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A review by trish204
Apex Magazine Issue 105 by Jason Sizemore
5.0
Disclaimer: I REALLY HATE how Goodreads doesn't allow pages for short stories. When I wrote this review, the short story was listed on its own, not as part of some magazine I know nothing about. *sighs* The title of the story I'm reviewing here is A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies and it's by Alix Harrow.
As is usual with short stories and/or novellas, I only found out about this when a friend of mine read and reviewed it because it is nominated for an award this year. But, like the librarian in this story, I don't hold with award winners (or nominees) only so I actually like discovering certain stories this way only (in fact, I positively hunt them down on my GR timeline). ;)
The story is that of a librarian. She's not only tattooed but also a witch. She can hear the books whisper, checks out the really old ones so they don't feel too bad/abandoned, and knows which human to pair with which book.
She meets a black teen who only ever checks out one book, reads it repeatedly despite the ending, and who seems to be depressed. She pairs him with certain other books over time. A witch only ever helps those in need.
What is so brilliant about this story is not just the books mentioned in it (which either make you nod in recognition or checking them online) that show just how well-read the author herself is. It's not the fluent and pretty writing style that combines the feel of a magical library (that made me think of dark wood, sunlight and times past) with modern titles and laser scanners. It's that I could hear the books whisper as well. How they spoke to the librarian, spying for her, helping her help the boy; that they had their very own personalities.
As a bibliophile who strokes her books and talks to them, this was paradise and I wish it wasn't just a short story.
There is tragedy, there is beauty, there is humour and ... books that need to be read as much as we need to read them.
How many authors can write and publish a short story that makes you feel as if you had spent years in their cozy and comforting magical world that smells of paper and ink? Exactly!
You can read the story for free here: https://www.apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-portal-fantasies/
As is usual with short stories and/or novellas, I only found out about this when a friend of mine read and reviewed it because it is nominated for an award this year. But, like the librarian in this story, I don't hold with award winners (or nominees) only so I actually like discovering certain stories this way only (in fact, I positively hunt them down on my GR timeline). ;)
The story is that of a librarian. She's not only tattooed but also a witch. She can hear the books whisper, checks out the really old ones so they don't feel too bad/abandoned, and knows which human to pair with which book.
She meets a black teen who only ever checks out one book, reads it repeatedly despite the ending, and who seems to be depressed. She pairs him with certain other books over time. A witch only ever helps those in need.
What is so brilliant about this story is not just the books mentioned in it (which either make you nod in recognition or checking them online) that show just how well-read the author herself is. It's not the fluent and pretty writing style that combines the feel of a magical library (that made me think of dark wood, sunlight and times past) with modern titles and laser scanners. It's that I could hear the books whisper as well. How they spoke to the librarian, spying for her, helping her help the boy; that they had their very own personalities.
As a bibliophile who strokes her books and talks to them, this was paradise and I wish it wasn't just a short story.
There is tragedy, there is beauty, there is humour and ... books that need to be read as much as we need to read them.
How many authors can write and publish a short story that makes you feel as if you had spent years in their cozy and comforting magical world that smells of paper and ink? Exactly!
You can read the story for free here: https://www.apex-magazine.com/a-witchs-guide-to-escape-a-practical-compendium-of-portal-fantasies/