I have heard of jane Yolen for a few years now and have been dying to read one of her books, so when The Emerald Circus came up on Edelweiss I jumped to read it.
Summary
Goodreads Summary:
Enter the Emerald Circus and be astonished by the transformations of your favorite tales. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics in tales that go well beyond Wonderland and Oz, down the rabbit hole and back again. Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course!
Review
If you weren’t aware of it before, this is a collection of short stories, most already published somewhere else. And therein lies my struggle – the cohesiveness of the group as a whole. I loved the cleverness of “The Bird” and the darkness of “A Knot of Toads”, but I was lacking some unifying theme, something that tied these all together – except for them being all retellings of some sort.
Because of that, I found myself getting lost or losing interest. There’s a degree of that which is from its identity as a collection of stories, but still it was lacking a curating touch to bring these colorful tales all together. My favorite for darkness, depth, and wit was “The Bird” by far. But then again I am a huge Edgar Allen Poe fan, so that was always going to be a guaranteed love.
Overall,
While this collection may be good if you are searching for a taste of Yolen’s work, I would recommend starting with some of her classics. Because I’m not doing with Yolen yet. I have hope (and Holly Black’s introduction was both stellar and makes me feel like I’m missing something here). The stories were well written, and it ultimately makes me want to read more of Yolen, I just felt the lack of clear direction made me feel a little lost.
You can pick up The Emerald Circus on Amazon(US), your local indie, and Goodreads.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss.