Sister Emily's Lightship
And Other Stories
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
In these twenty-eight magnificent tales, which include two Nebula Award winners, Jane Yolen puts a provocative spin on familiar storybook worlds and beloved fairy tale characters
One of the most acclaimed and honored authors in science fiction and fantasy, Jane Yolen has been called “the Hans Christian Andersen of America” for her brilliant reimagining of classic fairy tales. In her first collection of short stories written for an adult audience (after Tales of Wonder and Dragonfield), Yolen explores themes of freedom and justice, truth and consequence, and brings new life to our most cherished fables and myths. Here are storybook realms rendered more contemporary, and cautionary tales made grimmer than Grimm: Snow White is transported to Appalachia to match wits with a snake-handling evil stepmother and Beauty’s meeting with the Beast takes a twisty, O. Henry–esque turn; in Yolen’s Nebula Award–winning “Lost Girls,” a feminist revolt rocks Peter Pan’s Neverland and in the collection’s glorious title story—also a Nebula winner—the poet Emily Dickinson receives some unexpected and otherworldly inspiration. Sometimes dark, sometimes funny, and always enthralling, Sister Emily’s Lightship is proof positive that Yolen is truly a folklorist of our times. This ebook features a personal history by Jane Yolen including rare images from the author’s personal collection, as well as a note from the author about the making of the book.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Although Yolen (The One-Armed Queen) has published a great deal of acclaimed SF and fantasy (and children's fiction), this is her first collection of genre stories for adults--and it has been worth the wait. Three of the 28 entries here are new, and all draw deeply from themes of justice and independence, while typically spurning traditional sentimentality in favor of clear-eyed, sometimes grim realism. Yolen has a particular knack for redaction, finding new resonance by retelling old folk stories from novel points of view. The Nebula-winning "Lost Girls," for example, turns the familiar story of Peter Pan into a feminist revolt. The revisionist Snow White of "Snow in Summer" defeats her wicked, snake-handling stepmother with her own wits--no need for any prince. The ignorance of anti-Semitism brings tragedy to characters in "Granny Rumple" and "Sister Death." Meanwhile, "The Gift of the Magicians, with Apologies to You Know Who" merges O. Henry's Christmas classic with a cautionary tale of Beauty and the Beast. Feuding mobsters get more than they bargained for in "Under the Hill," which Yolen playfully describes as "Damon Runyon meets the elves." "Blood Sister," "The Traveler and the Tale" and "Speaking to the Wind" echo older themes from Ursula Le Guin's work, but the powerful title story, which also won a Nebula, closes this collection on high notes of originality, creativity and hope. As Yolen writes, "Stories are not just recordings. They are prophecies. They are dreams. And... we humans build the future on such dreams."
Customer Reviews
Twenty Eight Short Stories in a Range of Styles
“Sister Emily’s Lightship
and Other Stories” is a collection of 28 short stories by Jane Yolen. Three of these stories are unique to this collection, the others have been previously printed in various places. The majority of these stories are fantasty, with two notable exceptions. One of these is the titular story, which amazingly combines the famous poet Emily Dickinson with an alien visitor. The other is “Salvage” which is told from an interesting alien viewpoint.
The fantasy stories are diverse and include “Blood Sister” which is a prequel to Ms. Yolen’s Trilogy The Books of Great Alta. There are three related tales of a fey family that gets into various sorts of trouble. Then there are darker tales like “Sister Death” that are almost horror. In short, these tales show the range of an accomplished author.
The stories in this book were published between 1980-2000, and the anthology itself is copyrighted 2000. In addition to the stories, there is an Afterward where Ms. Yolen tells about her writing process and how these tales came to be. There’s also a biography of the author. A pretty good collection, which I would recommend for the fantasy fan.