new old-fashioned fairy tales
Five short stories by wordsmith McKinley. This collection includes a story set in Damar and a story set in modern-day New York City. The plots are varied, but all are fairy tales in the true sense -- they use magic to teach us about life in some way. The women in these stories are strong, individual, and interesting. They use their brains and their hearts to find what they need to be happier, or make life better, in some way. I think my favorite story is Buttercup, because the imagery is somehow more vivid than in the other tales. The title story was my first glimpse into the kind of writing she uses in her novels Sunshine and Dragonhaven, which are both set in recognizably modern worlds that are some variation on the one we know.
Now, I'm looking forward to reading her new novel, Chalice, so can review it, too.