We Never Talk about My Brother
Author: Peter S. Beagle
Publisher: Tachyon
ISBN-13: 9781892391834
ISBN: 189239183X
Rating: 8/10
Surrealism and fantasy. Not exactly two peas in a pod, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. Then again, if you’re Peter S. Beagle, and you’ve just compiled a compilation of beautifully written, taut surrealistic short stories called, intriguingly, We Never Talk about My Brother, you may be the odd duck in the flock.
A work that is twenty five plus years in the making, this short story collection-from the same guy that brought us the animated Lord of the Rings film-is a compendium of tales that challenge our conceptions of ourselves, both on the inside and out. From a New York artist’s fateful encounter with a real-life angel, to a Japanese peasant’s ill-fated romance with a shape-shifter, these are tales that inspire and repulse. Sometimes they do both in the same breath. Like The Outer Limits-but with a gritty twist.
Some are fairy tales, some are straight up fantasy. All are deep. Whether wrestling with death, love, ambition, pride, this is a collection that dares to ask the ineffable questions we all have back in our heads. There are sleepers, though. “By Moonlight” seems too artificial and Elizabethan to get into, for example. But on the whole, it’s a fairly interesting read. It’s also one of the shortest books on the market right now-topping out at 219 pages.
Whether it’s an escape to 1950s New York or a farm in the middle of nowhere. “We Never Talk about My Brother” is a blitz of magic and mystery that will leave readers scratching their heads and asking ‘wha’?
John Winn - Staff Writer
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