This is a review from 2022, that I forgot to publish! My views are still the same!
For me, a new Kelly Link collection is an event. When White Cat, Black Dog hit my inbox, I gasped so loud that my husband thought we’d won the lottery. Which I kinda did (thanks, Random House!).
White Cat, Black Dog is a flawless collection. Link is a master of the form, and has once again displayed her talents across seven gorgeous stories. Among the perfectly-formed characters, we meet talking animals, a traveling acting troupe, a Christmas ghost, and the Queen of Hell.
Despite the often disturbing nature of the stories, there is an undeniable warmth to Link’s writing. These tales have a timeless, fairy-tale quality to them, especially The White Cat’s Divorce, an unconventional tale of three brothers competing for their aging father’s estate.
Prince Hat Underground is one of the most wonderful stories I’ve ever read, displaying the lengths we will go to for the people we love; literally to hell and back. A similar theme runs through The Lady and the Fox, a gorgeous Christmas story.
The White Road is a dystopian story of a traveling acting troupe, and the strange rituals they have to obey in order to survive. The ending to this was especially unsettling; I loved it. The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear is a disturbing, disorientating story of a woman unable to get home from a conference.
I first read Skinder’s Veil as part of the collection, When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson, and I’m so glad I revisited it here, as there was more to discover on the second reading of this tale of an unconventional house-sitting job.
This is one of the best collections I’ve ever read. Every story absolutely transported me. Kelly Link is an outstanding writer, and I cannot wait for her debut novel in 2024.
California Reading 