Saffron And Brimstone: Strange Stories
Enthusiasts for Hand's sensuously descriptive brand of literary fantasy are in for a treat with her latest collection of short fiction. Aptly subtitled "strange stories," the eight superbly crafted tales share Hand's predilection for probing the translucent borderline between magic and reality. A young lepidopterist spends a summer volunteering at London's Regent's Park Zoo and discovers a talent for transforming her lovers into rare butterfly specimens. The tattoo-artist daughter of a children's book writer finds a tarot deck once owned by a colleague of her famous mother and watches her destiny become inexplicably intertwined with the cards. In a separate section entitled "The Lost Domain," Hand offers four contemplative tales about transient relationships that she links by using poignant, recurring themes: the fragility of intimacy, the insidious unraveling of civilization following 9/11, the influence of Greek myth on modern love. Her beautifully nuanced, often disquieting style should inspire poets as well as lay down the gauntlet to colleagues also reaching for expressive heights in contemporary fantasy.Carl HaysCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved