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Title:
Dreams of Distant Shores
Series:
----------
Author:
Patricia McKillip
Rating:
4 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Fantasy
Pages:
290
Format:
Digital Edition
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Synopsis:
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A collection of short stories and a novella showcasing McKillip's writing style and preferred story content.
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My Thoughts:
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The majority of this book is taken up with the novella, Something Rich and Strange. I read that back in '05 and wasn't very impressed then and this time around nothing improved. That is the reason for the 1 Star deduction.
Now,
the rest of the stories, they were excellent. They were what I EXPECT
from McKillip. My favorite was about an artist who draws the Gorgon's
mouth and it becomes his muse, until it convinces him to fall in love
with a real life girl who then becomes his true muse. Not being an
artsy guy myself, most of the time I poo-poo stories dealing with
art. However, this story, appropriately entitled The Gorgon
in the Cupboard, drew me in and
made the artist character sympathetic enough that even I was able to
like him. The counter-story about the woman who becomes his muse, is
poignantly sad and heartwrenching and provides a sad canvas upon
which a happy story is drawn.
The
Forward by Peter Beagle I could have done without. I am not a fan of
Beagle, so his musings on meeting McKillip at various times came
across as self-serving and very faux-humble.
If I
ever read this again, I'll just skip the novella and concentrate on
the short stories.
★★★★☆
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