a controversial stance in the Pagan community that is not without its supporters).
A mixed bag and sadly one that's not much of a tribute to The Guardian of All Things Wild and Free.
Notable: A story takes place in Central Park and throws around (almost amusingly) references to celebrities of 2002 (the narrator describes her fitness as her being "not exactly Ally McBeal if you know what I mean.") and to New York City itself, obviously (the narrator spies a member of the fae in an "Upper East Side lady"). Writers among other artists have talked before about writing for New York City pre versus post 9/11 and one can't help but think any story this pop culture dated must have surely been written before 2002, as no mention is made either directly or indirectly of the attacks.
Title: The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, illustrated by Charles Vess
Details: Copyright 2002, Viking
Synopsis (By Way of Front Flap): "One of our most enduring, universal myths is that of the Green Man-the spirit who stands for Nature in its most wild and untamed form, a man with leaves for hair who dwells deep within the mythic forest. Through the ages and around the world, the Green Man and other nature spirits have appeared in stories, songs, and artwork, as well as many beloved fantasy novels, from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings to Charles de Lint's Forests of the Heart.
Now Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, the award-winning editors of over twenty anthologies, have gathered some of today's finest writers of magical fiction- including, among many others, the bestselling Neil Gaiman (American Gods), Jane Yolen (Briar Rose), Gregory Maguire (Wicked), and Patricia A. McKillip (The Tower at Stony Wood)-to interpret the spirits of nature in short stories and poetry. Folklorist and artist Charles Vess (Stardust) brings his stellar eye and brush to the decorations, and Windling provides an introduction exploring Green Man symbolism and forest myth.
The Green Man will become required reading for teenagers and adults alike- not only for fans of fantasy fiction, but for all readers interested in mythology and the mysteries of the wilderness."
Why I Wanted to Read It: Pagan interests, of course, run high, and the cover is gorgeous.
How I Liked It: I've said before (and will say again) that short stories are always a mixed bag. I was not aware that this collection featured Neil Gaiman and Gregory Maguire (I am not as big a Maguire fan as I am a Gaiman one, but I've enjoyed some of his work) and less interestingly, Patricia A. McKillip, who I have also read before.
Not to spoil this for those considering reading it, but the Gaiman offering is a brief poem, not a short story (the dude's famous after all) and I didn't find it particularly remarkable.
Like the previous collection of short-stories centered around a Pagan theme I've read, the "urban" stuff (stories set in the present) generally fares better than the attempts at fairy tales (which I've found don't really work well in this format). A particularly haunting offering suggests the image of modern ruins (ala Dixie Square Mall?) and the Gods of nature being in what we've made nature to now be (a controversial stance in the Pagan community that is not without its supporters).
A mixed bag and sadly one that's not much of a tribute to The Guardian of All Things Wild and Free.
Notable: A story takes place in Central Park and throws around (almost amusingly) references to celebrities of 2002 (the narrator describes her fitness as her being "not exactly Ally McBeal if you know what I mean.") and to New York City itself, obviously (the narrator spies a member of the fae in an "Upper East Side lady"). Writers among other artists have talked before about writing for New York City pre versus post 9/11 and one can't help but think any story this pop culture dated must have surely been written before 2002, as no mention is made either directly or indirectly of the attacks.