If you were worrying that we have no legacy of fairy stories to pass on to future generations, then fret not, for David Greygoose seems to have it covered. Although this collection of stories has several recurring characters there is such a sense of the traditional fairy tale about them that it is hard not to conjure Rumpelstiltskin and The Pied Piper. I was also reminded of Oscar Wilde's Fairy Tales in some instances.
There's a whole other worldly feel to this mesmerising collection; tales that aren't quite gothic, not quite magical realism but more rooted in the manner of folk and fairytale. One story kind of meanders into another with similar descriptions of the streets and environments, the rats and the birds. I had to keep reminding myself of the different characters as they wove their way in and out of the various stories, disappearing for a few tales and then popping up again.
I felt the collection had a curious dreamlike quality to it that was unnerving in some ways. The sense of being pushed a little off balance. The writing is confident and assertive with a sense of the poetic and lyrical cadences that seem intrinsic to the fairy and folk tale style of writing.
It's unusual fiction which seems consistent with Hawkwood Books mission. I can see it being a Marmite book requiring an expansive imagination with which to plunder its depths. Fortunately I adore Marmite.
I won a copy in Librarything's Early Reviewers Draw.
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