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Horse, Flower, Bird (2010)

by Kate Bernheimer(Favorite Author)

3.56 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1566892473 (ISBN13: 9781566892476)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Coffee House Press

review 1: I found a copy of this in a thrift shop the other day and decided to get it, something I was surprised at considering I'd never heard of it or the author and I pretty much only buy books if I recognize the author or title or whatever. However, I was feeling adventurous and it was $1.50, so as the kids say these days, YOLO. Initially, I was attracted to the amazing art on the cover and the inside. Not to mention the set up is pretty unique. Its very minimalistic - a page can range from one sentence to a couple of paragraphs. Therefore, I knew it would be quick and wouldn't get myself into anything to serious. Obviously, it was a quick read, a couple of hours. However, that's not indicative of the content for it was pretty intense. There are 8 stories, all very strange and ... moreall of which I enjoyed. They are just very peculiar stories, not something easily described. Maybe a good way to describe it is "Woah man, that was a trip." They are like little fairytales but very poetic. They are sort of chilling, after you read them you are left a little sad. It's delicately haunting and eerie. Like a modern day Grimm story.
review 2: Odd little grown-up fairy tales; I couldn't put the book down. My favorite story was "A Cageling Tale." It's sparse and beautiful and just a little twisted (it involves dead birds, topless dancing, and the construction of a life-size cage in which the protagonist retreats: "Not moving, she feels calm. And when you really think about it, what makes that so wrong?"). The last story, "Whitework," is also stellar. The way in which the narrator glories in her not-knowingness resonated: she becomes absorbed in a small painting of a woman. "Soon, of course, I thought of nothing else but the girl in the painting. Nightly my companion brought me a teacup of blueberry wine, and nightly I drank it, asked for another, and wondered. Who was she? Who am I? I expected no answer---nay, nay, I did not wish for one either. For in my wonder I possessed complete satisfaction." This is more or less how I feel, looking, somewhat stunned, at the world around me. less

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