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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This fascinating and varied collection of short stories (and in one case a series of vignettes that form a novelette) by Kat Howard is actually the first time I've read a good bit of this author's work. Many of these tales are memorable re-envisionings of stories from literature or history, such as Arthurian legends (what's in a name?) or a modern Joan of Arc (looking for miracles in an urban setting, with the aid of Chanel Vamp and the back of a Stoli box). While I felt varying levels of engagement, some like "Maiden, Hunter, Beast" took my breath away, and others like "Murdered Sleep" haunted my thoughts, while "The Green Knight's Wife" had me shivering.
This anthology has certainly whetted my appetite for reading more of Howard's fiction!
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from Saga Press via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
This anthology has certainly whetted my appetite for reading more of Howard's fiction!
I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from Saga Press via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
(Thank you to Edelweiss and Saga Press for providing this DRC in exchange for an honest review)
One of my new favorite books, and certainly my favorite short story collection to date! I would recommend this to literally everyone, but especially those that understand that fairy tales, legends, and myths deserve to be told not just for their magic, but for what they reveal in our individual realities.
Here are my ratings for the individual stories (*** marks my favorite ones, yes there are four, you can’t make me choose)...
A Life in Fictions - 5 stars
Saint of the Sidewalks - 4.5 stars
Maiden, Hunter, Beast - 4 stars
***Once, Future - 5 stars
There were too many wonderful quotes from this story to narrow them down to one:
“Of course the writer is manipulating things, making sure the underlying pattern of the story is recognizable. But I also think this particular story has a pattern that likes to be fit. It is almost like self-replicating DNA. The story makes it easy for the writer. That’s why there are so many retellings.”
“Maybe that’s the nature of tragedy. That you don’t notice. Or you see the signs gathering around you, and still you think: not us.”
And finally:
“‘There weren’t any women sitting [at the Round Table], not even Guinevere. And even if we ignore the sexism, it wasn’t a parliament. The Round Table wasn’t a congress or his advisory board. Arthur made the law. He may have sat with them, but he wasn’t equal.’ Nora tipped back in her chair, then dropped it to the ground with a thud. ‘Which, honestly, makes the whole Guinevere thing worse. He could have saved her, commuted the sentence, shipped her off to a convent, whatever. Instead he’s all fake-noble, “The law ties my hands. Sadly, I must burn the unfaithful whore.” He’s no better than Henry the Eighth—I mean, if Guinevere’s dead, Arthur can marry again and fix his lack of a legitimate heir problem. The whole thing is bullshit wrapped up in the name of being a nice guy.’
‘The reason we mourn isn’t about Arthur, it’s about Camelot. Camelot was about the idea that you look for miracles,’ I said. ‘That Christmas didn’t start until a wonder had walked into the hall, that when the kingdom faltered, instead of going to war, they went on a holy quest.’
‘So religion fixes everything? Not likely,’ Nora said.
‘Not religion. Myth. The numinous. Magic. The idea that there was something more, something better, and that the solution to the problem was to find that.’”
Translatio Corpis - 4.5 stars
Dreaming Like A Ghost - 5 stars
Murdered Sleep - 5 stars
The Sleeping Bone - 3.5 stars
***Those Are Pearls - 5 stars
“This is what it means to break your own curse. It means knowing what the curse is. Not how it manifests, not why it fell upon you and not upon some other, not what people say it means, that such a curse has chosen you. It means seeing it truly, recognizing the truth at its red and bloody heart.
And so it means knowing your own red and bloody heart as well.”
***All Our Past Places - 5 stars
“Cartography, the making of maps, is based on the idea that we can model reality. When it comes to a map, the reality being modeled is usually some kind of physical location.
I looked at the room I sat in, covered with Aoife’s maps. Maps that modeled no reality, except the one she wanted them to have, the river Lethe as red thread connecting the pieces. Maps to places she imagined into being. Maps to the places we once were.
A pile of maps, purgatory burnt through, erased from existence. You could go anywhere, so long as you had the right map.
That was what I needed, if I was going to bring Aoife home again.”
