From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Spanning the past 20 years of Palwick's career, the eight previously published and three new stories in this outstanding collection (after her 2005 novel The Necessary Beggar) display the author's versatility. The fine title story about an IQ-enhanced mouse named Rodney recalls "Flowers for Algernon." "Gestella" centers on a woman werewolf whose accelerated aging complicates her doomed marriage to a self-obsessed professor. In "Jo's Hair," Palwick imagines remarkable alternate fates for Louisa May Alcott's little woman, Jo March, and her chopped and sold chestnut braid. The quintessential fairy tale "Stormdusk" depicts a child worried about her mother, a trapped snow maiden; the wise, whimsical concluding gem, "GI Jesus," addresses friendship and sacred smalltown "miracles." Palwick's genre-bending short fiction defies categorization and blends humor with pathos. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Palwick's literary output until now has been limited to two critically acclaimed novels, the most recent of them the ghost story The Necessary Beggar (2005). This, her first story collection is a welcome addition to her oeuvre and a fitting introduction to her wide-ranging talent and vision. In the title story, an homage to Daniel Keyes' classic story "Flowers for Algernon,"^B an IQ-enhanced lab mouse awakens to the knowledge of his own impending demise. "Gestella" recounts the unsettling fate of a female werewolf who ages more rapidly than her increasingly less-interested human lover. In one of the volume's standouts, "GI Jesus," a small-town woman finds hope in the face of Jesus imprinted on an X-ray of her abdomen. All 11 pieces explore conundrums of human existence, from the perennial pursuit of utopia to the many faces of mortality. Embracing elements of both horror and speculative fiction, Palwick's unique and commanding fiction never fails to trigger an emotional response as it captures the imagination. Carl Hays
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"The fine title story about an IQ-enhanced mouse named Rodney recalls Flowers for Algernon." —Publishers Weekly
"An impressive and important debut." —San Francisco Examiner on Flying in Place
"Susan Palwick...is, with Flying in Place, a novelist of moment." —Newsday
"This slim collection has an overwhelming effect on the reader." —The Agony Column
"Masterful writing, magical realism, slipstream, and literary fiction are all descriptors that come to mind." —Tangent
"Palwick uses both fantasy and science in her fictions, flinching from neither the rational nor the ineffable." —The Seattle Times
"Elegantly crafted short fiction." —Locus
"A potent brew of mystery and heartache . . . gracefully knotted, densely lyrical." —SciFi.com/Sci Fi Weekly
Book Description
The fantastic and magical realities humans create and their often terrifying consequences are examined in this unflinching collection of work from a noted science fiction writer. A determined mother attempts to break the fairy tale spell that confines her daughters, a female wolf learns that loving a man can be quite dangerous, and a manipulative politician harvests zombies in these stories that are beautiful and brutal, but maintain a modicum of hope for the future.
About the Author
Susan Palwick is an associate professor of English at the University of Nevada–Reno. Her previous books include Flying in Place and The Necessary Beggar. She is a recipient of the Rhysling Award, and she has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award. She lives in Reno, Nevada.
