This book was a bit of a struggle for me, admittedly, because while I adore Susanna Clarke and the tone, atmosphere, and world that she’s created, it was frankly strange to get accustomed to her in a short story format after Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

I found myself half way through the book before I struck on my favorite story of the lot, “Mr Simonelli or the Fairy Widower”. 

Prior to that it felt like I was floundering a bit looking for the punchline at the end of each story. “Ah, Rumpelstiltskin”, for example.

But the stories about fae folk are where I think Susanna Clarke really makes her name and sets the flag. She’s rekindled for me, a person who loves deals with the devil, just how devilish and dealing fae can be.

The stories after this midway mark all bear the same tone and quickness I expected of Susanna Clarke from Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, down to the copious footnotes in “Tom Brightwind”. I worry I wouldn’t have stuck with the book if not for “The Ladies of Grace Adieu” themselves, the first story of the collection, which had all the snark and turn I like of her style.

Now I’m a bit struck at a loss because I’ve run out of Susanna Clarke to read. There’s a surrealist aspect to some of these stories that had me thinking of what it would be like if Samuel Beckett was writing fantasy. I already miss it. The atmosphere is hard to capture as effectively as Clarke consistently does.

I almost immediately passed off my thrifted copy to a friend; I need these stories still circulating.