Saints’ Tide - 5 stars
***Painted Birds and Shivered Bones - 5 stars
“Even after Eorann had told Sweeney that she could not save him, it took him some time to realize that he would need to be the saving of himself. More time still, an infinity of church bells, of molting feathers, to understand that saving himself did not necessarily include lifting the curse.”
Returned - 4.5 stars
The Calendar of Saints - 4.5 stars
The Green Knight’s Wife - 4 stars
Breaking the Frame - 4.5 stars
One of my new favorite books, and certainly my favorite short story collection to date! I would recommend this to literally everyone, but especially those that understand that fairy tales, legends, and myths deserve to be told not just for their magic, but for what they reveal in our individual realities.
Here are my ratings for the individual stories (*** marks my favorite ones, yes there are four, you can’t make me choose)...
A Life in Fictions - 5 stars
Saint of the Sidewalks - 4.5 stars
Maiden, Hunter, Beast - 4 stars
***Once, Future - 5 stars
There were too many wonderful quotes from this story to narrow them down to one:
“Of course the writer is manipulating things, making sure the underlying pattern of the story is recognizable. But I also think this particular story has a pattern that likes to be fit. It is almost like self-replicating DNA. The story makes it easy for the writer. That’s why there are so many retellings.”
“Maybe that’s the nature of tragedy. That you don’t notice. Or you see the signs gathering around you, and still you think: not us.”
And finally:
“‘There weren’t any women sitting [at the Round Table], not even Guinevere. And even if we ignore the sexism, it wasn’t a parliament. The Round Table wasn’t a congress or his advisory board. Arthur made the law. He may have sat with them, but he wasn’t equal.’ Nora tipped back in her chair, then dropped it to the ground with a thud. ‘Which, honestly, makes the whole Guinevere thing worse. He could have saved her, commuted the sentence, shipped her off to a convent, whatever. Instead he’s all fake-noble, “The law ties my hands. Sadly, I must burn the unfaithful whore.” He’s no better than Henry the Eighth—I mean, if Guinevere’s dead, Arthur can marry again and fix his lack of a legitimate heir problem. The whole thing is bullshit wrapped up in the name of being a nice guy.’
‘The reason we mourn isn’t about Arthur, it’s about Camelot. Camelot was about the idea that you look for miracles,’ I said. ‘That Christmas didn’t start until a wonder had walked into the hall, that when the kingdom faltered, instead of going to war, they went on a holy quest.’
‘So religion fixes everything? Not likely,’ Nora said.
‘Not religion. Myth. The numinous. Magic. The idea that there was something more, something better, and that the solution to the problem was to find that.’”
Translatio Corpis - 4.5 stars
Dreaming Like A Ghost - 5 stars
Murdered Sleep - 5 stars
The Sleeping Bone - 3.5 stars
***Those Are Pearls - 5 stars
“This is what it means to break your own curse. It means knowing what the curse is. Not how it manifests, not why it fell upon you and not upon some other, not what people say it means, that such a curse has chosen you. It means seeing it truly, recognizing the truth at its red and bloody heart.
And so it means knowing your own red and bloody heart as well.”
***All Our Past Places - 5 stars
“Cartography, the making of maps, is based on the idea that we can model reality. When it comes to a map, the reality being modeled is usually some kind of physical location.
I looked at the room I sat in, covered with Aoife’s maps. Maps that modeled no reality, except the one she wanted them to have, the river Lethe as red thread connecting the pieces. Maps to places she imagined into being. Maps to the places we once were.
A pile of maps, purgatory burnt through, erased from existence. You could go anywhere, so long as you had the right map.
That was what I needed, if I was going to bring Aoife home again.”
Saints’ Tide - 5 stars
***Painted Birds and Shivered Bones - 5 stars
“Even after Eorann had told Sweeney that she could not save him, it took him some time to realize that he would need to be the saving of himself. More time still, an infinity of church bells, of molting feathers, to understand that saving himself did not necessarily include lifting the curse.”
Returned - 4.5 stars
The Calendar of Saints - 4.5 stars
The Green Knight’s Wife - 4 stars
Breaking the Frame - 4.5 stars
I’m glad I finally got to read this book. It’s been on my TBR for a while now. I love Kat Howard and everything she writes. My favorite short story was definitely Once, Future. But they were all unique and interesting.
