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A review by alliwag
Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold by Daisy Johnson, Emma Glass, Naomi Booth, Irenosen Okojie, Liv Little, Mahsuda Snaith, Kirsty Logan, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Eimear McBride, Natasha Carthew
3.0
Loved the concept of this collection, but it was hit or miss for me in terms of quality of the writing and storytelling. I ended up DNFing four stories (mostly due to craft issues), but the standouts really hit hard, with a fairytale conceit surrounding a strong emotional core. Also liked the inclusion of the source tales at the end.
Standouts were A Retelling by Daisy Johnson, Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan, and The Holloway by Imogen Hermes Gowar.
A Retelling was my favorite and the eeriest of the lot, with sharp writing and an effective bit of metafiction.
The Droll of the Mermaid by Natasha Carthew was probably my quickest DNF solely due to the haphazard punctuation (or lack thereof) which, instead of reading as a stylistic choice, made the sentences a nightmare to parse. I couldn't retain any story details because I was so focused on picking it apart.
Standouts were A Retelling by Daisy Johnson, Between Sea and Sky by Kirsty Logan, and The Holloway by Imogen Hermes Gowar.
A Retelling was my favorite and the eeriest of the lot, with sharp writing and an effective bit of metafiction.
The Droll of the Mermaid by Natasha Carthew was probably my quickest DNF solely due to the haphazard punctuation (or lack thereof) which, instead of reading as a stylistic choice, made the sentences a nightmare to parse. I couldn't retain any story details because I was so focused on picking it apart.