Viking 2008
Pretty Monsters is billed as Kelly Link's first collection for young adult readers, though I'm here to tell you that it works just fine on adults as well. There are nine stories in this collection, most of them fairly long, and all of the stories with the exception of the title story have seen print before.
Frightening? You bet. At least of few of them are. "Pretty Monsters," the title story, is an engrossing tale about the cruelties of teenage social rituals - not particularly high on the scary scale until the ending, which will put goosebumps on your goosebumps. Even better is the nested Russian doll of a story inside the story.
Pretty Monsters is billed as Kelly Link's first collection for young adult readers, though I'm here to tell you that it works just fine on adults as well. There are nine stories in this collection, most of them fairly long, and all of the stories with the exception of the title story have seen print before.
Frightening? You bet. At least of few of them are. "Pretty Monsters," the title story, is an engrossing tale about the cruelties of teenage social rituals - not particularly high on the scary scale until the ending, which will put goosebumps on your goosebumps. Even better is the nested Russian doll of a story inside the story.
"The Wrong Grave," premised upon a teenager's decision to dig up his ex-girfriend in an attempt to retrieve the poetry that he had laid in her casket, is more on the funny side of morbid. Other stories range from one about rather unhlepful wizards to another about a Costa Rican cult awaiting the return of aliens. Some stories approach the realm of terrifying (for children and me) to others that show off Kelly Link's ability to use metafiction to dizzying effect.
My favorite story in Pretty Monsters is one entitled "The Faery Handbag," which appeared in a previous Kelly Link collection. "The Faery Handbag" is a story about a teenager named Genevieve who is searching for her grandmother's old handbag which may or may not contain Genevieve's ex-boyfriend, her father, and the entire village of Baldeziwulekistan. The story is brilliant and perfectly rendered in the narrator's somewhat disaffected teenage voice. I would tell you more, but that would ruin your opportunity to read this masterpiece of short fiction.
My favorite story in Pretty Monsters is one entitled "The Faery Handbag," which appeared in a previous Kelly Link collection. "The Faery Handbag" is a story about a teenager named Genevieve who is searching for her grandmother's old handbag which may or may not contain Genevieve's ex-boyfriend, her father, and the entire village of Baldeziwulekistan. The story is brilliant and perfectly rendered in the narrator's somewhat disaffected teenage voice. I would tell you more, but that would ruin your opportunity to read this masterpiece of short fiction.
I might think that Kelly Link devotees could be disappointed in the release of a book of work that they've already read. If like me however, you're a neophyte to this Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author, pick up a copy of Pretty Monsters. Or download one of her previous collections, Magic for Beginners and Stranger Things Happen, that Link has made available for free. You can also read "The Faery Handbag," my favorite Kelly Link story (so far), online.