This collection is incredible. Inspired by myth and fairytales and often focusing on women who redefine their tales, I haven’t read something this beautiful since Angela Carter’s collection THE BLOODY CHAMBER. It reminds me why I love short stories. Each one here was perfect; I never skipped any of them, and they were always a length that meant I stayed engaged.
The very final line - “The tree is split, and she stepping out of it” - is very clever, I feel. It summarises the whole collection. These stories are cracked open, and all these heroines are stepping out of the old restricting confines and into a new space.
Furthermore, for these lines in the intro I would give this collection 5 stars alone. It perfectly encapsulates why I love short fiction:
"I am drawn to short fiction because it distills the beauty and the darkness that are possible in fiction, and particularly in the fantastic. It allows stories to be more intense, more dreamlike, for me as a writer to hang a skin of myth on the skeleton of the strange."
*
Individual reviews of each story below:
> A Life in Fictions (5 stars)
A perfect start for this collection, setting the tone deftly. It was exactly the right length (not too short, not too long), and it reeled me in. I loved the narrative voice and the concept. A woman who is written into so many different stories that she starts to lose sense of what is hers and what is fictional? Yes.
> The Saint of the Sidewalks (4 stars)
A miracle turns a girl into a saint, but it’s not what she asked for. I really liked how this short story grappled with pressure and how fame can be claustrophobic.
> Maiden, Hunter, Beast (4 stars)
This one engages with unicorn mythology, and how they can be trapped if they lay their heads in the lap of a virgin lady-maiden. I loved the narrative voice once again, but the ending was a little too ambiguous for me - I think I understood but I’m not totally sure.
> Once, Future (4 stars)
This is the longest story in the collection, stretching over almost 100 pages. It’s broken into chapters and is an Arthurian retelling on a modern-day college campus. It follows, to my delight, Morgan le Fay! My fave.
> Translatio Corporis (4 stars)
A girl dreams up a city of beauty, but it slowly destroys herself in the process. It was sweet and I enjoyed the feature of Lena & Catherine’s friendship. There’s nothing overly special about it, but there is a strange and quiet loveliness.
> Dreaming Like a Ghost (4 stars)
Beautifully written, this one intersects ghost stories with wronged women and revenge. There’s not much to it but evocative nevertheless.
> Murdered Sleep (4.5 stars)
WOW, I totally misread this title as murdered SHEEP first ;-; no wonder I was confused. Regardless, a stunning story about a mystical party with influences from the wild hunt.
> The Speaking Bone (5 stars)
One of the shortest in the collection, this story follows an island scattered with bones, the three strange women who live there, and the pilgrims who come seeking answers.
> Those Are Pearls (4 stars)
Sisters and curses and the bad luck of broken mirrors. I did love how it mentioned the common curse for girls was silence, and boys monstrousness; there’s certainly commentary in there.
>All of Our Past Places (4 stars)
A girl obsessed with maps disappears through one, and her best friend must create a new map in the hope of bringing her back.
> Saints' Tide (5 stars)
The worldbuilding for this one enchanted me. I would love a full novel based around the Saints of the sea and the Sisters of Glass and Tide. Really beautiful.
>Painted Birds and Shivered Bones (4.5 stars)
An artist in New York sees a bird turn into a man and paints him into his art, pulling him - and his curse - into her atmosphere. Strange and beautifully done, and I enjoyed the depiction of Maeve’s anxiety.
> Returned (5 stars)
This story is very clearly about domestic abuse; a woman is pulled back from the dead by the boyfriend who killed her, and everyone praises him for performing such a miracle. I loved the dark ending.
> The Calendar of Saints (4.2 stars)
I’ve come to the realisation that I am obsessed with sainthood and how people become Saints. Which is great because that’s what this short story is about. It also has serious flavours of Julie d’Aubigny. Which is excellent.
> The Green Knight's Wife (4 stars)
I actually don’t know a lot about the story of the Green Knight besides what came up in the earlier story ‘Once & Future’. This one is liminal, blending Arthurian tradition with modern entertainment, and an ending I didn’t expect.
