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A review by eshalliday
The Winter Spirits: Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Catriona Ward, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, Stuart Turton, Elizabeth Macneal, Andrew Michael Hurley, Jess Kidd, Bridget Collins, Laura Purcell, Natasha Pulley
3.0
I’ll sadly start by saying that ‘Host’ by [a:Kiran Millwood Hargrave|5868487|Kiran Millwood Hargrave|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1579440732p2/5868487.jpg] just isn’t a strong enough curtain-raiser for this collection, although I am a follower of her work. Something more atmospheric like ‘Carol of the Bells and Chains’ by [a:Laura Purcell|22701274|Laura Purcell|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] (an out-of-the-ordinary, totally creepfest-y retelling of the Krampus legend, which concludes the collection), would make more of an impact; would draw back the bolt on this collection with a bit more flair.
‘The Winter Spirits’ contains a number of stories by truly sensational authors whom I’d count as favourites, such as [a:Bridget Collins|14717647|Bridget Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1548771665p2/14717647.jpg], [a:Elizabeth Macneal|17715039|Elizabeth Macneal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540803664p2/17715039.jpg], and the abovementioned Laura Purcell, which elevate it above your ordinary literary Christmas Selection Box. There are a couple of contributions that I had to DNF (including ‘The Master of the House’ by Stuart Turton) because they just aren’t quite up to the standard of the rest. And even though I did listen to all of ‘Jenkin’ by [a:Catriona Ward|13801540|Catriona Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438105097p2/13801540.jpg], I kind of wish I’d DNF’ed it too, because, although it has an intriguing principal idea, it’s just as distasteful as [b:Looking Glass Sound|60784412|Looking Glass Sound|Catriona Ward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667233877l/60784412._SY75_.jpg|93526489] in its awful misrepresentation of lesbian women.
The standout contributor is [a:Natasha Pulley|8446650|Natasha Pulley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490274030p2/8446650.jpg] (whom I credit with getting me back into reading-for-pleasure with [b:The Silent Companions|35458733|The Silent Companions|Laura Purcell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500725504l/35458733._SY75_.jpg|55746774] in 2017, after a long period during my Ph.D and then lecturing&teaching, where reading was mostly ‘for work’). With ‘The Salt Miracles’, Pulley successfully achieves what [b:The Colony|57977494|The Colony|Audrey Magee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634231936l/57977494._SY75_.jpg|90846914] by Audrey Magee was reaching for last year in terms of conveying the otherness of the stranger new-arrived into the midst of an established community, as well as the touch of naïveté with regard to that community’s practices when seen through the other’s eyes. For me, this extraordinary short story also brought to mind last year’s similarly themed holy-pilgrimage-to-an-island novel [b:Haven|59801788|Haven|Emma Donoghue|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655070093l/59801788._SY75_.jpg|91026101] by the exceptional [a:Emma Donoghue|23613|Emma Donoghue|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591714728p2/23613.jpg], in terms of the tenor of the mood, in terms of the rewriting of religious tropes, and in terms of striking imagery. And ‘Ada Lark’ by [a:Jess Kidd|15044123|Jess Kidd|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564173437p2/15044123.jpg] is just as unforgettable as ‘The Salt Miracles’! In fact, they both feature fully ornamented characters and each premise twinkles with all the colour and energy of a full-length novel. I'd highly recommend this collection as a treat, if only to collect the incredible seasonal stories by the five or so authors highlighted above.
‘The Winter Spirits’ contains a number of stories by truly sensational authors whom I’d count as favourites, such as [a:Bridget Collins|14717647|Bridget Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1548771665p2/14717647.jpg], [a:Elizabeth Macneal|17715039|Elizabeth Macneal|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1540803664p2/17715039.jpg], and the abovementioned Laura Purcell, which elevate it above your ordinary literary Christmas Selection Box. There are a couple of contributions that I had to DNF (including ‘The Master of the House’ by Stuart Turton) because they just aren’t quite up to the standard of the rest. And even though I did listen to all of ‘Jenkin’ by [a:Catriona Ward|13801540|Catriona Ward|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1438105097p2/13801540.jpg], I kind of wish I’d DNF’ed it too, because, although it has an intriguing principal idea, it’s just as distasteful as [b:Looking Glass Sound|60784412|Looking Glass Sound|Catriona Ward|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1667233877l/60784412._SY75_.jpg|93526489] in its awful misrepresentation of lesbian women.
The standout contributor is [a:Natasha Pulley|8446650|Natasha Pulley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1490274030p2/8446650.jpg] (whom I credit with getting me back into reading-for-pleasure with [b:The Silent Companions|35458733|The Silent Companions|Laura Purcell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500725504l/35458733._SY75_.jpg|55746774] in 2017, after a long period during my Ph.D and then lecturing&teaching, where reading was mostly ‘for work’). With ‘The Salt Miracles’, Pulley successfully achieves what [b:The Colony|57977494|The Colony|Audrey Magee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634231936l/57977494._SY75_.jpg|90846914] by Audrey Magee was reaching for last year in terms of conveying the otherness of the stranger new-arrived into the midst of an established community, as well as the touch of naïveté with regard to that community’s practices when seen through the other’s eyes. For me, this extraordinary short story also brought to mind last year’s similarly themed holy-pilgrimage-to-an-island novel [b:Haven|59801788|Haven|Emma Donoghue|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1655070093l/59801788._SY75_.jpg|91026101] by the exceptional [a:Emma Donoghue|23613|Emma Donoghue|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591714728p2/23613.jpg], in terms of the tenor of the mood, in terms of the rewriting of religious tropes, and in terms of striking imagery. And ‘Ada Lark’ by [a:Jess Kidd|15044123|Jess Kidd|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1564173437p2/15044123.jpg] is just as unforgettable as ‘The Salt Miracles’! In fact, they both feature fully ornamented characters and each premise twinkles with all the colour and energy of a full-length novel. I'd highly recommend this collection as a treat, if only to collect the incredible seasonal stories by the five or so authors highlighted above.