> Breaking the Frame (5 stars)
This story is an excellent end. A model reinterprets fairytales by giving power to the women, similar to the way this book has done. It’s gorgeous.
The very final line - “The tree is split, and she stepping out of it” - is very clever, I feel. It summarises the whole collection. These stories are cracked open, and all these heroines are stepping out of the old restricting confines and into a new space.
Furthermore, for these lines in the intro I would give this collection 5 stars alone. It perfectly encapsulates why I love short fiction:
"I am drawn to short fiction because it distills the beauty and the darkness that are possible in fiction, and particularly in the fantastic. It allows stories to be more intense, more dreamlike, for me as a writer to hang a skin of myth on the skeleton of the strange."
*
Individual reviews of each story below:
> A Life in Fictions (5 stars)
A perfect start for this collection, setting the tone deftly. It was exactly the right length (not too short, not too long), and it reeled me in. I loved the narrative voice and the concept. A woman who is written into so many different stories that she starts to lose sense of what is hers and what is fictional? Yes.
> The Saint of the Sidewalks (4 stars)
A miracle turns a girl into a saint, but it’s not what she asked for. I really liked how this short story grappled with pressure and how fame can be claustrophobic.
> Maiden, Hunter, Beast (4 stars)
This one engages with unicorn mythology, and how they can be trapped if they lay their heads in the lap of a virgin lady-maiden. I loved the narrative voice once again, but the ending was a little too ambiguous for me - I think I understood but I’m not totally sure.
> Once, Future (4 stars)
This is the longest story in the collection, stretching over almost 100 pages. It’s broken into chapters and is an Arthurian retelling on a modern-day college campus. It follows, to my delight, Morgan le Fay! My fave.
> Translatio Corporis (4 stars)
A girl dreams up a city of beauty, but it slowly destroys herself in the process. It was sweet and I enjoyed the feature of Lena & Catherine’s friendship. There’s nothing overly special about it, but there is a strange and quiet loveliness.
> Dreaming Like a Ghost (4 stars)
Beautifully written, this one intersects ghost stories with wronged women and revenge. There’s not much to it but evocative nevertheless.
> Murdered Sleep (4.5 stars)
WOW, I totally misread this title as murdered SHEEP first ;-; no wonder I was confused. Regardless, a stunning story about a mystical party with influences from the wild hunt.
> The Speaking Bone (5 stars)
One of the shortest in the collection, this story follows an island scattered with bones, the three strange women who live there, and the pilgrims who come seeking answers.
> Those Are Pearls (4 stars)
Sisters and curses and the bad luck of broken mirrors. I did love how it mentioned the common curse for girls was silence, and boys monstrousness; there’s certainly commentary in there.
>All of Our Past Places (4 stars)
A girl obsessed with maps disappears through one, and her best friend must create a new map in the hope of bringing her back.
> Saints' Tide (5 stars)
The worldbuilding for this one enchanted me. I would love a full novel based around the Saints of the sea and the Sisters of Glass and Tide. Really beautiful.
>Painted Birds and Shivered Bones (4.5 stars)
An artist in New York sees a bird turn into a man and paints him into his art, pulling him - and his curse - into her atmosphere. Strange and beautifully done, and I enjoyed the depiction of Maeve’s anxiety.
> Returned (5 stars)
This story is very clearly about domestic abuse; a woman is pulled back from the dead by the boyfriend who killed her, and everyone praises him for performing such a miracle. I loved the dark ending.
> The Calendar of Saints (4.2 stars)
I’ve come to the realisation that I am obsessed with sainthood and how people become Saints. Which is great because that’s what this short story is about. It also has serious flavours of Julie d’Aubigny. Which is excellent.
> The Green Knight's Wife (4 stars)
I actually don’t know a lot about the story of the Green Knight besides what came up in the earlier story ‘Once & Future’. This one is liminal, blending Arthurian tradition with modern entertainment, and an ending I didn’t expect.
> Breaking the Frame (5 stars)
This story is an excellent end. A model reinterprets fairytales by giving power to the women, similar to the way this book has done. It’s gorgeous.
This collection of short stories is unbelievable and amazing and everything. Absolutely loved it.
4.5 STARS
This quickly became one of my favorite short story collections with it's dark atmosphere and poetic nature. I loved the dark and modern twists on stories we've seen before in history and fairytales. I was in awe of Kat Howard's writing style and she has quickly become one of my favorites.
This quickly became one of my favorite short story collections with it's dark atmosphere and poetic nature. I loved the dark and modern twists on stories we've seen before in history and fairytales. I was in awe of Kat Howard's writing style and she has quickly become one of my favorites.
More reviews up on my blog Inside My Library Mind
As a Whole...
All of these stories revolve around myths and legends and thus have a common theme of storytelling interwoven throughout all of them. Every story is set in our world, but not quite. It’s our world but deconstructed and mixed with symbols and aspects of different stories.
There’s also a common theme of a story being retold through time – always being the same, but also always changing and evolving and I loved that. All of these stories have women in the center and all of them involve women losing and reclaiming agency in some form or the other. And this is sort of a linear trend – the first couple of stories women lose themselves and their narrative, and as the collection progresses forward, we see them reclaiming their place. It’s incredibly clever and incredibly well done. I was in awe with some of the stuff that Kat Howard managed to pull in these stories and I was so impressed by her craft and the way she constructs these narratives.
On top of all that there’s also a sense of grandeur and urgency in these stories. They feel epic and otherworldly, but also really well grounded in our world and they have meaning that surpasses the stories themselves. I just cannot praise the subtlety of the storytelling in A Cathedral of Myth and Bones. Moreover, there isn’t a single “bad” story in here. None of them felt like fillers. Sure, I did like some less and some more, but there wasn’t a single one I did not like, which is saying a lot.
Some Highlights
A Life in Fictions – 5 stars
A girl keeps getting written into stories by her ex-boyfriend – but she lives in them and starts losing herself and her real life for the stories.
It’s scary and also captivating at the same time. Loved this one and it’s a great opener for the collection because it really sets the tone and highlights the central themes of the collection.
The Saint of the Sidewalks – 4.5 stars
A girl, desperate for help, prays to the saint of the sidewalks, only to be made into a saint herself.
A really intriguing concept that manages to explore being put to a really high standard, having power you did not want and not knowing how to really use it. It’s such a great and clever story.
Once, Future – 5 stars
A retelling of the King Arthur legend, where students take on the roles of people from the myth, only for real life to start mirroring the story and vice versa.
This is my absolute favorite story in the collection and I think the main one that inspires and grounds all others. It’s unbelievably smart and unique, and goes above and beyond the myth itself and manages to deconstruct it in really clever ways. It’s a fantastic exploration of human nature, the way we experience stories and how they manage to track and follow us through time. And I would easily read a whole book based on this story.
Those are Pearls – 4.5 stars
A story which is based on the fact that everyone carries their own curse and what happens when those curses are broken.
This one is gorgeously written and is so clever in dissecting what a curse can mean for someone and also tackles gender norms in a really interesting way. Really enjoyed this one.
Returned – 4.5 stars
A woman gets unwillingly brought back to life by her lover, and her memories of how she died are hazy.
Again, a super smart story that puts women and violence in the center and gives said woman her agency back. I really adored this one and I love that this is a running theme of the collection.
The Calendar of Saints – 5 stars
A story that revolves around a sword-for-hire that settles disputes between people with her sword in duels.
I think this would make a great full length novel, and it’s my second favorite story in the collection. It does some really interesting things with saints and sainthood again, but also tackles subjects of science and religion and it’s beyond amazing. Truly.
Breaking the Frame – 5 stars
A woman becomes a model for a photographer in his fairy tale shoots, only to start changing the stories.
Again a really interesting way to handle women reclaiming agency and the way we can change the existing narratives. It’s a fantastic end to a fantastic collection.
Quotes
And just because I cannot highlight how brilliant this is, here are some quotes:
To Sum Up
I cannot recommend this more. It speaks volumes that I loved so many stories in this one and that I haven’t shut up about this collection. Please get it as soon as it hits shelves in January. You won’t regret it!
“The story knows the way of its telling.”
As a Whole...
All of these stories revolve around myths and legends and thus have a common theme of storytelling interwoven throughout all of them. Every story is set in our world, but not quite. It’s our world but deconstructed and mixed with symbols and aspects of different stories.
There’s also a common theme of a story being retold through time – always being the same, but also always changing and evolving and I loved that. All of these stories have women in the center and all of them involve women losing and reclaiming agency in some form or the other. And this is sort of a linear trend – the first couple of stories women lose themselves and their narrative, and as the collection progresses forward, we see them reclaiming their place. It’s incredibly clever and incredibly well done. I was in awe with some of the stuff that Kat Howard managed to pull in these stories and I was so impressed by her craft and the way she constructs these narratives.
On top of all that there’s also a sense of grandeur and urgency in these stories. They feel epic and otherworldly, but also really well grounded in our world and they have meaning that surpasses the stories themselves. I just cannot praise the subtlety of the storytelling in A Cathedral of Myth and Bones. Moreover, there isn’t a single “bad” story in here. None of them felt like fillers. Sure, I did like some less and some more, but there wasn’t a single one I did not like, which is saying a lot.
Some Highlights
A Life in Fictions – 5 stars
A girl keeps getting written into stories by her ex-boyfriend – but she lives in them and starts losing herself and her real life for the stories.
It’s scary and also captivating at the same time. Loved this one and it’s a great opener for the collection because it really sets the tone and highlights the central themes of the collection.
The Saint of the Sidewalks – 4.5 stars
A girl, desperate for help, prays to the saint of the sidewalks, only to be made into a saint herself.
A really intriguing concept that manages to explore being put to a really high standard, having power you did not want and not knowing how to really use it. It’s such a great and clever story.
Once, Future – 5 stars
A retelling of the King Arthur legend, where students take on the roles of people from the myth, only for real life to start mirroring the story and vice versa.
This is my absolute favorite story in the collection and I think the main one that inspires and grounds all others. It’s unbelievably smart and unique, and goes above and beyond the myth itself and manages to deconstruct it in really clever ways. It’s a fantastic exploration of human nature, the way we experience stories and how they manage to track and follow us through time. And I would easily read a whole book based on this story.
Those are Pearls – 4.5 stars
A story which is based on the fact that everyone carries their own curse and what happens when those curses are broken.
This one is gorgeously written and is so clever in dissecting what a curse can mean for someone and also tackles gender norms in a really interesting way. Really enjoyed this one.
Returned – 4.5 stars
A woman gets unwillingly brought back to life by her lover, and her memories of how she died are hazy.
Again, a super smart story that puts women and violence in the center and gives said woman her agency back. I really adored this one and I love that this is a running theme of the collection.
The Calendar of Saints – 5 stars
A story that revolves around a sword-for-hire that settles disputes between people with her sword in duels.
I think this would make a great full length novel, and it’s my second favorite story in the collection. It does some really interesting things with saints and sainthood again, but also tackles subjects of science and religion and it’s beyond amazing. Truly.
Breaking the Frame – 5 stars
A woman becomes a model for a photographer in his fairy tale shoots, only to start changing the stories.
Again a really interesting way to handle women reclaiming agency and the way we can change the existing narratives. It’s a fantastic end to a fantastic collection.
Quotes
And just because I cannot highlight how brilliant this is, here are some quotes:
“That was how saints were made. Some piece of strangeness happened, and it hooked itself in the heart of someone who saw it and called it a miracle.”
“Sleep is dying, and has been for a long time now, through uncounted ticks of clocks and the flickers of thousands of too-brief candles. Sleep is dying, a slow exsanguination of dreams, a storm-tossed suffocation of nightmares. Sleep is dying and she is not alone in her throes.”
“We don’t talk about how the curses happen. We grow up knowing that certain curses run in families, that boys get cursed into monstrosity and girls into sleep, and we leave it at that.”
To Sum Up
I cannot recommend this more. It speaks volumes that I loved so many stories in this one and that I haven’t shut up about this collection. Please get it as soon as it hits shelves in January. You won’t regret it!
I really love Kat Howard's work and whatever fantasies and fairy tales fed me as a child clearly nurtured her as well because her writing really speaks to me.
Once, Future was, ugh, such a good gut-punch.
Once, Future was, ugh, such a good gut-punch.
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes